Cloud’s seemingly endless patience frayed a little more at that, for he exhaled deeply and audibly.
He opened his mouth to most likely deliver an elegant rebuke, but was intercepted by a newcomer’s voice.
“Shi-ge, how happy I am to find you here. ’Tis been an age since you’ve visited the Four Seas. Fare thee well?”
All three males turned toward the small figure who approached.
She was average height by Western measurements, somewhat tall for Eastern standards. Which was to say, she was about a foot shorter than their six and a half feet height, give or take a couple of inches.
What made her seem small was the graceful, lean lines of her body and her finely-boned, oval face with its sharply pointed chin. Her features were intricately drawn, reminding Ere of fairies.
Except, somehow, she seemed even more otherworldly.
Straight-lashed, almond-shaped eyes tilted alluringly under black, slashing brows. They were a color Ere had never seen before on another person. A violet-blue that sparkled with streaks of metallic luster. Like crystal shards of lapis lazuli under a blistering sun.
A small nose led to a small mouth, made even smaller by the way she pursed them humorlessly. Short, platinum white hair waved about her face, the only softness in her otherwise ascetic countenance. Sapphire studs sparkled in each ear, all around the shells and dangling from almost invisible threads from each lobe.
They were the only adornment on her person.
She was dressed conservatively in traditional Chinese robes of a hue that matched the darkest blue in her eyes. With gold and bronze piping at the edges, the same metallic thread running in subtle patterns throughout the fabric.
A long-sleeved shirt fit her figure precisely, with woven buttons that ran down the middle all the way from the collared neck to the hip-length hem. Loose, flowing trousers of the same design and material encased her legs, obscuring their shape, the bottoms tucked into well-worn, comfortable-looking calf-high boots.
A leather strap crossed diagonally over her chest. Ere could see just the hint of a sword hilt over her shoulder.
She stood alertly, back straight, neck arched, hands clasped behind her waist. It was an almost militaristic stance, especially paired with her austere ensemble and coolly aloof expression, which belied the warmth of her greeting.
Though she looked as fragile as the finest porcelain, Ere could sense immeasurable strength beneath the surface.
She was not strictly beautiful, nor even particularly feminine. Perhaps she bound her breasts, for he could not detect any. Her waist was extremely narrow, but so were her hips. If not for her husky, womanly voice and those exotic, almost feline eyes, she could pass for a prepubescent boy.
But she was interesting.
The longer one looked upon her, the longer one wanted to look.
She was…arresting.
And obviously, she was far more than met the eye.
To Ere’s surprise, Cloud smiled warmly upon seeing her. He stepped right up to the stiff-postured porcupine and cupped her narrow shoulders with his long-fingered hands, lowering his forehead to meet hers.
“Shi-mei, I have missed you. And my other brothers and sisters also. It has been too long.”
They both closed their eyes, resting their foreheads against each other for a couple of seconds, before Cloud stepped back and released her.
“These are my friends,” he introduced, gesturing to his accompaniments.
“Erebu and Sorin. They, too, are here to answer the Jade Emperor’s summons.”
“You can call me Ere,” he said with his most charming smile. “Pronounced Eh-rrray. Sounds rather naughty if you roll the Rs.”
He winked.
“Which is exactly what I am.”
Her expression never changed, not even a flicker.
“I am Rui,” she greeted with a formal bow, bending ninety degrees from the waist.