"This is Kieran vel Solande." He gestured to the brown- haired, blue-eyed Fey who always seemed to be smiling. "He is the son of Marissya and Dax, and as you may have already learned, he enjoys a good joke. There are none among all the Fey who can wield Earth better than he." Four hundred fifty years old, Kieran was the last child born to the Fey people. Though he had only recently completed the final level of the Dance of Knives and earned the right to guard a shei'tani outside the Fading Lands, he was so strong in Earth, Air, Spirit, and Fire that Rain had not hesitated to appoint him to Ellysetta's quintet.

"This is Kiel vel Tomar." The lean, blond-haired, blue- eyed Fey bowed low with a supple grace that exceeded even Fey standards. "He is a master of Water magic. He likes small children, and they usually like him, though it appears your Lorelle may have a different opinion." The black eye and scratches Kiel had earned yesterday had healed considerably thanks to the natural Fey recuperative powers, but he still bore the marks of Lorelle's displeasure.

"These two are Rowan and Adrial vel Arquinas." Rain gestured to the two black-haired, brown-eyed Fey who closely resembled one another. "They are brothers. Rowan is a master of Fire, and Adrial is unbeatable in Air." Both were also strongly gifted in Earth.

"Twins?" Lauriana asked.

"Nei. There are seventy-three years between them." Her look of surprise amused him. "That makes them almost cradle-friends by Fey standards.”

"And this"—Rain clapped a hand on his friend's leather- clad shoulder—"this is Belliard vel Jelani. The oldest and fiercest of all Fey warriors, and my friend. Bel is a master of Spirit." He was also a master of every elemental magic save Earth, which to his undying shame he could not wield at all. He had walked the earth for more than 1,400 years and was now the oldest unmated Fey warrior in the Fading Lands, a fact that made Rain both proud of and afraid for his friend. It would not be long before the burden of the many deaths on Bel's soul either sent him to eternal rest or eternal wandering as an outcast, a dahl'reisen, one of the death-and sorrow-shadowed lost souls who were forever banished from the Fading Lands.

"Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. Each of these `strangers' I sent to guard your daughter masters one of the four elemental magics and the one mystic that we wield. Alone, they are more powerful in their particular magic than any Fey you are ever likely to meet. Together, they are nearly invincible. I sent the best warriors of the Fading Lands to protect your daughter, Master Baristani. Each of them has pledged his steel and his life to keep her safe. They will remain by her side whenever she is not by mine.”

"Well …" said Sol, eyeing the Fey warriors with new respect.

"And as for bringing you into this court to air your private affairs, I would never have done so had Den Brodson not tried to use your legal system to rob me of my shei'tani. King Dorian and Marissya persuaded me that this was the best way to handle the situation. It was not done to bring shame. The Fey are a very proud people, though I have not done them honor since entering Celieria. With your permission, I would begin anew”

With grave graciousness, Rain Tairen Soul bowed low before the spectacled mortal who, at less than one-tenth his age, would—gods willing—be his bond-father in the not too distant future. "Blessings and peace on the house of my beloved. Life, soul, steel, and magic I do pledge to her protection. May I prove worthy of her trust." In Feyan, then in Celierian, Rain spoke the traditional words of a courting Fey warrior to his mate's family. That much honor, at least, he could do this man, after all the unintentional dishonor Rain had shown him thus far.

Rain bowed again. "These are the words a Fey warrior speaks to the family of the woman he courts." He had spoken those words once before, to Sariel's parents more than eleven hundred years ago. Then, he had failed in his pledge. Sariel had joined him in the matebond and died while under his protection. It would not happen again.

After a moment, Sol held out a hand. "I welcome you as a suitor for my daughter's hand. And I thank you for the honor you do my house." He smiled a little. "Those are the words Celierian fathers speak to young men who come courting their daughters in the proper fashion.”

Rain stared at the extended hand in surprise. It took him a moment to realize he was supposed to shake it. Fey senses being what they were, the Fey did not use touch as casually as other races did, especially not the skin-to-skin contact favored by the non-Fey of the earth. Still, to refuse this handshake would be to insult his prospective bond-father.

Rain clasped his hand carefully around the smaller man's and was pleased to sense almost no darkness in the woodcarver. The brightness of his spirit was refreshing, and it proved that he was an honest, humble man who was happy in his life and his family. As Sol shook his hand, his thoughts poured freely into Rain's mind. Out of respect for the man's privacy, Rain tried to block most of them out, but he could not prevent himself from hearing the thoughts concerning Ellie's happiness, her safety, and Sol's related concerns about the security of his family.

Though Rain would have liked to erase the man's fears, he could not promise more than he already had. Danger always courted the Fey people. They had too much power, too much wealth, too much that other races coveted.

"For a Fey, the blessing of a truemate is the greatest gift that can be bestowed. Master Baristani, you have my thanks for guarding her so well and for keeping her safe until now. I add my strength and vigilance to your own until the honor of protecting her becomes mine alone.”