There was a stillness in the Warders around me, a tension unreleased. Garvin didn't glance my way or give any indication that anything was out of the ordinary, but standing beside him I could feel that he was wound tight.
The reason was before us.
The seventh throne was occupied.
FIVE
The seventh throne was supposed to be unoccupied, the ruler of the Seventh Court and the rest of the Untainted banished to another world and kept out of ours by the barrier that I had helped to repair nine months ago. How could he be here? I glanced sideways at Garvin, who looked stonily ahead.
Altair spoke. I expected his voice to be deep and rough, but it wasn't. It had warmth and timbre like a finely tuned instrument, meant to sway hearts and invite confidences.
"What, no word of greeting, Garvin? No welcome home?"
"Your place has been kept for you, Lord Altair, as you would expect." said Garvin.
"Still, I had thought that you might have some welcome for me, returning after so long an absence."
"Forgive me. The circumstances of your departure make me cautious, as well you might imagine."
Kimlesh spoke. "Altair is here at our invitation, Garvin. Your duty is his protection, as with all of us."
"You do not need to remind me of my duty, Lady. I know it well."
"And yet I detect a hesitation," said Altair.
"When last we saw each other, Altair, I lost five Warders. That's not a night I'll soon forget. I have no wish to lose any more."
"An error of judgement put you between my purpose and the mongrels, Garvin. Had you not stood in my way, you would not have lost anyone."
"I do not regard it as an error."
"And yet you lost five Warders."
"Two of them were Tainted, as you would have it. The Warders protect each other. We stand together and die together. I would not abandon my people."
"Your duty should come before your people," said Altair.
"I fulfilled my duty. You were unharmed. The High Court survived intact."
"May I remind you that Altair is our brother," said Krane, leaning forward in his chair, "and that he has never offered harm to any of us. His quarrel is with the Tainted, not with the Courts or with the Feyre."
"Are you calling the half-breeds Tainted now too, my Lord?" asked Garvin.
"A slip of the tongue." He dismissed it with a wave. "We have to call them something."
"I call them people," said Garvin.
"And Mishla, it is good to see you looking well," Altair said, changing the direction of the conversation.
I wondered who he was referring to until Tate rumbled behind me, "Lord Altair." Since when was Tate called Mishla?
"Do you have no word of welcome either?"
Tate answered, "No."
"Am I safe here?" Altair appealed to the other members of the court. "Will I be protected if some renegade tries to kill me?"
"The Warders will do their job, Altair," said Barthia, her tusks gleaming in the dim light. "We can ask no more of them."
"Even though the Tainted are among their ranks?" asked Altair. "I would have thought that the conflict of interest is apparent even to Garvin."
"There is no conflict of interest, Lord Altair," said Garvin. "Lady Barthia is right. We are the Warders and we'll do our job."
"Very well," said Altair. "I see that I must trust you and your Warders as I always have. Better than that, I will make a gesture. You may assign your new Warder, the wraithkin, to me as a bodyguard while I'm here."
"He's already on assignment," said Garvin, without missing a beat.
"He's here, isn't he?"
"He leaves tonight. He already has a mission. You may have another Warder to guard you. Mishla, perhaps?"
"Do you refuse me protection from my own kind, Garvin?"
"Is that protection from your own kind, or provided by your own kind?"
"You know very well what I mean." A flavour of menace entered those mellow tones.
"The assignment of the Warders has always been at the discretion of the head Warder, Lord Altair, as you are well aware," said Barthia.
"Of course." Altair sat back and moderated his tone, acceding gracefully. "Whoever you prefer, Garvin. Make your choice." He waved his hand, negligently.
"Mishla will be happy to ensure your safety while you stay, then. He'll be at your disposal."
"Is that acceptable, Mishla? Will you guard me?"
"I will, Lord Altair," said Tate behind me. His voice was flat, without inflection.
Lady Yonna spoke before Altair could make some further remark. "Altair is here for reconciliation talks, Garvin. We are exploring the possibilities of reuniting the courts. It would not be well if those negotiations were coloured by any unfortunate incidents."
"There won't be any, Lady. May I ask if anyone accompanied you on your visit, Lord Altair? Is there anyone else who might be in danger of becoming involved in an unfortunate incident?"
"There are two others here with me," said Altair. "I have asked Mullbrook if he would provide them with quarters near to my own."
"Then I shall ensure that they are also provided with bodyguards to ensure their safety during their stay."
"I'm sure they are quite capable of defending themselves."
"With a Warder in attendance, there will be no need for anyone to defend themselves, I can assure you Lord Altair."
"Very well, Garvin. As you say."
"Thank you, Lord Altair. If that is all, Lords, Ladies, I have arrangements to make."
"Will you leave Fionh with us, please, Garvin?" said Kimlesh, "She can bring word when the discussions are concluded."
"Yes, Lady." Garvin held his fist over his heart and I copied his movement. Then he turned and nodded to Fionh before leading the rest of us back through the door. Fionh peeled off and stood beside the double doors while we filed through, closing them after us as we left the room.
We marched back the way we had come.
"What…?" I was about to ask what my assignment was, but Garvin held up his hand. We went silently until we were back in the training room and the doors closed behind us. For the first time, I noticed that there were no mirrors in the room.
Garvin turned to the Warders. "Amber, Slimgrin, find the other visitors. Mullbrook should know where they are. Don't leave their side. I want to know where they go, what they do, who they talk to. Go now."
They both clasped their hands over their hearts, turned and left.
"Fellstamp, go and get some sleep. You'll rotate in eight hours. Keep the shoulder covered. You'll relieve Slimgrin, then Slimgrin will relieve Amber. Keep it rotating, twenty-four hours."
Fellstamp clenched his fist over his heart, turned and left, leaving me with Tate and Garvin.
"Tate, you'll do twelve and then I'll relieve you for six. I'll watch out for the Lords and Ladies and rotate with Fionh. We don't know how long the wraithkin are staying, but until they leave I want everything locked down. No one in, no one out. Except Niall."
"Why me?"
"You're leaving tonight. Tate, get field kit for Niall, please. Low profile."
Tate placed his hand over his heart, turned and left.
"What about Blackbird? I can't leave her with them here."
"She's safer here than elsewhere. While Altair is on this side of the barrier they can bridge the gap. He can bring in others if he wants to. If she's elsewhere then she's isolated and they can pick her off at leisure. If she's here they'll have to go through one of us to get to her."
"I could protect her."
"If you stay, they will find a way to isolate and eliminate you. It will be an accident, or they'll say they were provoked. Frankly, your existence is enough to provoke them."
"I'll stay out of the way. They won't know I'm here."