Isla’s tent was not far down the path. When they ducked inside she led the way to the back where a wicker chair sat behind a shelf of clothing.

“Sit down,” she ordered.

Idris let go of Cora and sank into the chair, eyes closed.

Cora looked around at the racks and shelves surrounding the back of the counter, blocking their view of the rest of the tent.

Isla disappeared around another rack of clothing and reappeared with a bag. “Here. It’s not much but it’s better than nothing.” She took one look at Idris and set the bag on the counter. Then she turned to Cora, looking her over as if examining her. “Are you alright Cora? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Cora swallowed and nodded. “Yeah.”

Isla nodded. “Come and sit down.” She indicated a wooden three-legged stool that sat behind the counter. “My brother needs to rest to regain his strength.”

“Oh,” Cora said, moving slowly to sit on the stool. She kept her eyes on Idris. He looked like he was asleep. She could not remember a time she had felt so worried about another person. “Is he going to be ok?” she asked in a whisper.

“Yes,” Isla answered with a smile. “His gift requires a lot of energy.”

“Oh,” Cora said again.

Isla smiled and brushed her shoulder. “Let me fix your hair while you wait. Ok?”

“Um… ok.” Nobody had ever asked that before. The older woman’s presence directly behind her had her tensing up again.

Isla used her fingers to go through the tangled mess that used to be a braid. As she worked through Cora’s hair, Isla talked. Her words came out soft and slow, releasing the tension along with the tangles.

“I’m not one to pry into other’s lives, but I know you’re new to Phaedra. You probably have a lot of questions.” She paused to put the old rubber band that Cora had used as a hair tie down on the counter. “It’s not often that accidents like that happen, thank the Ancient Magic.”

Cora frowned. “Everybody talks about this Ancient Magic. What is it?” She had not intended to ask the question that had been on her mind, but something about the gentle woman made her feel safe.

“Oh,” Isla said, sounding surprised. “You don’t know it yet…”

Cora shook her head.

“The Ancient Magic is what created our world. It lives within every living thing. It’s what sets the Gifted apart,” Isla answered.

Cora glanced at Idris who appeared to be sleeping. “That’s it? Everyone makes it out to be this big deal…”

“It is.” Isla paused again. “The Ancient Magic is what created the shield bond, what brings life and death and purpose.”

“Sounds crazy…” Cora muttered.

“Don’t you have anything like that where you come from?” Isla asked.

Cora shook her head. “Nothing.”

Isla fell silent for a moment before murmuring, “How lonesome that must be.”

Cora opened her mouth to argue but closed it again. “It is what it is,” she said instead. “Are you a shield?” she asked when the silence that fell between them grew thick.

“No,” Isla answered. “Not everyone gets that honor.”

“Honor?” Cora asked. It seemed more like an inconvenience to her. That thought put a weight in her chest.

“Yes. To be trusted with someone else’s life is a great honor.” She rested a hand on Cora’s shoulder. “It is one that most people do not get.” She paused again and Cora saw her hand reach for a brush out of the corner of her eye. She flinched away when the woman brought it near. “It’s alright, Cora. I’ll move slowly. This is just to get the last of the tangles out.”

Cora sucked in a breath and forced herself not to move. The brush was softer than she expected and it pulled out the tangles with relative ease.

“I am curious,” Isla spoke again as she ran the brush through Cora’s hair. “What brought you and my brother together.”

“Seth,” Cora answered flatly.

Isla laughed. “That is not surprising. He has a way of breaking down barriers.” She set the brush down and once again her fingers were in Cora’s hair. “Idris has been asked to be a shield before, you know.”

Cora’s eyes flicked back to the man sleeping in the chair. “He has?”

“Yes. His magic is very powerful…”

“He rebuilt the stands that fell,” Cora said, thinking over what had happened. She turned the sweet roll over in her hands, glad it was wrapped up in paper. Slowly, she moved her cloak aside to set the roll on the counter.

“What’s that?” Isla asked.

Cora shrugged. “A sweet roll. Seth thought I needed it.”

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Isla laughed again. “Of course he did.” She removed her fingers from Cora’s hair and stepped around to face her. Her smile grew as she looked over the results of her work. “Beautiful.”

Cora felt her face heat up. “What are you talking about?”

“You, honey. Hang on.” She disappeared and Cora listened to her footsteps and then the sound of a sliding drawer.

She lifted her hands to her hair. The bumps and ridges felt smooth and intentional, carefully woven together.

“Don’t pull it out. I just did it.” Isla reappeared in front of her with a mirror. “Look.” She held it up in front of Cora.

The face looking back at her was clean. Dark freckles replaced the dirt that had always been there and brown eyes were bright and clear. The dark hair that was once a mess of mats and tangles pulled into a braid now looked shiny and smooth. A few stray strands were all that hung around her face.

Cora lifted a hand to touch the face she did not recognize. “Is that… me?”

“It is,” Isla said. “Your new clothes fit well too.”

Cora looked down. They did fit, better than anything she had ever worn. “Oh…” she murmured.

“You’re awake!” Isla said suddenly.

Cora startled and looked around. Idris sat in the chair, awake and watching.

“Yeah. Thanks Isla.” His voice already sounded stronger than it had when they had arrived.

“Of course. Here.” She grabbed the bag from the counter and passed it to him. “Eat something before you go.”

He took the bag and pulled out a sandwich. The smell reminded Cora of the air near the harbor, mixed with the spices that permeated the rest of the market.

“What about you?” Isla asked, facing Cora again. “Are you hungry?”

