home to the royalkeep. Even more startling was Dylens appointment as one of GilmaelCalanthes aides. It puzzled all and sundry that a hetharwith no previous connection to House Essendri should be so elevated,especially when he seemed to have come right out of the blue. Thatwas in large part due to the lack of information about Dylensbackground beyond what was known of his career as a hethar.Rohyrhad agreed to keep their kinship and Dylens position as Gilmaelsadjutant a secret until Dylen formally received his inheritance andthe honors that went with it. This was at Dylens behest for heneeded time to come to terms with the new course his life had taken.Naturally, the secrecy bred speculation about him.Initially,some conjectured that perhaps the Ardan was tiring of his leman andthe former hetharwould be Lassen Idanas replacement. But that was quickly disprovedwhen Rohyrs desire for Lassens company showed no sign ofabating and, even more intriguing, Dylen and Lassen were seen to beon very good terms. Indeed, for all intents and purposes, Dylensdemeanor toward Rohyrs concubine was that of a protective olderbrother rather than a rival for the kings favor.Withthat theory debunked, talk then circulated that it was one of theArdans relations who was Dylens patron and gained him hispresent lofty position. It even became something of a game to try andguess which of Rohyrs cousins fit the role. Still otherspostulated that he had some hold over Rohyr or one of his close kinand the largesse bestowed on him was in exchange for his silence.What his silence was purportedly for was harder to imagine but thatdid not stop the notions promulgators from spreading it.Regardlessof which assumption they adhered to, the prevailing attitude of theupper crust toward Dylen did not vary overmuch. Though they concealedtheir feelings when inhispresence, Dylen easily sensed their suspicions and disdain for himnot so much because of his former profession but for the dubious easewith which he had entered the circle of Rohyrs intimates.Hadit been up to him, Rohyr would have set the record straight forthwithrather than expose his brother to such sordid talk. But Dylenconvinced him to wait. Having anticipated just such behavior towardhimself, he simply shrugged it off, thankful it was seldom applied tohis father as well.Becauseof his age and frailty, Hirlen was merely seen as a beneficiary ofroyal patronage and that was usually enough to mitigate any dismaythe more straitlaced might feel about his sons abrupt ascendancy.The only time perceptions about him wavered was when his kinship toDylen became very apparent. For this reason did Dylen refrain frombeing seen with his father too often in public, opting to visit withhim in the privacy of Hirlens apartment or joining him when therewere few folk about.Thankyou for standing up for me yestereve, he said to Lassen, referringto a mild confrontation the previous night with a courtier whosecourteousness had been somewhat reduced by too much ale.Lassensmiled. We Half Bloods should take care of each other. Thoughtechnically, youre enyrnow. And will be deemed thusly when Rohyr formalizes your position.Dylensnorted. I may be deemed a True Blood because of that. But Illalways be sedyrinheart and soul.