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Nari didn't bother saying a thing. While those two changed, I pulled off Wraythe's cravat, helped him fix his shirt and vest, then put his cravat on the right way. Slipping the pin through the fabric, he was good, except for one thing.
"Weapons," I reminded him. "You want the sword."
"So, a show," Ela said, sounding like he approved. "I'll need my cane and top hat, then."
"And I get nothing," Nari joked. "Just a girl in tight pants, huh?"
Ela harrumphed at that. "My dearest, did you not notice that I'm wearing black too? You're a woman with three guardians. Your weapons are men. Make it clear you intend to use us if necessary."
Drandir came back for the second load while Nari was still working on her face. She finished just as he returned for the last of our things. The four of us walked down together, but there was one more thing Nari had to do.
"Zeal?" she asked just before we reached the stairs.
He stepped into our world walking at her side. "Yes, Chosen?"
"Can you tell Anver we had to leave earlier than expected? Make sure Amerlee and Jamik know too? I know they all wanted to see us off, but - "
"I'll handle it," Zeal assured her. "The temple will be fine while you are gone, so don't worry about anything but enjoying yourself. For two weeks, you will get to live the life of luxury, and you are vacationing with your friend. By that, I mean Maela, not Tath. Most importantly, do not let that man abuse you. I allow my priests to have limits." He looked over at Drandir. "Regardless of their Path, they deserve limits." Then over to me. "So enforce them, Blade."
"I will, Zeal," I promised.
The god leaned in and kissed Nari's cheek, and then was gone before we reached the bottom of the stairs. The large doors had been thrown open to make a spectacle of the Baron's carriage waiting out front. The cold winter air wafted in, sending those who might linger scurrying off before they got a chill. Outside, the world was covered in ice. Not snow, but ice. Even the carriage was glazed with it, and the mist in the air looked like it was ready to freeze on contact.
"So, no snowmen this year," Nari said as she headed through the doors.
Wraythe reached over and caught her arm. "Careful," he said. "Your boots and slick stairs are not a good mix. We've already had you try to break your neck once."
So she held his hand. The footmen were still busy loading our things onto the back, and Drandir was right, it would be a very tight fit. The driver, however, hopped down to open the door. That wasn't usually his job, but it seemed that waiting in this weather was not high on his list of things to do.
"I've been waiting here for over an hour," he said.
Nari simply passed the man a coin. "I'm sorry that you got our departure time wrong, then. I hope that compensates you for waiting."
I saw Wraythe's jaw clench, but he moved to the side and offered her a hand in. Her heavy black coat swirled around her legs, dragging on the last step. Ela flicked that inside, then followed. Without hesitation, Wraythe also offered him a hand in. The pair shared a knowing look, but before Wraythe could try the same with me, I gestured for him to go next.
Then we sat. The carriage rocked with each new trunk loaded onto it. Nari was biting her lips together hard, her eyes sparkling deviously. Beside her, Ela had leaned back, but his expression was also smug.
"Ok, what?" I asked.
"So, last year, the household was waiting for us, lined up to make a fancy display, right?" Nari asked. "I told Ela all about it, and we'd been discussing me walking in with him since he's my partner."
"Ok..." I said, because that made sense to me.
"An hour ago," she reminded me. "It's cold. It's misting - if there's such a thing as freezing mist."
"Freezing drizzle," Wraythe corrected.
Nari just flicked her brows up impishly. "Cold, wet, nasty. Here's hoping your brother learns a lesson."
"He'll probably just be irate by the time we get there," I warned her. "Remember, he's used to having his orders obeyed."
"I am too," Nari said, and there was a hint of cruelty in her voice that reminded me of Ela.
Like an exclamation point to her words, the carriage jerked into motion. Wraythe huffed, because he and I were sitting facing backwards. That meant the sudden movement shoved us toward our knees. Ela and Nari were simply pushed back into their seats. But, we were going. This was happening. My real family was about to meet the family I'd been born into, and I was pretty sure I wasn't ready for this.
The ride across town was cold. Because of the delay, the sun was just setting as we arrived, turning the ice-coated front of Sandrest into gold. The lights were on inside, but there wasn't a line of servants waiting to greet us. Still, as the carriage pulled around, the front door opened and a very familiar face peeked out.
"Branstan!" Nari gasped, leaning over to open the door herself.