Cora glanced at the roll she had set on the counter.

“For some real food, I mean,” Isla said, following her gaze.

“Um…” she started.

“Of course you are,” Isla interrupted before she could come up with an answer. “Here.” She opened a drawer behind the counter in front of the stool Cora sat on and produced a bright red fruit. “It’s not much but it’s better than nothing.”

Cora took it with a murmured, “Thanks.” She turned it over in her hands before taking a tentative bite. It was tougher than she had expected, and not nearly as sweet as the roll Seth had given her.

Isla stepped back and folded her arms in front of her chest. “You both look much better now. I’m glad I found you.” She turned her eyes on Idris as he finished the sandwich. “You’re doing a good job.”

“Thanks,” he responded, handing her the bag.

She shook her head. “I don’t need it. You can take the rest with you.”

“Alright.” He stood up and met Cora’s eyes. “Are you ready to go?”

“Are you?” she challenged, thinking of the way he had leaned on her just to get to Isla’s tent.

He nodded. “I’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

Cora hesitated, looking for signs of weakness. “Are you sure?”

“He’ll be alright,” Isla confirmed, resting a hand on Cora’s shoulder. Then the older woman surprised her by wrapping her in a tight embrace. “I’m so glad you came here,” she said as she let go. “You take good care of her now.” She aimed the comment at her brother.

“I’m fine…” Cora muttered, joining Idris.

Outside the tent, the marketplace looked as if nothing had happened. People still walked the paths, stopping at stands or ducking into tents. “Where are we going?” she asked when she did not see any signs that they were nearing the exit.

“The docks,” he answered.

“Oh…” She had forgotten all about their destination before he had been called to rebuild the fallen stands. “Isla said that’s your gift,” she thought out loud.

“Sort of.”

“What does that mean?” Cora asked, looking over at him.

He let out a sigh. “My gift is the ability to manipulate the ground.”

“Oh…” Both Seth and Isla had told her that he was powerful, but to manipulate the ground sounded beyond imagination. “But it takes a lot of energy,” she commented.

“Yes.”

Cora looked down. The bottom of her cloak brushed her legs as she walked. She frowned at her feet. “Then why do you do it?” She could not imagine giving that much of herself to help strangers. If it was me, I would hide a gift like that.

Idris remained quiet for a few paces before answering. “Because it is my job. The Ancient Magic gave me this power for a reason.”

There he goes again, talking about how everything happens for a reason. “What if it didn’t?”

“What if it did?” he challenged, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

She smelled the change in the air as they neared the edge of the marketplace and changed the subject.

“We made it.” As she said it, they stepped out from under the maze of tents.

Above them, the clear sky stretched every direction as far as she could see, and in front of them the water seemed to go on forever as well, its surface moved in ripples of blue and white. Overhead, sea birds called, flying from boats to the tops of shops. Their feathers shone bright white in the sun.

“Of course we did,” Idris commented, turning left to walk along a line of stands that faced the docks.

To their right, wooden boards connected land to water in a long walkway that seemed to stretch the length of the marketplace. The boards jutted out at regular intervals, extending paths out over the water. Boats moved up and down with the small waves that rippled across the surface in an odd sort of dance. The smallest one looked like it would only fit two or three people with what looked like a sheet hanging on a pole that stuck up in between two benches. It was parked next to what had to be the largest. With several of the sheets hung up in a line down the center of the boat.

“Wow…”

As they passed the large boat, two women in sea green cloaks hurried over from the section of docks that stretched out beside it.

“Hello there, stranger,” the first woman greeted with a wide smile. Her red hair was pulled into a ponytail and the clothes she wore looked worn and dirty. Still, her tone was light and joyful, as if she had not a single worry.

“Hello Lizzy, hello Bay,” Idris responded.

The names she had heard more than once sparked in Cora’s mind.

“Hello.” The second woman spoke more quietly. Slightly shorter than the first woman, her hair was black as night and when Cora looked down she saw what looked like a round piece of wood in place of one of her legs.

“What brings you to our end of the region?” the first woman asked, glancing at Cora with bright green eyes.

“Just looking for fresh food to bring home,” Idris answered. “Do you have anything from the islands?”

The woman clapped her hands together and turned toward the far end of the docks. “As a matter of fact, we just traded a batch of mixed fruits and nuts to Talia and Rowan down at that end just this morning. You know they are going to make something amazing with it.”

Cora watched the second woman as they started forward, walking in the direction the first woman had pointed. She held her head high, walking with confidence, and a slight limp. Her clothes were not as worn looking as the first woman’s.

“So, is this the new girl I’ve heard about?” The first woman turned on Cora, walking backwards and raising her brows as she looked her over. “You must be Cora. I’m Lizzy and this is Bay.” She indicated the second woman who smiled a silent greeting.

“Yeah… hi…” Cora responded.

She looked from Cora to Idris and back. “How did the two of you end up together?”

“Seth,” Cora answered, amazed that Lizzy had not tripped over the uneven walkway.

“Seth?” she repeated

“Cora is a friend of Seth. He brought her to Mattias when she was hurt,” Idris explained.

“I see.” Lizzy put on a thoughtful expression before turning around. “You’re going to make some people quite envious, you know.”

“Why?” Cora asked without thinking. The idea that anyone might be envious of her seemed absurd.

Lizzy looked at her without turning around this time. “Because, you have one of the most powerful shields in Phaedra, my friend.”

Cora glanced at Idris, questions multiplying. Instead of letting them out, she chose silence as they neared the end of the line of shops across from the dock.