After a brief hesitation and a slightly dazed glance at Rain, Ellysetta returned the hug.

"Let her breathe, kem'alia," Loris chided, touching his mate's arm. "She is used to shei'dalin restraint, not your exuberance."

Nalia laughed, unoffended, and pulled back. "Sieks'ta, Feyreisa. I forget myself. Long ago, when I was a child, my mother would shake her head and sigh in fear of what havoc I would wreak on the world. She always thanked the gods for sending me Loris. He smoothed the worst of my rough edges."

"She should have been named Nimshorra, the whirlwind, instead of Nimalia, the windflower," Loris said with a fond look for his mate.

Rain touched Ellysetta's elbow lightly and directed her attention to the next matepair. "And this is Nurian v'En Soma, Spirit master, and his shei'tani, Sianna. Nurian is a very old friend and bond kinsman. Sariel was the daughter of his cousin."

"Las te miora a vo, Feyreisa," Lord Nurian murmured. "Peace and joy upon you." The Spirit master and his mate were as dark as Loris and Nalia were fair. Lord Nurian bowed, the folds of his robes swirling gracefully about him, while his shei'tani, Sianna, smiled warmly enough but kept her hands clasped firmly at her waist. She was not half so effervescent as Nalia.

"Beylah vo," Ellysetta murmured. "I'm honored to meet you both."

Rain introduced the next couple. "Ellysetta, may it please you, this is Air master Eimar v'En Arran and his truemate, Jisera."

Eimar's sun-bright locks were threaded with tiny crystal bells that sang with every shift of his head, but his eyes were clear and cold as a winter sky. Rain wasn't completely certain what welcome Ellysetta would receive from him, until Eimar's tiny, dark shei'tani offered a shy smile and told Ellysetta, "My brother, Lothan, is among those whose souls you restored. His return brings my heart much joy."

At that, Eimar bowed his head, crystal bells tinkling, and said, "Meivelei, Feyreisa, te sallan'meilissis a vo."

Earth master Yulan v'En Belos and his shei'tani, Mahri, greeted Ellysetta with a noncommittal reserve similar to that of Nurian and his mate. Last, they came to the Fire master Tenn v'En Eilan, a Fey with whom Rain had butted heads on numerous occasions.

"Tenn is the leader of the Massan," he told her. "His brother Johr was the Feyreisen when I found my wings. Tenn's shei'tani, Venarra, is the keeper of the Hall of Scrolls." Tenn, who was constantly comparing Rain to his dead Feyreisen brother, was the source of much of Rain's tension with the Massan. And Rain knew he hadn't managed to hide that tension when Ellysetta's fingers flinched on his wrist.

"Lord v'En Eilan." Ellysetta inclined her head and fought to remain open-minded towards the leader of the Massan, but it was difficult when Rain's emotions were flaring against her fingertips despite his efforts to keep them caged.

The Fire master's robes shimmered like flames leaping in a hearth. His hair, brown and cropped to shoulder-length, held glints of gold and red, and his eyes were dark cinnamon shot with sparks of gold. His fire-kissed gaze made her belly clench tight, but she couldn't tell how much of that instinctive reaction was her own and how much was a reflection of the emotions emanating from Rain.

She turned her gaze quickly to Tenn's truemate, a black-haired, black-eyed beauty who seemed only slightly more welcoming. "Lady v'En Eilan."

"I understand you have quite an interest in Fey legends and poetry, Feyreisa," Venarra said. The shei'dalin's dark eyes pierced Ellysetta. A foreign consciousness brushed across Ellysetta's senses, probing lightly. Ellysetta narrowed her eyes and slammed her mental shields shut so hard and fast the shei'dalin flinched.

"I do indeed." Ellysetta held the other woman's gaze steadily. Rain shifted so close his arm rubbed against hers. "I've devoured everything I could find about the Fey since I was a child. Little did I realize I was learning about my own heritage."

Venarra inclined her head. "Rain has suggested I show you the Hall of Scrolls. It will be my honor to do so tomorrow, after the tairen sing to the Eye."

With their introductions to the Feyreisa over, the Massan turned to greet Bel, Tajik, and the rest of Ellysetta's blood-sworn quintet. Ellysetta watched them closely, waiting to see how they would welcome Gaelen. She didn't realize how tightly her nerves were wound until the brush of Rain's hand over hers nearly made her jump out of her skin.

«Las, shei'tani,» he whispered on a private weave. «You look fierce as a mother tairen guarding her kits. Gaelen does not need your protection.»

Only then did she realize her fingers were knotted in fists and her jaw was clenched so tightly her back teeth ached. For herself, she accepted the suspicion of the Massan, but not for Gaelen. «He has suffered enough. Can they not just welcome him?»

«He knew he would find more suspicion than welcome when he returned to the Fading Lands. This is the path he chose to walk.»

All five of the Massan wore expressions of impenetrable stone, and their truemates had begun to glow with gathering power. Even smiling, friendly Nalia looked formidable.

Marissya stepped between her brother and the Massan. "You need not Truthspeak Gaelen. I did so the day the Feyreisa restored his soul, and the Mists let him pass without challenge."

Ellysetta could feel her own magic rising. The memory of what had happened to her in the Mists was still painfully fresh in her mind. If these shei'dalins dared attempt to Truthspeak Gaelen against his will…well, Marissya wouldn't be the only one stepping to Gaelen's defense.