“Issa?” Kyrae asked. “Are you all right?”

I tried to turn my focus away from the sparse shadows and their inviting chill. The darkness seemed excited, quivering in anticipation.

“She looks a little sallow—bad food perhaps?” Ussen Ysta said.

My breath hitched. “I’m fine, really. Just a bad memory—that’s all.”

Why did Nyss want me to kill her? He was evil, so that means Ysta must be good, right?

Are things that simple?

I looked up from the ground with some effort. Kyrae’s green eyes studied mine, and Ssiina and Ussen Ysta both looked back with concern.

We’ve only just met. Is she for real? Is it natural to care for someone like this?

“Issa…” Ssiina said, trailing off as Kyrae held my hand. She bit her lip. “Perhaps a place to rest out of the crowd would do her good. You said you have enough space for all of us to see the play, Ussen Ysta?”

“I do, but I certainly don’t want to stress her more, or to impose!” She sounded genuine to me, but I couldn’t really hear her voice very well.

Deep breaths.

IwasgoingtokillherIalmostkilledherohJaezotlwhyissheherewhathaveI—

“Issa?” Kyrae repeated, worry lacing her voice. She pulled me into a warm embrace.

I took another deep breath. I’m not the same frightened young girl I was.

The thought helped a little, but not much.

“Let’s rest here a while.” Ssiina’s voice drifted out of the fog. “This is a garden after all. May we join you for the play to give Issa space? I know her well enough to know she’d greatly dislike missing such an event.”

“Of course!” Ysta replied. “I can even give the space wholly to you three if need be. And… I can also leave you if it would help.”

My hearts had started to slow their thump-thumping, and I gulped before replying with a dry voice. “No. You’re fine to stay.”

I’m not gonna let that dead asshole have a hold over me! I didn’t want to kill Ysta then, either.

“Let’s…” I trailed off, glancing up at the orange of the sun that hung just above the trees of the garden. “Let’s all go to see the play together. We can use Ussen Ysta’s area like she suggested.”

“If you’re certain, Issa,” Ssiina fixed me with an intense look.

I pulled myself up so that I was a little taller than her. “I am, Ss-Hssen Ssiina.”

“Very well. Alert us if you feel unwell.” Ssiina began to slither off through the park, and Ysta waited a moment before following.

“I will.” I said to Kyrae and myself, before we joined after them.

The park was pretty, with lush greenery and air that smelled of blossoms and damp earth. The scent reminded me of my room back at the estate. Something was blooming at any given time in Uzh, and I left my window open more than my sisters on most nights.

I liked the way the moonlight traced a path across the floor, especially when I had trouble sleeping. Since Kyrae and I had rejoined the rest of my family, the nights had been mostly bearable. I didn’t fear the cold emptiness, and on some nights, I even escaped it to dream, imagining myself floating out of the window to play amongst the night creatures of Phaeliisthia’s garden.

Right now, I took comfort in those same smells as day turned to evening. The walk wasn’t long, but it was enough time for me to calm down. I pulled my awareness out of the shadows, not wanting their chill to ruin my day or remind me of that awful night.

Without the shadows, I felt… exposed, and almost blind. I’d come to rely so much on them that I nearly missed it when Ussen Ysta spoke from ahead of me.

“My platform is to the north-center of the seating—near the middle. It’s not the most prominent spot, but I am gracious to receive something so significant from my family.”

“Is it not for your family as a whole?” Ssiina asked.

Ussen Ysta shook her head. “No—it’s for me. Truthfully, I wanted to visit here during Tuo’Antzin to get some time to think and relax—as well as to meet with you three and discuss sigilcraft. We should have some time before the play starts!”

“That sounds very nice of your family, then!” Kyrae said.

“Indeed!” Ussen Ysta beamed. “This is only my second time in Uzh, and I had not expected them to let me travel here with such minimal guard.”

“Will there be guards seated with us?” Ssiina asked.

“Hm? Oh, yes. I believe they’re around somewhere, and they should remain quiet in the back. I’ve known Kliss and Kiina all my life, and I’m honestly treating this as a vacation for them as well!”

