Page 124 of Night Fae

Lyrian was saying something to her, but Malik couldn't make out what.

He could make out the response, though.

"Nonsense!" The elderly siren's voice carried across the hall with impressive volume. "I didn't travel all this way to sit quietly in a corner. Where's the Shadow King who finally got himself a proper mate?"

A hush fell over the gathering. Caelen, who had been engaged in conversation with several dignitaries, turned toward the commotion with a raised eyebrow. Daniel, at his side, grinned widely.

"That," Zev murmured, "is Madam Nyrissa, Oracle of the Western Seas and Lyrian's grandmother."

Malik remembered her from the novel. "Isn't she the most powerful seer in all of Veridia?"

"Yes," Zev agreed. "She's also the most tactless one."

Madam Nyrissa spotted Caelen and marched directly toward him, parting the crowd through sheer force of personality. She stopped before the Shadow King, squinting up at him critically.

"Hmph. You look better without that shadow god squatting in your head," she announced, then turned to Daniel. "And you! Skinny little human. Good job not dying."

Daniel blinked in surprise. "Um, thank you?"

"You're welcome," she said, patting his cheek with surprising affection. "Now, where's the good liquor in this place? That ceremonial swill they served at the temple dedication was like diluted seaweed."

Caelen, to his credit, recovered quickly. "Madam Nyrissa, we're honored by your presence. I'll have the steward bring out our finest reserves."

"You'd better," she sniffed, then spotted Malik and Zev across the room. "Ah! There's the dreamwalker and his human!"

Malik felt Zev tense beside him as Nyrissa made her way toward their table, Lyrian trailing behind her with an expression of resigned embarrassment.

"Grandmother, please?—"

"Hush, child. I want to meet the one who pulled this gloomy fae out of the Fields." She planted herself before Malik, eyes sharp and knowing despite her irreverent demeanor. "So you're the one. Hmm. Not what I expected."

Malik wasn't sure how to respond. "I'm... sorry?"

"Don't be sorry. Be proud," she waved him off. Then she reached out and patted Zev's cheek much as she had Daniel's. "You're looking less constipated than last time I saw you. Good for you."

Zev raised an eyebrow at the siren. "Meanwhile," he said, "you look just as close to expiry."

"That is only because your eyes are useless," Nyrissa chided Zev. "You see death everywhere, and I must say, I do wish you'd killed that preening prince while you were at it. Would have saved us trouble down the line."

"Grandmother!" Lyrian looked horrified.

"What? It's true. That one has ambitions that'll cause problems." She waved dismissively. "But that's for another day. Where's the food? I haven't traveled between courts in fifty years, and I'm famished."

As if summoned by her words, servants began bringing out the first course. Nyrissa claimed the seat next to Malik without invitation, leaning in conspiratorially.

"You've got questions buzzing around your head like hungry moths," she observed. "Ask."

Malik glanced at Zev, who gave a small nod of encouragement.

"Will the barriers remain stable now?" Malik asked, voicing the concern that had been foremost in his mind.

Nyrissa's eyes clouded over briefly, the irises swirling like water in a whirlpool. "Stable enough," she answered. "Your friend with the stolen power will see to that."

"Leon?" Malik looked around the hall, suddenly realizing he hadn't seen Leon since they'd returned from the temple. "Where is he?"

Nyrissa shrugged, helping herself to Malik's untouched wine. "Doing what barrier keepers do, I imagine. Sticking his fingers in the holes in reality." She drank deeply, then smacked her lips. "Not bad. For Elucian wine."

Throughout the meal, Nyrissa continued to offer unfiltered commentary on everything from the food to the various court dignitaries ("That one's sleeping with his wife's sister—and the sister's husband").