Dried, fluffed, and dressed in clothes that smelled oddly like nothing at all, Onussa led Kyrae and me back almost toward where we’d bought our clothes. This time, however, the ssyri’zh turned off onto a busy street filled with shops much like Ynna’s.

I felt a pang of guilt when I remembered my old boss. Sorry. It wasn’t like I could do anything that wouldn’t just make things worse, either.

I don’t like feeling powerless. I glanced at the shadows between the tightly-packed buildings, and they called to me. I shook away the feeling, a chill washing over me. I don’t know if I want power like that though…

Those moments in the alley, dying? No matter what, I’d never forget them.

“Issa, are you okay?” Kyrae asked.

I breathed in to reply and the smell of cooking meat hit me. I exhaled slowly, suddenly very hungry. “Yeah Kyrae, I’m fine.”

My sister narrowed her eyes at me.

“Just thinking about what I want to eat!” I smiled widely.

“You have plenty of options!” Onussa chuckled over her shoulder, sweeping an arm around to the densely-packed food stalls lining the already narrow street. “Pick anywhere you’d like and get as much as you want—as long as you eat all of it.”

My eyes went wide. “Really?”

Onussa nodded, and I dashed toward the stalls, my tail tip kicking up flakes of dirt from the road.

Behind me, I heard Kyrae whisper, “You might have made a mistake, Onussa.”

I reached the first stall, and ordered four—no six—skewers, pointing to Onussa behind me when asked about payment.

The ssyri’zh smiled warmly and slithered forward, paying. I was through three by the time she’d finished. Others in hand and really starting to feel my hunger, I darted for another stall, this one selling river fish.

I missed the big ocean fish from Ess’Siijiil. And the mangrove crabs. And some of the lizards. But Ess’Sylantziis had variety, and spices I’d never tasted before.

Onussa followed me, her smile straining as I got more and more food. Kyrae might have whispered an “I told you so” somewhere in the mix, but it was too much of a whirlwind for me to really remember.

Eventually, I was able to focus on more than food and found myself with a plate I’d gotten somewhere piled with half a dozen types of food. The others had both gotten food as well: Kyrae had a balanced mix of various plants and fruits with a small portion of meat. Like me, however, Onussa had mostly taken meat.

“It’s fine…” the ssyri’zh whispered to herself. “She needs it. The Temple will cover it.”

Kyrae giggled, and I couldn’t help but join in.

“Please eat all of that, Issa.” Onussa looked worriedly at my plate.

“I can totally finish all this!” I asserted confidently. I really did feel like I could. Probably.

Onussa sighed. “Well, we can find a place to eat here, or we can go to my place for a bit—it’s close to here anyway.”

We’d found a thankfully sunny alcove, but the street around us was busy—and getting even busier. Do I trust Onussa enough?

Kyrae and I met gazes. My sister shrugged, passing the decision off to me.

My stomach rumbled and I ate a fish while I thought. Onussa and I were packed in, and the street was a mess of tails and dirt… I like being clean.

“Okay.” I nodded. “Let’s go—but if you try anything, I’ll use my powers!”

The shadows seemed to shudder in anticipation at my declaration, but hot food was more than enough to take both my mind and the unnatural chill away.

Onussa lowered her upper body in a show of deference. “I wouldn’t dream trying anything untoward to you or anyone, Issa.”

“Good! Let’s go then!” I moved out of the alley, Kyrae by my side. Onussa slithered awkwardly around in front of us and started back the way we’d come.

Onussa led us to a small mud-brick home that sprouted greenery from a walled garden in the back. We were taken to the garden, through the ssyri’zh’s ascetic living space where she and Kyrae grabbed simple clay plates.

Simply put, Onussa’s garden was beautiful. Well-tended plants of all sorts vied for space, and big leaves left only a small window for sunlight to reach the warm, smooth stones and slightly raised table in the center. A small sundial told the time; a flowering vine wrapped around it hung heavy with buds. Several plants were in bloom, in fact, and a few others bore fruit—some of which I recognized.

I laid down into a warm groove around half of the stone table. Onussa coiled opposite me, while Kyrae folded her legs and sat on a smooth, flat space between the lamian “seats.”

