Vergis said something in Lugarra that was too fast for me to catch, and so, to my shock, did Charles. I’d never known he spoke it fluently.
Zeddira looked at both of them in turn before he addressed them, then he said something to his brother. When his eyes settled on me, he smiled. I wasn’t the right person to pick up on subtleties in most situations, but I knew that smile. It was the one my parents had used on me when they were trying to get me to do something they wanted. I’d always thought of it as their handler’s smile.
A bagu to the right of Zeddira started talking. “The second high counselor is glad to see his brother’s mate recovered. He wishes to welcome you into the Raiken and into the House of Livim and assures you that both are your home.”
“Uhm. Thanks. I mean, thank you. That’s very kind. Of the second high counselor.”
I sidled closer to Inkiri. Zeddira was still looking at me. He had yellow eyes with flecks of dark blue in them, and his attention made me feel very exposed, as if I were on stage.
The interpreter translated that, and I picked out the word “al-lesh” for thank you even though much of the rest of it was simply too fast for me to follow.
Zeddira spoke again.
“The second high counselor has brought healers with him, but servants also. He does not wish you to overexert yourself again since you are a precious member of his own family now.”
Fellisse gave a single low click, and I could practically hear Vergis’s eyes roll in their sockets. My fingers closed around the fabric of Inkiri’s shirt, and with my other hand, I reached for the necklace half-hidden by my scarf.
“That’s really kind, but Fellisse is my doctor. Or healer. I don’t need any servants. My mate takes really good care of me, you know.”
Zeddira’s look remained level. Before the interpreter could talk, Kinnek joined us. He looked as if he were just out for a stroll, but it didn’t escape my notice that he was wearing bagu clothes now rather than his normal shorts, and he had shoes on for a change.
I had no idea what he was saying either. He spoke too fast for me to follow, just like everyone else had, but he was doing so with an attitude that matched Zeddira’s, at least as far as I could tell.
Zeddira nodded and smiled right back at Kinnek. If I hadn’t been so much smaller—if my weirdo husband hadn’t been such a tall and handsome hunk—I would’ve whispered in his ear to tell me what was going on.
At some unspoken agreement—well, unspoken in English—we all turned and headed back to the house. Kinnek fell into step next to Zeddira.
I ended up walking between Fellisse and Inkiri. The translator caught up and looked at me from Fellisse’s other side. That bagu had lighter skin, a lot like Inkiri and Zeddira, and hair somewhere between teal and blue, with horns so inky, they almost looked black.
“Might I translate for you, sir?”
Both Inkiri and Fellisse clicked low in their throats. I was wondering whether that was self-soothing more than to comfort me. This definitely wasn’t the easy camaraderie they’d had with Hove.
“Uhm.” I desperately wanted to know what was going on, but it felt like it would be easy to offend someone, and no one knew how capable I was of inadvertently doing that than I did.
“He’s fine,” Vergis said as he pushed between Fellisse and me. “Aren’t you, Princess?”
“Right. Sure. I’m fine.”
You don’t happen to translate, do you? I asked the presence. Being able to magically understand everyone would definitely be a bonus.
It rustled around in my mind, amused. You want me to fix your mate’s language in your brain so you do not have to learn the subtleties of communicating in it and understanding all the subtleties in turn?
Yeah?
More rustling. That’s not what magic does. Nothing in magic is free, and I cannot gift you the experience it takes to speak and listen. You must earn it. You must strive to make his words your own.
That seemed unfair. Where was a universal translator when you needed one?
It seemed like my involvement in the conversation had ended anyway. Everyone headed to the house, and Kinnek and Zeddira were chatting still when we got there. Kinnek led Zeddira and his group past the tomatoes to where the cherry trees were. Fellisse clicked at me and said, slowly and in Lugarra, that he thought I “lak” my “sun hat,” meaning he thought I needed my sun hat, which was in the house.
The guys got me inside through the front door, which we hardly ever used even if Nokim and Vergis had freshly painted it not too long ago.
Once we got inside, Inkiri took hold of me and clicked happily. “You did so well, Sadir.”
“Uhm, thanks, I think. Not that I did anything.”
Vergis snorted and led the way past the stairs and to the kitchen. “It’s noteworthy to see you not mess up a situation, Princess. Maybe we should declare it a holiday or something.”
