Page 88 of Mikoto and the Reaver Village
“I’ve never named anyone before.”
Glint gave her hand a small squeeze. “There is no hurry.”
But Lilya thought maybe there was. Once people startedmaking suggestions, it would only become harder to decide. And if Kyrie proposedsomething, she knew she’d give in. So she asked, “How do you sayfriendin Old Amaranthine?”
With a faint smile, Glint pronounced something with too manysyllables and sharp edges.
“That doesn’t sound very friendly.”
He chuckled. “The old words aren’t in a hurry to make theirpoint.”
“Is there a word that means …yellow flower?”
Glint hummed and offered a few, but none of the words hesuggested sounded right.
“How aboutsigil?”
Patiently, he translated all of her suggestions.
Lilya reached out to tug at the hem of his tunic. “Is therea word for this?”
“Embroidery?” Glint almost laughed and offered anothercomplicated phrase.
“This embroidery is prettier than anything I’ve seen, but itdoesn’t make a very pretty name.”
“Thank you.” He searched her face and gently asked, “May I giveyou a word that is close to your suggestion?”
Lilya supposed they were in this together. “Yes, please.”
“Ribbon isrifflet.”
“Oooh,” she breathed. “I like that.”
“I do, too.” Chuffing Lilya’s passenger under his chin,Glint asked, “Do you approve, little dragon?”
He answered with a light trill.
Lilya couldn’t help wondering how much he understood. “May Icall you Rifflet?” she asked.
Once again, the sweet voice touched her mind. To heramazement, he spoke her name. Or her borrowed one.Angel.
She almost corrected him, but she remembered just in time thatRadiance wanted her to hide her identity for as long as possible.
At the Starmark residence, Glint urged her to follow thethree pups inside. Lyre, Lute, and Lore tumbled through the door, vanishing towardthe back of the house. Radiance didn’t appear to be home, and Glint peeredthoughtfully out the window.
Eventually, he asked, “Will you stay? Radiance will want tomeet Rifflet, and I have had a message sent. You see, I have been out of pocketfor several days, so I cannot say for certain where our dragon might be. But Iknow who to ask.”
“I’ll stay,” she agreed.
Glint poured two glasses of chilled tea and even offered abit in a saucer to Rifflet. Then he led Lilya to a sort of side room. It was alittle like an alcove in that it was curtained off instead of walled off. Butalcovesounded small, and Glint’s office—for that’s what it must be—was spacious.
Ducking past heavily embroidered drapes that sang withsigilcraft, Lilya peered around an area that was both orderly and cluttered atthe same time.
“Yulin will be here shortly,” said Glint. He’d gone to atable that was easily as large as the one in Stately House’s dining room. Onlyinstead of using it to feed crossers, Glint had turned it into his desk. Ledgerslay in rows along one side, and Lilya had never seen books so big. Their pages weretaller than the communiques that Papka collected. Wider, too, since she couldsee that many of them folded out.
By their thickness and shimmer, she guessed the paper wasDimityblest-made. And well warded. Lilya might not be able to create sigils,but she could feel them just fine.
Glint gently unfolded one of the pages and traced his fingeralong a line.