“Is that ripe?” I asked, pointing at a dark pink pitahaya on a small tree.

Onussa laughed. “It is, yes. Please don’t tell me you want to eat that as well!”

I giggled and shook my head. “No. I just know they’re Kyrae’s favorite.”

Kyrae smiled and scooted closer to me. “Thanks, Issa, but while you were in an eating frenzy earlier, I got one.” She pointed to what little remained of it on her plate, pink juice staining her other food.

“Will that be enough?”

Kyrae laughed. “You eat a lot more than I do at once; you know that.”

I nodded. “I do, but…”

“I have enough food, Issa. It’s okay.”

“But what if…”

Kyrae shook her head. “Whatever comes next, we’ll find a way to make sure we don’t want for food. Didn’t you tell me as much back at the Grand Temple?”

“I did, yeah.” I stared down at my own feast. I was prepared not to eat for a couple of weeks if need be. I almost felt guilty.

“It’s okay, Issa!” Onussa spoke up, swallowing a bite from one of her skewers. “I said you could get as much as you wanted and I meant it. You simply have a large appetite—and that’s a good thing!”

I responded by taking another fish off the pile. So good.

I didn’t get halfway through my pile before there was an excited, persistent knock at Onussa's front door.

“Onussa?” Kyrae asked, suddenly nervous.

Onussa shook her head quickly. “I’m not expecting anyone.”

The knocking continued, this time accompanied by a feminine voice, pitched high like an ussen or a posturing kss’kaa. “Please let me in! I wish to see my sister.”

What.

“U-uhsss…” I tried to say something, but words turned into a hiss of confusion.

“Please!” the voice continued. “You may not remember me, Sseti, but I remember you!”

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Onussa’s eyes widened.

“Did you…” Kyrae asked, her voice trailing off.

“I did not! I swear on Jaezotl’s fangs,” Onussa hissed.

“Please!” the voice rang out again, along with one final knock. “I don’t want to demand you let me in, but I will if I need to. I must see my sister!”

Sister. Sseti.

She sounded desperate, earnest. The words were strange coming from an accent I’d only ever heard heaping derision on me or being mocked in quiet corners.

“Issa?” Onussa asked, worry etching lines around her eyes.

I closed my mouth and took a breath. I don’t want to throw away this chance—for both Kyrae and me. Even if it’s unpleasant. “I-it’s fine. Y-you can let her in, Onussa.”

The ssyri’zh nodded and whispered, “Alright, Issa.” Then louder, she said. “I’ll be right there!”

I watched Onussa slither off quickly for the front door. When she opened it, I heard her gasp and the rasping of another lamia as they slid inside.

Onussa whispered short answers to a rapid barrage of questions I couldn’t quite hear, and then my “sister” entered the garden.

Wealth, was my first thought. Oh, she wore something she probably considered discreet, but the fabric, its cleanliness, and the clean edges of her wide sleeves left no room for doubt. Ussen. She has to be. Her scales were well polished, and although she eschewed jewelry, I didn’t miss the powder on her face.

Her face that bore an uncanny resemblance to my own. She had the flat nose of most lamia, but with a sharper line to it, like me. Her cheeks were high, her skin was a shade lighter than Kyrae’s and matched my own. More than anything else, her scales were the same emerald green as mine, only polished to a gemlike luster.

It was like looking at a reflection, an older reflection, except for her eyes. Pale gold irises widened when she saw me, followed by a sharp intake of breath. Are her fangs polished? I didn’t know if the gasp was my own or not, but I knew one thing for sure.

This woman has to be my sister-by-blood. She has to be. Am I… Am I really… How?

***

Ssiina stood at the entrance to the ssyri’zh’s humble garden, her lower body straight out behind her in a way her etiquette tutor would have given her a tongue lashing for.

The lamia girl staring slack-jawed at her was the cause. Brilliant, emerald green eyes shone out from under messy-cut bangs, framing a face Ssiina found achingly familiar.

Sseti.

Her sister was alive.

Before she knew it, she felt the first tear roll down her cheek.

