A Red-Rose Chain

“Don’t know, don’t want to know, not going to ask,” I said, still watching the crowd.

There was a homogeny to them that was even more unnerving than their attire. There were no changelings, and more, there were no visible mixed-bloods; no Centaurs with feathers in their hair, or Glastigs with white hair inherited from their Coblynau grandparents. Everyone in sight was pureblooded, and most of them were either Tuatha de Dannan or Tylwyth Teg. There were a few Daoine Sidhe scattered through the crowd, and seeing them made me realize what else was wrong: none of them had animal features. There were no Satyrs, Hinds, Fauns, or Huldra in the crowd. There weren’t even any Cornish Pixies or Harpies. Everyone fit the same basic mold of tall, bipedal, and pretty.

It was weird, it was disturbing, and it made me wonder whether Lowri hadn’t been allowed to leave. Maybe all the part-animal fae in Silences had been “allowed” to leave, possibly with encouragement from their King. “We need to see those bodies,” I said, very softly.

Quentin shot me a startled look, followed by a small nod. Even if he didn’t know what I was talking about, he was willing to go along with it. I appreciated that. He was a good squire, and he deserved better than me.

There was a soft rushing sound beside me, like air being displaced, accompanied by the faint scent of musk and pennyroyal. I let go of Quentin’s arm and reached calmly out to my other side. As expected, Tybalt’s arm was right there, ready for my hand.

“All is well?” I asked.

“I don’t believe that statement can apply to our current situation, but my errands have been run, and I have nothing more to do apart from accompanying you to our repast,” said Tybalt.

At the word “repast,” Quentin snorted for a third time. It was starting to become a habit.

Tybalt blinked, looking around me to Quentin, who was once again staring innocently forward. I offered him a sunny smile. Tybalt shook his head, and turned his attention to the hall.

It was a good thing, too: as we got closer to the dining room, the crowd grew even denser, until it seemed like everyone in Silences was there with us. Despite that, there weren’t that many people present—a quick count gave me somewhere between fifty and sixty warm bodies. That was a lot for a dinner party, but for a Kingdom that was pulling out all the stops to impress a visiting diplomatic detachment? It was about the same size crowd that Arden could have scraped up on short notice, and while she had an established Kingdom, she was severely understaffed where her actual Court was concerned. Once again, I found myself wondering just how small Rhys’ circles really were.

Then again, if he was winnowing people as severely as he seemed to be, it probably shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise. If anything, the surprise was that he still had this many people he was willing to allow inside his knowe.

“Be alert,” hissed Tybalt, next to my ear.

“Way ahead of you,” I murmured, and stepped into the dining hall.