Kiera took it and put it on her earlobe. She heard no signs of war but saw the distant night sky light up with orange and red flashes.
"They're getting closer," Evelyn said in a tight voice.
Kiera said nothing, her mind racing. The night was chilly and quiet. She looked to Evelyn only to find the group had already moved away toward the distant dwelling. She trotted to catch up to them, trailing. The group was silent and tense, the warriors flanking Evelyn eyeing Kiera as much as the distant flashes of light. She shivered.
Evelyn's entourage shepherded her into the dwelling. Kiera looked around, speechless at the soaring ceilings, the atrium with a waterfall in the foyer, and pristine white walls covered with the multi-colored roping. She hadn't noticed how rundown A'Ran's home in exile was until she saw the house of the Qatwali refugees. It made her angrier at Evelyn and Romas, knowing A'Ran and his sweet sisters had been forced out of their home into a life of poverty.
The group continued without her. She couldn't remember feeling such rejection. The Qatwali warriors had looked her over in full light, as if to ensure she was no threat, then dismissed her with a look that said she ranked lower than the tarantula cat clinging to one wall. Even Evelyn walked away without so much as a glance.
Any resentment she had at A'Ran melted further. She wasn't sure how he'd lived with this type of treatment since he was a boy. She couldn't handle it!
She followed the group down several corridors into a massive conference room filled with people in tight groups talking. There was barely room to maneuver, and she found herself standing on her tiptoes to keep track of Evelyn, who had no trouble with the people around her parting the seas for her. Kiera made her way through the crowd to an area with far fewer people. She was surprised to recognize the Council members, from tall, thin Opal to the Council members whose names she'd never learned. Her eyes sought out a familiar form and found him.
Evelyn waited at the edge of another group, in the middle of which was Romas. Kiera maneuvered through the crowd, out of place in her jeans, T-shirt, and armband marking her as Anshan. Only a few people looked long enough to take in her armband, and she shied away from one who stared at her in alarm. Nervous, uneasy, she made her way down the wall toward the Council members, who held court with themselves.
She stopped within full view of Jetr and waited, not wanting to draw the attention of the entire Council to her. Jetr listened and spoke, glancing over after a few minutes. He looked again, this time meeting her gaze. She gave a nervous wave, watching for his reaction and relieved when he offered a warm smile. He excused himself and crossed to her, motioning for her to follow him out a nearby door into a corridor.