The floor was covered in the same blue-and-white tile used on the outside fountain. The room had multiple small levels,each a few steps above the last, and groups of people sat on low stools or cushions. Most wore Vhranian dress, but they were a mix of ages, sizes, and skin colors. A good number of them looked to be very happily drunk.
A man strode toward us. His hair was dark and short, his handsome face light brown and narrow, with a straight nose and wide mouth. His eyes were the color of the clear amber that sometimes appeared for sale in the markets.
He wore simple Vhranian-style clothing, but dozens of thin metal bangles stretched from wrist to elbow, and three golden stars were inked above his left eye. The stars meant he wasn’t just Vhranian, but one of the Zephyrii—the nomadic Vhranians. And given the stars and bangles, a very important man among them.
“My friend,” the man said in accented Carethian, and wrapped his arms around Nik.
“You look healthy,” Nik said when the man released him.
“Air, meat, wine, and women,” the man said. “They keep a man healthy and strong.” His gaze fell on me and Wren. “And who are you?”
“Fox and Wren,” Nik said, pointing us out. “Meet Savaadh Pharish, a member of the Zephyrii.”
“And an Ensi?” I asked. An Ensi was a leader among the Zephyrii, expert in navigation and in keeping his people safe as they traveled.
Savaadh tilted his head. “Why would you say that?”
“Gold bangles, star marks.”
“So I am, but please call me Savaadh.” His smile was wide and confident; only the powerful had the resources to smile like that. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Fox and Wren.”
Wren nodded.
A worker brought over a tray laden with food and ceramic jars of wine, the openings sealed with colored wax. “Our guests,” he announced to the rest of the room. “They are our family. They are welcome.”
Nine
We followed Savaadh to a sitting area, where a tall man with dark skin and two beautiful women sat on cushions in front of a low table.
“This is Theranys, the head of my fighters,” Savaadh said, gesturing at the man. “And my cousins, Charis and Darya.”
Darya had pale skin and straight dark hair bluntly cut at the chin. Her dark eyes were wide, her mouth stained crimson. She wore a sweeping robe of black over quilted trousers and thin silver rings on each finger of her right hand.
Charis was equally striking. Her skin was deep brown but glimmered like she’d been dusted by starlight. Her hair was shorn, her eyes big and dark, her mouth generous and stained the same crimson as Darya’s. The tips of her long and elegant fingers shimmered with gold, as if she’d dipped them into more of that starlight. The robe over her quilted trousers was a column of gold. Both wore Zephyrii bangles.
I felt shabby by comparison. My tunic and leggings were threadbare, my boots scuffed. Not that we were in competition.
“Make yourselves comfortable,” Savaadh said, and took a seat between his people.
We sat on the other side, Nik and Galen facing Savaadh and his people, Wren and I beside them.
Savaadh cut the wax seal from a ceramic bottle that looked like the night sky—a deep and gleaming blue with pinpricks of silver—and poured the drink into small matching cups. These were passed around. The liquid was a deep red-black, with slivers of fruit that looked like stained glass.
He lifted the cup with his right hand, his left hand supporting the bottom, and sipped. “Good,” he said with a smile, and put the cup down again. That was apparently our signal to sample what he’d poured. Nik used the same handhold, so we followed suit and sipped.
It tasted like summer. Ripe and bursting plums and mountain lilies in full bloom. Sunshine and renewal. “Fuck the moons. This is amazing.”
Savaadh’s grin was wide and satisfied. “It is a specialty of the Zephyrii.”
I drained the rest and held out my cup. “Can I have another?”
He laughed and poured again. “I appreciate a woman who appreciates good wine.” He filled my cup, then placed the jar aside.
“Did you know there’s an Anima on the tower?” I asked.
Savaadh nodded. “A century ago, he guarded the caravanserai against the bandits and fighting that came north from Eonin.”
Eonin sat at Carethia’s southwestern edge and shared a border with Vhrania.
