Late spring in Fundis is far warmer than either Markus or Katrina had been prepared for. There is what could almost be described as a collective gasp of surprise when they shift into the grounds of the embassy.

“Jack, will you show the staff where to get settled in and Jamie and myself will show our guests to their accommodations,” Alexs tells him as soon as they arrive. “I’ve probably got some local clothing that Markus can wear until we get to the beach shops, but perhaps you can see if anyone can find something that Katrina might wear for today?”

“Of course, my lord. I shall see what the girls on staff have available, or quickly send one of them out to get something suitable. If there’s anything amiss in the guest rooms, I’ll get that sorted out before dinner.”

“I’m sure our guests will forgive anything we’ve overlooked. We were not expecting to have visitors staying.”

“Of course,” Markus agrees amiably. “Is it always as warm as this?”

“No, not at all,” Jamie tells him with a smile. “Now, in spring it is quite pleasant, but once we get to high summer, it will become almost unbearable. Winter here is more like the summers you get further south.”

Alex and Jamie have what is effectively a self-contained apartment on the upper floor, but it only occupies about half of the space available. The rest is given over to two very well-appointed suites for visiting guests. As these guests may be anyone, up-to and including royalty, they are very well furnished and have a full range of the finest conveniences. Jamie and Catheon worked out the plumbing and floor plans together and, to those not used to running hot and cold water, it can be quite a shock.

“From what I’ve seen of Fionor facilities, a quick guide might be needed,” Alex tells his guests as he shows them the bathroom. It is ornately tiled in glazed white tiles and a floor of marble. “The wheels on the walls control the flow of water. Hot on the left and cold on the right. There is plenty of both available, should you wish to bathe, but we mostly prefer to shower. That’s the cubicle with its own valves, over here. Let the hot run for a moment for it to flow through.”

“I’d heard great things about Master Catheon and his manipulation of water,” Markus remarks. “This is actually more than I expected. I’ve seen a water commode before, but the idea of a shower of hot water sounds wonderful.”

“It is. Spending time on the sands or swimming in the salt-water of the ocean does make one itch a little. Rinsing off is a delight,” Jamie agrees. “I see that towels need to be provided yet, but I’m sure Jack has that in hand. Still, I’ll go and hurry him along.”

“Thank you, Jamie.”

“Oh, here’s one of the girls with everything now,” Alex says as he opens the door to step out. “Did we find something for the lady to wear?”

“Yes, my lord. We have a selection. I also have towels and spare linen.”

“Excellent. Markus, Katrina, if you’ll join us downstairs whenever you are ready?”

“Yes, we’ll be just a few minutes.” Their two servants are just a few yards behind the housemaid, still uncertain of their bearings in a strange house.

Once in their own quarters, Jamie and Alex change quickly. Both are delighted to get out of formal attire and into more heat-friendly local clothing.

“It’s nice to spend time with people near to our own age,” Jamie tells Alex as they change. Even more so when they seem so level-headed and open-minded. Markus is not what I would have expected from our meetings with his uncle.”

“I like him,” Alex agrees. “Katrina as well. It’s almost enough to make one hope that King Callus never has an heir.”

“Don’t say such things. Although, he is on his second wife with little success so far. If I’m being totally honest, she looked more than a little unimpressed with life at his court.”

“Well, like Katrina, she’s from a much more open and accepting country than Fionor is right now. He really was trying to get a reaction out of me last night. For perhaps the first time, I realized that simply not reacting was having more of an effect than throwing him in a pool could ever achieve.”

“I’m proud of you, my husband,” Jamie tells him with a smile.

“What?”

“You’re finally growing up.”

“And you’ll pay for that later.”

Jack meets them at the foot of the stairs. “Everything is in order. I’ve taken the liberty of sending blankets, towels and four beach chairs down onto the sands. Should I provide drinks and light refreshments?”

“That would be wonderful,” Jamie replies. “It would be incredible if we could only have chilled drinks.”

“Was that a request?” Alex asks.

“Yes, please,” Jamie replies. He sees Alex close his eyes for a moment and senses a brief surge of magical energy.

“There’s glacial ice on the lawn,” Alex tells him with a smile. “That will have to do for now, but perhaps we should build an ice-house?”

“There’s only one more thing, love?”

“What else?”

“Was Shara going to return? He might like to meet our guests.”

“Well, here they are now. Why don’t you take them out onto the sands and I will ask him if he wishes to join us.”

Markus is dressed very similarly to Jamie and Alex. Water-ready short pants and a shirt that he can wear open or fastened up.

