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at her son. “You’ve seen her
now. Leave the Guardian to her work. I’m sure she is very
busy.”
    “Can I see you turn into something?” the boy
asked.
    Ether looked from the boy to his mother and
back again. “You’ve seen me take form. I’ve shifted from wind to
flesh. Is that not sufficient?”
    “But I’ve seen humans. Can’t you be
something else?”
    “I do not exist to entertain children. Now
this is Myranda’s home, correct? She is expecting me,” Ether
said.
    “Yes,” said Dana, disappointed.
    “Very well,” Ether said, making ready once
again to push open the door.
    “Will you be coming here often?” Dana
asked.
    Ether shut her eyes in frustration. “It is my
sincere hope that I will not…”
    #
    Inside her home, Myranda was seated at the
dinner table with Deacon, Ivy, and her father. Through the wall
shared with the coach house, the distinctive steady breathing of a
slumbering dragon could be heard. Myn, weary from her journey, had
eaten a heavy meal and slipped quickly off to sleep. Now the others
were preparing for their own meal.
    Myranda’s present home was not the sort of
thing one might envision as the estate of a duke and duchess. It
was warm, clean, and sturdy, but it was hardly the lap of luxury.
The dining room shared a wall—and thus the heat of the
fireplace—with the kitchen. There were six seats at the table, and
when fully occupied, there was little room for much else. To one
side a staircase led to a second floor, which boasted four rooms.
In the days before its fall, three of these rooms were provided for
coach drivers staying the night during longer journeys, with the
largest for the owner of the home. Now Myranda and Deacon had
claimed the largest of them. Greydon Celeste slept in another. The
third was for the servants that the queen had quite firmly insisted
they take on, and the final room was intended for guests. As often
as not, that room belonged to Ivy, who had a home of her own
elsewhere in the city but had been reluctant to embrace the idea of
living alone.
    The first plates of their meal, prepared by a
plump and motherly servant named Eliza, were being set on the table
when the door pushed open and Ether entered.
    “Ether,” Myranda said, rising to greet her.
“I’m glad to see you. Thank you for coming so quickly.”
    “Hi, Ether!” Ivy said, excited in spite of
herself to see her fellow Chosen. She pushed out her chair and
bounded over to the shapeshifter, pulling her into a tight and
thoroughly unwanted embrace. When she was through, she stepped back
and gestured around her. “What do you think of Myranda’s home?
Isn’t it beautiful?”
    “I assume I was summoned for a reason?” Ether
said, ignoring the pleasantries.
    “You could visit first,” Ivy
reprimanded, hands on her hips. She paced back to her seat.
    “I’m afraid there is a problem that concerns
you,” Myranda said, motioning to a chair. “Please, have a
seat.”
    “I would prefer to stand,” Ether said.
    “Don’t be rude,” Ivy scolded. A plate was set
down before her. “ Thank you, Eliza.” Ivy eagerly picked up
the sumptuous mutton chop from her dish and tore away a mouthful.
She continued to speak while chewing. “Eliza is the best cook. I hope you stay for dessert. She’s making a peach cake.”
    “Now Guardian Ivy, that was to be a
surprise,” Eliza mock scolded.
    “You can’t surprise this nose,” Ivy said. “I
just hope—”
    “May we please see to the matter at
hand?” Ether said, her patience at its end.
    Ivy narrowed her eyes. “I already remember
why I didn’t miss you.”
    “We had a word with Caya, Ether,” Myranda
said. “She’s been in discussions with the Tressons, and there are
stories of creatures appearing in Tressor that sound very much like
D’Karon creations. There have been cloaks and dragoyles at the very
least, or things of similar description.”
    “That is impossible. I spent months tracking
down anywhere the D’Karon blighted