She had not moved through any of it. She stood at the dais's right in her white armor with the seal hanging on her chest, and her face had been through six kinds of weather in a quarter hour. The whole assembled realm turned to look at her at once.
"I..." Her voice came out tiny. She cleared it. It came out tiny again. "Father, I don't..."
Her eyes went, helpless, over the floor, past the duke, up to the western gallery. To Feng Jiai, who was gripping the rail with both hands.
"Stop shaking, dummy!" the young jade beauty of Zhenwu called down, into the silence of the entire peerage. "I'll give you a few headpats afterward."
A wet little laugh broke out of Felicity. "Who wants your headpats?"
Her eyes found Quinlan next. The Primordial Villain had not moved from the rail, hands still on his girls' shoulders, and he did nothing at all except look back at her.
Then he nodded.
That was enough.
