side. Another feast had been laid out in the hall. A huge main table had been set up, and she sat at the head of it by the Prince’s side, where dish after exotic dish was laid out for her to try. She ate plenty, even when she didn’t recognise the food, which was most of the time. Everything was delicious.
The Prince stayed by her, and so did every bit of the charm he had showed in the Temple. He kept his attention on her, pointed out the best foods, and talked almost only to her. Small talk for the moment, nothing very serious, but Laela drank in every word. She felt like she was in paradise.
Oeka, meanwhile, looked to have had good luck, too. The Prince’s partner was a big, dark brown male griffin, and he and Oeka were eating the carcasses provided-in between making playful darts and hops toward each other. Even Laela knew enough by now to recognise griffish flirting when she saw it.
The feasting went on well into the afternoon, and featured several performances by dancers and musicians, and even a pair of entertainers, who juggled a handful of razor-sharp knives between them. Laela enjoyed herself immensely.
When the celebrations finally began to quiet down, Prince Akhane stood up-signalling that it was time for him and his bride to leave. Laela went with him quite happily, and the two griffins followed at a relaxed distance. They went, not back to Laela’s rooms, but to another, much larger chamber that she quickly realised must belong to the Prince. The vaulted ceiling was painted with a beautiful mural of suns and clouds, and the walls were lined with bookshelves recessed into the stone itself. The large, silk-covered bed had netting draped over it to keep out mosquitoes, but that only served to make it look more exotic and exciting.
The Prince courteously ushered her to a low table surrounded by cushions. “Please do sit with me. I hope my room is to your liking.”
“It’s beautiful,” Laela said honestly, accepting the seat. In the background, Oeka wandered off into the adjoining nest chamber with her new friend, and Inva and the other attendants stationed themselves discreetly around the room, ready to leap in the moment they were needed.
The Prince sat down close by Laela-close enough that they were touching. “How did you enjoy the feasting, my lady?”
“It was great,” said Laela. She smiled shyly at him. “Yeh can call me Laela now, I think. I mean, now I’m yer wife an’ all.”
“Of course, Laela.” He smiled back. “Call me Akhane, then. Forgive me if I am awkward, but this is my first. . I mean, I have never. .”
“What is it?” Laela wanted to touch his face.
He smiled again, but there was a hint of nervousness there now. “You are my first wife. I have never married before.”
“Me neither,” said Laela. She settled down, leaning against him. He put an arm around her, his hand resting on her lap. For a while the two of them stayed like that, warmth mingling, hearts beating in time.
“I hope I ain-I’m not too disappointing for yer first wife,” Laela said eventually. “I mean, bein’ what I am.”
“What?” Akhane’s arm tightened slightly on her. “No, not at all. I hope I did not make you think so; if I did, I did not mean it.”
“I’m a half-breed, though,” said Laela. “And a b-not legitimate.”
“I don’t mind.” The Prince lifted her chin so he could look her in the face. “Your eyes are magnificent. Blue as the sky. I have never seen eyes like them.”
Laela realised she was blushing. “Thanks. .”
“You seem ashamed,” he commented. “Is being a half-breed so shameful?”
“I dunno,” said Laela. “I mean, it’s. . not easy sometimes.”
“Tell me about it.” He sounded as if he really was interested. “I have always wanted to know more about your homeland. Tell me about your life there. What it is like for you as a half-breed.”
So Laela told him. She told him about the North and about the South, and about how both the races there lived. She told him about the Eyries, and the wars. And she told him about what it was like to be a half-breed in Cymria. He listened and almost never interrupted, only asking a few quiet questions here and there, and she found herself going on, telling him things she had forgotten she knew.
“You love this place,” Akhane said when she had finally begun to run out of words. “This land you came from.”
“Yeah.” Laela smiled. “Yeah, I guess I do.”
“I would dearly love to see it one day,” Akhane mused. “Perhaps I will come and visit you there.”
“Please do,” Laela blurted. “I’m sure yeh’d be welcome. I could show yeh everything-the Eyrie, the Hatchery, the Temple. .”
“I would like that.”
Inva had put some wine on the table for them. Laela took some and drank to soothe her dry throat. “So that’s about all there is from me,” she said, feeling bolder now. “Why don’t you tell me about
“Me?” Akhane sounded a little taken aback. “Oh. . there is not much for me to tell.”
“Tell just that, then,” said Laela. “I wanna know more about my husband.”
“As you wish.” Akhane sipped from his own cup, and began. “I was born here in Instabahn, and the Emperor is my father as you know. But the Emperor has five sons, and I am the youngest, born from one of his minor wives. She came from the Maijan Islands, sent over as a gift by her father, who governs one of the islands. I am-was-the only one of the Emperor’s sons to be unmarried, and since I am a lowly son, there was no hurry to find a first wife for me.”
“What do you do, then?” asked Laela. “Does the Emperor ask yeh to do things for him? Do yeh have duties?”
“Few,” said Akhane. “I have no prospect of ever taking the throne, and my duties are purely ceremonial. Most of my brothers are governing the outlying states or fighting in Erebus, but I am the scholarly member of the Imperial Family, and spend most of my time with my books. But I travel as well, to Maijan and even to Erebus. To learn.”
“Learn what?” Laela nearly squirmed with excitement-she didn’t think she’d even heard of Erebus, which lay even further east than Amoran.
“Everything there is to know,” said Akhane. “But I have a great interest in magic and the mysteries of the gods.” He drank more wine. “I chase legends, myths, rumours, always searching.”
“For what?” Laela was loving every moment of this.
Akhane’s brow furrowed slightly. “I am convinced that griffins are not the only living creatures that can use magic. Somewhere in this world, I believe, there are humans who have unnatural powers-perhaps magical, or something beyond even that.”
Laela thought of Arenadd. “And what have yeh found?”
“Nothing. Nothing solid. But I will go on searching. Perhaps I should try your own homeland next, do you think?”
His tone was playful, but Laela nodded. “I think there are things in Cymria that might be like what you’re lookin’ for.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Well then, I shall have to come by one day.” Akhane stretched, and glanced at the window, where the light was beginning to turn gold and orange. “Now then, there is a more important matter to speak of.”
“What’s that?” Laela’s heart beat faster in anticipation.
“As your new husband, it is traditional that I give you a gift,” said Akhane. “On our wedding night, you may name any gift that I can give, and you will have it.”
“Oh.” The question caught Laela off guard. She looked speculatively around the room, taking in the decorations. “Anything?”
“For you, anything.”
“All right, then.” Laela pointed. “That’s what I want.”
Akhane followed her finger. “Her?”
Inva froze.
