The first thing she saw was the Othra on their pillars. Keethior wasn’t at court regularly, so he didn’t have his own pillar, but Nirral, Efir, and Eemia, the three Othra she knew well from previous adventures, all stood on their pillars, facing the door. Keethior perched on a round table near the aisle that led to the platform at the front of the room, where the elders sat. Isika saw a servant eying the giant bird, possibly wondering whether he could dare to shoo away an Othra who was shedding small feathers on some of the better furniture.
Just try it, thought Isika, smiling to herself. Even she, the supposed master of this giant, unruly bird, wouldn’t dare try to make him do anything he didn’t feel like doing. The servant apparently came to the same conclusion, because Keethior continu