***

The composure of the statue-like girl in front of me broke when the first tear rolled down her cheek. I flexed my hand, missing my sister Kyrae, but unable to tear my eyes away.

In the periphery, Onussa slithered around us and back to the table.

I felt a familiar hand with familiar calluses touch mine, and I gripped it, hard.

“Issa…” Kyrae whispered quietly.

My name, spoken with quiet compassion, was enough to stir both of us out of the trance. My lookalike coughed, then turned her head, drawing out a small cloth to dab at her tears.

“F-forgive me, sister… I simply couldn’t help myself. You look just like Sire—but you’re so thin and small.”

Hey! I knew she didn’t mean it as an insult, though, as wide smile split her face. I noticed lines of makeup along the far reaches of her mouth, framing her entire jawline in a way that few lamias chose to do. Whatever ussen family she was from must have been influential.

I gulped. “W-who are you?”

“Ssiina,” Ssiina answered sadly. “I heard from Sire’s head servant that you were not well, but I had to come see you. Sire may not be ready to believe it’s you, but I am. How—what do you remember?”

Ssiina. The name felt warm, like a summer’s day in a garden much bigger than this one. The memory was hazy like clouded water, and I didn’t find anything else when I searched deeper. “I-I don’t remember much. Your name seems… warm somehow.”

Ssiina hissed a joyous giggle. “I knew you’d remember me! Even though you were so young when we lost you!”

I squeezed Kyrae’s hand again. Just what happened to me.

Truthfully, I didn’t remember much before the orphanage. A lot of dark places, rough people and small, cramped spaces. I was at the orphanage for about as long as I could really remember.

Who am I?

“Issa?” Kyrae asked softly. “Are you alright?”

I realized I’d been staring into Ssiina’s golden eyes. She let out a breath when I looked down and away—back toward my sister.

“I think so, Sis,” I answered Kyrae.

“Sis?” Ssiina asked, seemingly noticing Kyrae for the first time. “Oh! He’s kinda cute—or is it ‘she’? Is he your friend?”

Kyrae did a good job of hiding her winces at how Ssiina addressed her.

“It’s she,” I answered. “Kyrae’s newbloom.”

“Newbloom?” Siina asked, then put up a hand. “No, wait a moment, I remember this from one of my classes… That’s the term for elves who think they’re a different gender than they are, yes?”

“No!” I said more forcefully than Ssiina expected.

She recoiled. “No?”

I nodded. “It’s the name for people whose bodies do not match their souls.”

“Oh…” Ssiina frowned.

I was worried she’d say something else. I almost wanted to cut her off like Kyrae’s grip on my hand was threatening to cut off my fingers.

Eventually, Ssiina spoke again, this time bowing to a moderate depth in front of me. “My apologies, sister—and Kyrae. Many of my tutors did not hold favorable views toward elves. I meant no disrespect. I do not mean to insult Kyrae or who she is on the inside, but I understand that I have.”

Behind me, Onussa gasped, covering her mouth.

An ussen was bowing to me? Come to think of it, she also introduced herself by her given name. Is she… could she be… nice?

To my surprise, Kyrae spoke next, although her voice was shaky. “I-I forgive you. Please d-don’t bow.”

Ssiina raised her head, and her smile returned with such speed that I wondered where she kept it ready. “You two seem to be very good friends! I’m glad you had someone all this time out on your own, Sseti. Or should I address you as Issa? I think Issa is a cute name.”

The barrage of words threw me off guard, and the accent saying them shattered what little composure I had left. “Sister!” I blurted out. “Kyrae is my sister—since all we have is each other, we’re family. A-and I go by Issa, I think.”

Ssiina’s eyes widened and she looked down at Kyrae, eyes roaming over her.

I braced for the worst, remembering how Lissti acted earlier this same day.

Instead, Ssiina bent forward, bringing her eyes level to Kyrae. “If you want to be Sseti or Issa’s sister, you’ll have to keep up with her—and me—in every way and never abandon her. Am I understood, Kyrae?” Her voice was kind, almost playful.

“Never abandon her!?” Kyrae shouted suddenly, leaning forward and almost headbutting Ssiina. “How can you say that when—if you’re really Issa’s family—you abandoned her for so long!”

