Jino was frowning a little, but he did his best to turn it into a smile. "Oh, but the prince would never lie, Highness, and certainly he would not stoop to f lattery." He gave a rueful laugh. "He means well, and he is of course a splendid young man, but in truth his courtly manners leave a bit to be desired." He straightened and extended his arm. "Let me show you back to your rooms now, Princess. We all look forward to the honor of your company again at supper, but you really should rest after your terrifying journey."

Briony's own courtly manners might be a touch rustic by Syannese standards but she understood what Erasmias Jino was saying well enough: Please, child, get out from under my feet so I can see to more important business-the business of a true kingdom, not a backwater like yours.

It was another reminder that Briony was at best a distraction for these Syannese, and more likely an annoying problem. Either way, she had no power here, or any friends she could count on. She let herself be led back across the gleaming, echoing throne room, through groups of staring courtiers and more discreet but just as interested servants, already thinking about how that balance might be changed for the better.

"According to Rhantys and other scholars from the years before the Great Death, the fairies themselves claim they were not created by the gods, but that rather they 'summoned' the gods."

-from "A Treatise on the Fairy Peoples of Eion and Xand"

Flint picked up the broken bone-white disk in his fingers and waved it at Chert. "What is this?" he demanded, but his adoptive father was several paces ahead and couldn't see what the boy had found.