mouth turned up.Iam, he gently said. More than you can possibly imagine.Riodans smile grew brighter, and he tightly clasped Dylenshand.** * *Asennight later, they were invited to dinner at the palace with theDeir they suspected of being behind the recent deaths in the royalfamily. Malkons invitation came as a surprise given that theFerrenda heir had shown no interest whatsoever in being around Dylenor Riodan, much less socializing with them. Far more worrying forRiodan was that the invitation had been initially addressed to Dylenalone. Thus, he was relieved when Dylen very politely requested thatRiodan be permitted to accompany him, claiming it was an Ylandrincustom that a member of the royal family never attended a formaldinner by himself. Riodan was fairly sure no such custom existed, buthe prudently kept his mouth shut.Bythe way, why did you insist I join you? he later asked Dylen whenthey arrived at the palace. Do you think something is afoot?Dontyou? Dylen countered.Riodannodded. He looked at you differently during our meeting with Amirthis morning.Asif he were amused by something.Wouldthat were the case. Riodan frowned. Nay, there was somethingmore to it. One doesnt openly look a guest over as if he wereinspecting him. It wasnt merely impolitic of him. He wasdisrespectful to you, Dy. I didnt like it.Neitherdid I, Dylen soberly admitted. Why think you did I invent aridiculous custom just so you could come with me?Theyceased talking when a palace attendant came to escort them to thedinner venue. It was one of the small dining chambers reserved foroccasions when the Asmaran royals wished to entertain guests inprivate. Riodan was more relieved than ever that he was with Dylenwhen they entered the room and found Malkon not alone as theydbeen led to believe but in the company of three other Deira. Somehow,he felt uncomfortable at the thought of Dylen having to deal withmore than just the Ferrenda lords attentions.Theothers were friends of his from the Terazan embassy, Malkon toldthem. He duly apologized for not informing them in advance that therewould be other guests present. Riodan believed neither statement.TheseDeira did not comport themselves like diplomats nor did they behavelike upper crust folk who alone would pass as suitable company forsomeone as class conscious as Malkon. It was possible they reallywere from Teraz, but as that country had once been old Varadansstaunchest allyits ruling family was closely related by blood andmarriage to the Ferrendas to this dayhe deduced that these weresympathizers of the deposed royal house of the defunct nation. Healso suspected Malkon had not felt confident about meeting with themalone and thus had provided security for himself accordingly. As forthe apology, Riodan set it aside for the obvious insincerity that itwas.Themeal started out pleasantly enough. Conversation ran along strictlyconventional lines. As Riodan expected, Malkons so-calledfriends contributed little in the way of sparkling repartee andlet him do most of the talking.Thefood was surprisingly lavish for such a small dinner. Malkonobviously wanted to impress his guests with his wealth andsophistication. Riodan had to refrain from rolling his eyes severaltimes during the course of the evening as their host took it uponhimself to regale them