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“Stand down, Vaera,” he ordered.

“Yes, Sire,” the female guard said, lowering her sword and ducking her head respectfully.

“Kyia,” the crowned Meyarin said to their escort, “it seems I’ve come outside for a refreshing walk only to discover humans on my doorstep. I trust you have a good reason for bringing mortals into my city?”

“Yes, my king,” Kyia said. “I need to speak with you, in private.”

Alex was surprised by the lack of deference their escort showed to the ruler of Meya, but he didn’t seem to mind. All he did was tilt his head thoughtfully and say, “You and your companions may join me in my receiving room.”

The king stepped back inside and Kyia looked at Alex and her friends pointedly before following him.

“At least we know he’s not dead,” Jordan said. “That’s good news.”

Jordan was right—thatwasgood news. Aven had tried to murder his father and he’d supposedly succeeded in stabbing him with a dagger, so it was a relief to learn that the leader of Meya was still alive and ruling.

Alex waited for her friends to walk through the entrance and followed after them, but as she moved past the two guards, the male Meyarin stiffened. She turned her head to look at him in question just as he reached out and grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around to face him.

“What are you?” he demanded.

She froze to the spot. “I—um… What?”

“What are you?” he repeated, shaking her roughly.

Alex winced from his strong grip, but forced herself to respond. “What do you mean? I’m human. Mortal.” She only just managed to stop herself from adding a ‘duh’ at the end of her sentence.

“You smell like one of theGarseth,” he said, his dark eyes narrowed and staring into her own.

“I don’t know what that means,” Alex told him, and his fingers tensed even more.

“Zain, release her!” Kyia ordered, storming back through the entrance.

“Garseth rai tealon fera de leas,” the male—Zain—said angrily.

“Caen de taris en loga,” Kyia replied, her tone firm.

Zain nodded tersely and released Alex. She automatically reached up to rub her shoulder.

The male Meyarin noticed her movement and his eyes softened slightly. “I apologise, little human. You caught me off-guard.”

“Aren’t guards supposed to always be on guard?” Alex muttered under her breath.

Zain’s lip twitch reminded her yet again about the quality of Meyarin hearing. Oops.

“Come, mortal,” Kyia interrupted before Alex could say or do anything else. “The king awaits.”

If Alex hadn’t been so worried about being pulled back and manhandled again, she would have paused upon stepping into the massive entrance room. Instead, she looked around with wide eyes and tried not to trip over her own feet as she hurried after Kyia.

All Alex could think as she took in the elegant Myrox and gold decor was that D.C.’s palace in Tryllin had nothing,nothing, on the Casa de Meya.

Kyia led the way along an elaborately decorated hallway that seemed to stretch for miles, but thankfully they didn’t haveto walk too far before she stopped at an intricately sculpted doorway. The door was open and led to a room where Alex’s friends were seated in comfortable-looking chairs.

“They wouldn’t let us wait for you,” D.C. said quietly when Alex sat beside her. “What happened back there?”

“Just a misunderstanding,” Alex whispered back. At least, she hoped that was true.

“A word, if you please, Kyia,” the Meyarin king said, waving their escort into a side room.

Once Kyia had closed the door between them, Alex’s friends turned to her.