Instantly, the mood in the room plummeted. Ssiina’s eyes darkened and Onussa muffled a gasp along with a swear that might actually have been a bad word.

“We didn’t abandon her,” Ssiina hissed dangerously. “I didn’t abandon her. I never stopped looking. I never stopped asking and making sure Sire always had a notice out for Sseti anywhere she might show up. How do you think I’m here now? How do you think we sent Lissti and Kyen to her so fast?”

“Even if that’s true,” Kyrae said, rising to meet the challenge with a voice cracking low and shaking like a mangrove tree in a typhoon. “Even if that’s true, you have no right to tell me what I need to do to be Issa’s sister! To love her like I do!”

“I—” Onussa tried to jump in, but was swept away by Ssiina’s reply.

“You!” she said the word sharply, but the vitriol was gone. “You…” Ssiina hung her head and laughed darkly. “You’re right, damnit. Especially here in Ess’Sylantziis, I should have found Issa sooner—we should never have let her be taken in the first place. Never let Mother…” Her voice hitched and she fought back a sob. “But I am Sseti’s—or Issa’s—sister. And I’m going to earn her love no matter what I have to do! You’ll see!”

Ssiina ended her surprising speech by jabbing a finger at Kyrae. My sister, whose confidence had evaporated and been replaced by all-consuming fear at back-talking an ussen, gulped and nodded.

“Y-you’ve got a long way to go then,” Kyrae said meekly, “B-but I can see how much you love Issa, so I’ll let you be her sister.”

“Good!” Ssiina nodded. “And I’ll grant you the same opportunity. Blood or not, it’s clear you two are like family!”

My jaw fell open. It fell open all the way with a soft pop, and my one loose fang hung down limply. Just what is going on?

“It’s fine!” I tried to jump in. “You can be my sister too, Ssiina! Uhm, y’know, if that’s okay with your family and—”

Ssiina wiped her tears, smearing her powder. “It is okay, Issa. I didn’t slip away from my guards and track you down to not ask you to come home.”

I crossed my arms. “Kyrae too.”

“Could you call me sister first, Sister?” Ssiina asked. “Or at least call me by my name?”

“I will if you agree that Kyrae can come too! And that she’s also my sister.”

Ssiina bit her lip and hardened her eyes. “Of course Kyrae can come with you, Sse—Issa. I wouldn’t dream of taking your only other family, one of your sisters, from you.”

“Even if she’s of low class?”

Surprise spilled across Ssiina’s face and she giggled. “We can fix that, Sis.”

“We?”

Ssiina pouted. The look, combined with her teary eyes and smeared makeup, was jarring. “Can you please call me ‘sister’ or use my name?”

I searched Ssiina’s face for any sign of deception. I wanted to trust her, but I couldn’t afford to have that trust broken. Not again.

Kyrae squeezed my hand and I looked down to find her nodding, teary-eyed and with a spot of pink juice stuck on her chin.

I took a deep breath and forced a smile that quickly became very real. Maybe things are gonna work out. “Alright, Sister Ssiina. We’ll take you up on your offer—but I’ll warn you right now, we’re not rich and we don’t have any fancy education.”

Ssina’s face lit up and her forked tongue flicked out through her smile. “Yes!! And I don’t care what you do or do not know—we’ll teach you! Sire knows people, and I do too! I’m sure she’ll help us once she meets you.”

“Sire?” I asked.

“Oh! Your—our sire, Issa.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Ssiina cocked her head. “Sire was the one who sired us, and Mother carried us.”

“Huh?”

“Sire’s like you, Issa!”

“Huh!?”

“We’re kelaniel, Sister. And you’re ra’zhii!” Ssiina beamed.

“Huh!?” My mind stopped at the last word.

“Your name used to be Sseti Ssyri’Jiilits, Issa. Like our aunt, Jii’Hssen Ssyii Ssyri’Jiilits. We’re hssen.”

The name and title jolted my thoughts into motion, my words arriving ahead of my thoughts. “I’m royalty!? The Empress is my AUNT!?”

Somewhere behind me, I heard a thump as Onussa fainted onto the garden table.