Nicholas’ expression is tense as he stands and reaches towards the bird’s leg, but his hands are steady as they untie the scroll. I watch him in silence as he flattens it out next to his plate. The bird stands on the table, still and silent. It’s only now that I’m looking properly at it that I realise it’s not actually a bird. Not a living one, anyway.

  Instead, it seems to be made out of a dark red kind of metal – my Metal-Shaping tingles as I reach out to it curiously. But before my mana can make contact, it is rebuffed by something. Attempting to repeat the action earns the same response – are there enchantments on the bird which prevent it from being affected by other magic? I try using Inspect Item, but it is as…informative as ever. And the normal Inspect just shows that it’s magical – no more useful than Inspect Item.

  Unable to observe it with magical senses, I settle for my physical ones. It is marvelously made, with every feather formed perfectly as far as I can see. If it were not for the metallic sheen and the sheer stillness of the creature, I would mistake it for a real one. And when it moved, it definitely didn’t have any of the stiffness or jerkiness that I would expect from a robot. A magical construct, surely. Anyway, it flew, which must be a magical effect all by itself considering how heavy this thing must be.

  It looks kind of like an eagle with large, sharp-looking talons and a hooked beak. But instead of an eagle’s tail, it has something that looks more like a bird of paradise’s – long feathers that droop halfway to the floor. The construct itself is only about forty centimetres tall, but I don’t doubt that it can defend itself.

  I stand up to get a closer look. It stays still until the moment I step within a metre’s distance. Then, its head snaps towards me, its beak gaping open in threat.

  “Don’t get too close,” Nicholas warns, briefly looking up from the scroll. “It will attack any but the intended recipient of its letter.”

  I take his warning to heart and stay observing it from my current distance. I marvel at the way the metallic feathers flexed with its movement. Truly, they’re indistinguishable from real feathers.

  Nicholas breathes out audibly and my attention is pulled to him, alerted by the controlled sound to it. It’s tense, and so is he when I look at him, worry written clearly in the lines on his face.

  “What is it?” I ask warily.

  “Seal,” he invokes and abruptly the sound from around me is cut off. I know from testing my own version of the Skill that sounds from the outside don’t have to be cut off even if the sounds from the inside are prevented from leaving the controlled area. I eye Nicholas with even more concern – is that intentional or is Nicholas so rattled that he’s just sealed the whole space out of reflex? And why has he used Seal at all? Are the contents of the letter so sensitive that he can’t risk the servants hearing? Despite the fact that no one is actually in the room with us except for Loran and Sarran.

  “Who was that scroll from?”

  “The King,” Nicholas answers shortly, then swallows and continues. “He’s summoning me to court.”

  “Well, we were going to go there anyway, weren’t we?” I ask, not seeing why he’s so worked up about it.

  “No. He wants me to be there tomorrow.”

  I frown.

  “Is that possible? I thought you said it would take two weeks to get there.” Though, this is a magical place – as the bird-which-isn’t-a-bird demonstrates. Perhaps there are magical means to solve such a simple problem as too much distance. Maybe they have the equivalent of a plane here?

  “We’ll have to take a portal,” Nicholas sighs. “I’m sorry, but our trip to the village will have to be postponed – we will need the time to prepare for this unexpected trip.”

  “A portal,” I repeat warily, my ears latching onto the word. “I thought that you said such things were forbidden?” Nicholas grimaces.

  “Rifts opened into the Between are forbidden. Portals within a world function very differently and have none of the same risks. They are, however, very expensive and require several powerful Cores to run for even a short time. I am more concerned, however, at the urgency of this summons – particularly considering recent events.”

  It doesn't take me long to put the pieces together.

  “You think this is linked to the portal I came through?” I half-ask, half-conclude, my heart sinking. Nicholas’ short nod makes it drop even further.

  “The messenger construct covers distances fast, and its arrival here today implies that it was only sent out a day ago. Like I say, the timing is suspicious.”

  “I thought you kept it hidden?” Certainly that was the impression I’d had.

  “I tried.” Nicholas sighs again. “I wish I could have done it in the same place we did the adoption ritual. It seems that my precautions were not enough.”

  I’m starting to get increasingly concerned, especially when I remember the punishment that Nicholas indicated that the crime of opening a rift to the Between attracted. Heat rises up my neck and a knot ties itself in my belly.

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  I swallow back the shout that yearns to leave my throat. We’ve already argued about this and I’ve already got Nicholas to promise to inform me of any future potential illegalities before I end up dragged into them. Instead, I try to think of other options. What if this is Nicholas’ guilty conscience seeing a threat where maybe there is none.

  “Could it be anything else?” I ask, keeping my own voice forcibly level.

  Nicholas hesitates.

  “It’s possible,” he allows. “It would be interesting to know if any others have received this summons. If they have, perhaps it is some urgent threat which faces the kingdom.” His face softens and his eyes take on a thoughtful look. “The King is not well. His malady is not supposed to act so quickly, but it’s possible that something has happened to hasten his demise. In that case, it would be entirely expected for all the Great Houses to be summoned to bear witness to his final hours. Or it could be that the Damayar have launched another attack. They’ve been rather quiet for a few decades which usually is the lead up to renewed hostilities. That, too, would account for such an urgent summons.”

