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the builder, or Torgrimm himself had arranged their dual-genderedness against all intentions. And why? Was it just a game to the god or goddess involved, or did they simply object to a race that could not breed with itself? However it had happened, his presence threw her off. Vael protected their menfolk even more fiercely than the Aern protected their daughters. . . . What was he doing out here?
    â€œWhat’s wrong with it?” Roc asked too loudly, shocking Wylant out of her reverie.
    â€œRoc!” Mazik thumped him on the back of the head before Wylant had the chance.
    â€œNot all Vael choose to strip their bark,” Tran answered with a smile. “Any more than we all choose to score or prune our dental ridges so they appear more like teeth. I strip my bark in summer sometimes, but not always. Think of it like shaving off a beard, if that helps.”
    â€œOh. Yes. Of course,” Roc fumbled.
    â€œI need to speak with Queen Kari,” Wylant said. “It’s about the Zaur. And we need to discuss the impending Conjunction.”
    â€œYou may enter, of course,” Tran said. “You are welcome in The Parliament of Ages, kholster Wylant, and always shall be as long as you are Aiannai.”
    â€œGeneral,” Hira corrected, looking lost even as he spoke, as if he knew he shouldn’t have spoken but could not stop himself. “She is not an Aern.”
    â€œOf course she is,” Tran said matter-of-factly, waving away all thoughts to the contrary with a dismissive air. “By marriage. Her Sidearms, of course, may not enter.”
    â€œWhy not?” Roc blurted.
    â€œShall we recite the names of your victims, mighty Roc?” Tran’s eyes narrowed. “Your reputations precede you, Sidearms. It has been many years since a recitation has been needed, but the names have not been lost even if none alive recall the specific acts you committed.”
    â€œKam may enter,” Arri said, still hidden by the forest. “If he swears himself an Aiannai and foreswears his Eldrennai heritage. I have no authority to grant him scars to wear in the manner of kholster Wylant, but he has no list of names to face, no litany.”
    â€œAnd he can’t be grabby,” Malli put in. “Don’t forget that. I’m not walking around wearing a samir over my face just because some dumb stump-eared male can’t control himself.”
    â€œI know Vael are supposed to be supernaturally attractive to the Eldrennai,” Kam blustered, “but—”
    Malli stepped out of the forest. A scent like royal garden roses filled Wylant’s nostrils. Uled had once explained to her the effect Vael had on Eldrennai had as much to do with scent as it did their appearance. Small, lithe, and ample bosomed, Malli wore tight doeskin leggings which stopped at mid-calf, exposing the curve of her shapely leg and silvery birch-bark–colored skin. Her heavily beaded top was equally form fitting, even though it covered the skin from the top of her neck to her wrists.
    Short purple shoots adorned her head, a crown of almost hair, like some cross between orchid petals and actual hair. Lips tinted that same purple hue quirked into a smile, revealing carefully pruned dental ridges that looked very much like actual teeth.
    â€œHi, Kam,” Malli purred.
    Kam’s response was an animal grunt which Wylant assumed to have been intended as a greeting.
    â€œDon’t shoot this one in the knee, okay, Molls?” Tran said softly.
    â€œCan you talk, Kam?” Wylant asked.
    â€œI . . . uh . . . I,” was his only immediate reply, broken up by laughter from Frip, Frindo, and Ponnod. Kam seemed not to notice, lost in the deep violet pools of Malli’s eyes.
    â€œIt’s almost not fair for a creature that enchanting to be the first flower girl the boy’s ever seen,” Hira said breathily.
    â€œSo that’s settled