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Nerys lowered her wine, the pewter’s intricate carvings a reminder of the sea, as if one were needed here.

“The Great Seaquake. Have you heard of it?”

“Of course,” I said. “Though I was not alive myself.”

“My parents were nobles, both a part of the palace’s diplomatic circles, and were on a ship headed to Aethralis when the quake struck. They were both lost to the sea.”

I lowered my fork, sad to learn my suspicions were right. “I am very sorry, Nerys. That must have been incredibly difficult. You are young haranya, I assume?”

Immortals did not track years as humans did. Haranya appeared, much as Nerys, my own age, for many years. An Uninitiated human, like Mev, who was unaccustomed to being around immortals, might believe Nerys was between twenty-five and thirty-five years of age, when in truth, haranya had celebrated their one hundredth year. Most stopped counting until the telltale signs of slow aging appeared once again, at approximately five hundred years, when they were then marked as thaloran. For five hundred more years, they would appear as a middle-aged human until reaching one thousand years old, or vaelith. Those elders were, in all clans, revered.

“Very young: one hundred and twenty, I believe. And thank you. It was difficult, as Lirael had just become queen and the after-effects of the quake took precedence over finding a role for an orphan who could not seem to control her abilities. A healer by the name of Aneri, a friend of my mother’s, took me under her wing. Years later, I passed the Stormcaller’s Rite and began to work at the palace, as my parents had before me.”

“You were brought to the palace for your skill?”

Nerys sighed. “That, and one of Lirael’s men, an old friend of my father’s, had been petitioning for me to come here for some time. But it was only after the Rite that I received the summons.”

“Aneri,” I said carefully, “must be quite skilled.”

Nerys visibly relaxed. “She is, though some may consider her views unconventional.”

“Unconventional? In what way?”

As Nerys finished chewing, I tried not to notice her tongue darting out to catch a bit of sauce on her lips.

“Like the Aetherian king, she has been fascinated with humans her whole life. I grew up hearing tales of them. How they first came through the Gate King Galfrid opened. The skills they brought with them that Elydor’s magical properties intensified. To see glimpses of the future… or even feel others’ emotions, as you do… it is fascinating.”

So that was the reason Nerys had dropped her guard more easily with me than I’d have expected from a Thalassarian.

It felt like an appropriate time to tell her, to ease Nerys’s mind, “I have the abilitynotto sense emotion, too.”

“Are you sensing my emotions now?”

“No.”

“But you did, when we met?”

“I did. I’ve found it useful, when first meeting people, to better understand their intentions toward me.”

“To ascertain if they are a threat?”

“Precisely.”

“I am not a threat to you, Rowan. It is my belief the humans should be recognized as a legitimate clan in Elydor. Your people have been here for hundreds of years.”

I held her gaze, wishing there was a way for Nerys to know I was not a threat to her either. “Your beliefs are not in line with your queen’s.” I spoke the obvious.

She said nothing. Instead, Nerys raised a hand. With a gentle swipe in the direction of a fountain in the corner of her chamber, she lifted her hand and swirled her hand through the air. Expecting the water to move, I saw nothing, at first. Slowly, a fog began to appear, filling the space with a gentle mist that became thicker with each movement.

Though accustomed to the gentle sweep of an Elydorian’s hand and the wonders they produced, there was something about hers that was more… elegant than most. I ignored the erratic beating of my heart at such a sight.

“We may speak more freely now,” she said.

“A silencing mist?”

Nerys nodded. “Likely unnecessary, but I would not say these words in the absence of one. Not here, in the palace.”

Waiting, I pushed away my platter, picked up the wine glass, and took a sip.