  “There, see,” I smile, relief going through me. “It’s not necessarily because of bringing me from the other world.”

  “No,” he agrees, then sighs again. “But I do need to obey the summons.” He eyes the bird standing on the table before us and sound rushes back into the void as he drops his Seal. “No reply,” he tells the messenger and it inclines its head briefly. Then, turning around, it launches itself from the table just like a real bird. I turn my head to see Nicholas grimacing as he wipes his hand over the top of the table, feeling the deep groves which have just been carved into it by the bird’s claws. I wince as I imagine those ripping into my body. I bet no one catches that bird on their hand, not even with a hunting glove.

  “I’d offer to repair that, but I have no talent in Shaping products of plants,” I tell him regretfully.

  He drops his hand away and looks back at me.

  “I was not expecting you to. It is fine. I will have my steward bring in the village carpenter. He might not have a Class, but he can still work wonders with wood. He’ll have the table back to its usual condition soon enough.” He eyes me thoughtfully. “You should come with me,” he says abruptly.

  “To visit the King?”

  “To Crownseat, yes,” Nicholas clarifies. “We were going to travel there anyway, and even if the portal is expensive, it would be even more expensive to run the portal for me to get there and back and then also go by road once I get back. In some ways, it might be a blessing in disguise – your new position will become official far sooner than originally planned.” Yes, a blessing as long as I don’t get my head chopped off, I think to myself. Perhaps my intent to make Nicholas think of other options has worked too well. Nicholas continues speaking. “Half the cost of the portal is in activating it, though the more people who go through, the more Cores are needed so we’ll have to take small entourages. I’ll take Sarran and three of my strongest and most experienced guards. I can offer you guards too, if you wish.”

  “I’ll go with my Bound,” I reply immediately. Trust my back to people I don’t know over those I’ve lived and fought with for months? Not likely. I hesitate. “Though, from what you said, I guess I can’t take everyone.”

  “Definitely not,” Nicholas emphasises. “If they could be held within tattoos on your skin as mine can, that would be one thing, but they cannot. And consider leaving that Tier three of yours here – not only would it be entirely too expensive to bring her across, but she’s likely to find some of the city a squeeze even if she’d fit in the palace itself.”

  Bring Kalanthia with me to a crowded capital city? Not a good idea, though not only for the reasons Nicholas is describing. Especially considering that she can break the Bond any time she likes and probably would if I exerted any dominance over her in favour of protecting humans.

  Though that does raise the question of who I do bring with me.

  “So you’re only bringing four people with you – do you recommend the same for me? Is it the same for beasts?” I check with Nicholas.

  “Tier ones are cheaper than Tier twos who are in turn cheaper than Tier threes. But fewer is usually cheaper. I would suggest no fewer than three of your more powerful Bound – minus your most powerful – and no more than five of your less powerful ones. I would suggest we go alone but we cannot be seen to be completely unattended. Oh, and don’t bring that elemental of yours either – I am uncertain about how well it would fare going through the portal.” He grimaces lightly. “If it reacts poorly, the best case scenario would be that the portal would fail. Other possibilities would be that the portal would be diverted elsewhere or that we might just never leave it.”

  “That would be bad,” I agree. “Alright, I’ll think about it.”

  “Do so, but don’t take too long,” Nicholas warns. “I would like to leave before dinner – we might only be due tomorrow, but the portals can sometimes be a little finickety. If something goes wrong, we may be delayed. Given the urgency of this summons, I have no desire to accidentally miss the deadline for arrival.”

  “Understood,” I sigh. It seems like I’m not going to have any time to settle in this world. Nicholas’ eyes rove up and down my form, the look in them calculating.

  “Unfortunately, we will not have time to visit the tailor as intended – I will have too much to do in preparation and he will not be able to create appropriate garments in time. You did such a good job with that outfit; if I give you one of my court-suitable robes as a template, would you be able to create another two or three sets for yourself before we must leave?”

  “That should be fine, depending on how complicated the embroidery-work needs to be,” I agree. “And perhaps you could indicate the right kind of footwear too.” I never thought that I would be making my own clothes to visit a king, but then I never thought I’d visit royalty full-stop.

  “Oh, of course,” Nicholas replies, a relieved look on his face. “If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to send your manservant to seek it for you.”

  “Thanks. And the Bound I leave behind – can they continue staying in my room and hunting and so on?”

  “Of course,” Nicholas again answers immediately, though this time he hesitates. “Though if you’re planning on taking your manservant with you as one of your companions, that might make conversation difficult. I normally leave at least one of my human Bonded with any beast Bonded who separate from me. My experience is that it makes things far simpler, even with beasts who are capable of logical thought and reason.”

  “That’s a point,” I sigh, already considering the matter.

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