Katrina has chosen a similar pair of pants, tailored to the female form and stunningly tight. Her brightly-patterned top covers only her breasts, held by straps over her shoulders and more-or-less open at the back, it leaves her midriff bare. She’s holding a brightly coloured silk wrap and seems undecided. “I feel positively naked,” she confesses to Jamie as they head outside.

“Well, many women here wear the wrap like a skirt, sometimes off one shoulder and tied on the other side. It is easily removed for swimming or lying in the sun, but readily at hand for relaxing more modestly,” Jamie tells her. He manages to catch the eye of one of the housemaids as she crosses the courtyard and beckons her over to help.

“Is that more comfortable, dear,” Markus asks after Katrina is shown how to tie the cloth a couple of different ways and has picked one method to try herself.

“Very much so, darling. I think I can face the outside world with more confidence now.”

“Even I was slightly self-conscious at first,” Jamie tells her as they walk out of the gates and across the main road onto the sand. “I was only with Alex, but even so, taking off my shirt in public just seemed wrong. My advice is to relax and enjoy yourself. No-one here knows who you are and everyone on the sands will be similarly attired.”

“Where did Alex go?” Markus asks. “Is he not joining us?”

“Oh, he went to see if we were to have another guest or not. He’ll be along in a few moments, one way or the other.”

As if on cue, Alex appears at the embassy gate, followed by a familiar four-legged shape. There are only a few people near to this end of the beach, but Shara is an imposing presence and immediately catches the attention of locals and visitors alike.

Once over the roadway, Shara takes off, bounding across the sands towards Jamie with more exuberance than usually expected from him. He piles into Jamie, knocking him off his feet into the soft sand. “Alex put you up to this, didn’t he?” Jamie asks from beneath the cat. Markus and Katrina have both stepped back in surprise, giving the leopard a respectable distance.

“It was his idea, yes,” Shara admits as he steps back and allows Jamie to get back to his feet. Turning to the two guests, Shara manages to look somewhat apologetic. “I’m sorry if I startled you,” he sends.

“We have heard about you, of course, but I’ve never expected to meet you,” Markus replies, recovering quickly from the suddenness of the leopard’s arrival. “Being in close proximity with large wild animals is not part of the human condition.”

“No, in most places this is true. Reactions are mixed. Instinct is a powerful force that shouldn’t be ignored. Humans are right to fear me. Failure to do so with another of my kind would be fatal. I am faster, stronger and better equipped to fight than a human, even one with a weapon in their hand.

“Being touched by the Flame of the West has broadened my abilities to allow me to speak with the minds of anyone I choose, rather than just those with magical ability themselves, but I still prefer to keep to myself.”

“Well, I am most pleased to meet you,” Katrina tells him. “I have never seen one of your kind before. You are larger than I expected.”

“That is the first impression that most humans I encounter share. They are used to domestic cats, perhaps lynx in some areas. My kind are much harder to see, although there are many of us across the continent. We leopards are perhaps not the largest cats on this world, but I do understand the reaction. Besides, on this continent, we are the largest by far.”

It's just late enough in the day for the worst of the heat to have gone from the sun, but still comfortably warm enough to swim and let the air do most of the drying. Katrina quickly loses her wrap and, noticing that several other women are bathing without concern for their attire, joins the three men in the warm water.

“How?” Markus manages as a chilled concoction of wine and fruit juices is placed in his hand by Jack when they return to sit on the chairs that have been placed for them on the sands.

“Magic,” Alex tells him with a grin.

“I can see why you both choose to spend so much time here,” Markus tells them. “It must be hard to find a more pleasant climate.”

“It does get a little too hot in the summer, really,” Jamie tells them. “Still, we can just go further south. Summer in Tanis is pleasant enough and it is nice to spend time with family there.”

“You do spend time in your other embassies, don’t you?” Katrina asks.

“Oh yes. We still prefer to be here most of the time, but it is not unusual to see us spend a week or two in any of our other outposts,” Alex agrees. “Our situation is unique. People travel here to spend a week in the sun, but it might take them a week or more to get here and the same to get home. It is a grand adventure for them. We can span the continent in a few moments and that takes a little of the excitement out of such travel.”

“We’re still finding our own way through this strange new life,” Jamie adds.

“Well, we can only thank you for bringing us along,” Katrina says. “Honestly, coming this far north would otherwise probably have been impossible for us. By road or ship, it is a journey of weeks if not months. These longer journeys are surely only for merchants and their guards.”

“Even as a guard, I’d never been to Fundis until we went in search of the Flame. Actually, if Haran hadn’t been trying to kill Jamie, I would not have come this way even then.”