Kyrae took a few steps forward, gesturing to herself and then me. “Will they object to Issa or I?”

Ussen Ysta placed a hand in front of her chest. “Kliss and Kiina? Certainly not! You three are students of Phaeliisthia. While your mentor does not have a class, her status is well known and I would consider each of you equivalent to ussen. Unless you are already of higher status, of course.”

“Let’s go, then!” I tried to sound cheerful.

By the time we rejoined the dense crowd, I felt a lot better. The sounds and smells of people were an old comfort—from the time before I’d come into this new life. Now, well, I saw more than I’d like, and less at the same time.

Without my shadows, I felt almost blind. More and more, I noticed the envious stares directed at our group. Earlier, I’d reveled in them, but now that I wanted more privacy, they didn’t go away.

They’ll never go away, a part of me lamented. You’re hssen now, and for all the wealth of wonder, there’s bound to be problems.

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I had to hope our coiling was private, but I wasn’t so certain. Closer now, I could see the bases of where the audience would gather. A stone amphitheater descended down far enough that I wondered if it flooded. Above that, for Tuo’Antzin, wooden structures had been built. Some were as high as three tiers, and it was to one of those that Ussen Ysta led us.

The closer I got, I could make out colorful props and bright, vivacious outfits worn by several people. Some of them, almost in uniform, stood by the raised stands. Ussen Ysta spoke with one who smiled and gestured our party forward.

To get to the top deck where Ssiina’s box was, a thick tree trunk had been stabilized for climbing. Easy for a lamia, but difficult for an elf. Ussen Ysta went first, then Ssiina.

Surprisingly, Kyrae rejected my proffered hand. With a smile, she quickly formed a sigil, then another, and lifted herself up and into the box with her magic. Some few people, mostly those who were already watching us, stood and stared.

What Kyrae had done wasn’t exactly difficult (at least by Phaeliisthia’s standards, which might be wildly unusual), but it was an unusually casual use of magic. As she glided up and onto the sun-soaked platform of dark wood, I realized something.

She’s showing off!

Immediately, I wished I could do the same. Call up shadows and move through them up there. Doubtless, the sun would burn, but I could do it. I wouldn’t though. Gotta keep at least that secret.

“Issa?” a smug Kyrae called down to me. “Are you coming?”

Startled, I nodded and made my way up to where the others were. The wooden platform had cushions set out around it, and was walled for privacy on three sides. No chair for Kyrae. And no shade for her either.

From here, we had an excellent—if distant—view of the play. We also couldn’t quite see into the other boxes, angled as we were in the middle. One of the boxes had a rich green trim of what looked like silk, and I wondered who was special enough to get that sort of decoration. I’d have to ask Ssiina.

Ssiina and Ussen Ysta were already coiled, and talking softly. The moment I pulled myself up and moved to coil, Kyrae tapped my scales.

“Mind being a seat?” she asked.

I stuck my tongue out at her, but coiled up loosely enough that she could sit on two loops of my lower body and dangle her legs into the middle.

“You’re a lot bigger these days, Issa,” my sister commented.

“I’m a growing girl!” I shot back. “Will you be alright without shade?”

The elf shrugged. “Fine enough. If I get hot, I have magic for that, too.”

“Oh dear!” Ussen Ysta said, clearly able to overhear us from nearby. “I can have Kiina get something! Although, I thought she’d be here by now.”

Ssiina glanced around the empty platform, and down to the people below us. “Should we worry that they’re not here?”

Ussen Ysta shook her head. “I gave them leave to enjoy themselves. Perhaps Kliss finally got through to his sister and they’re actually enjoying the day.”

Ssiina nodded, but I saw from the way she failed to completely hide her brow tightening that she was worried. I almost reached out to the shadows, but I just… really didn’t want to right now. Soon they’d become insistent, but for now, I could be without them.

“The view is wonderful, Ussen Ysta,” Kyrae said, changing the subject. “Thank you for having us up here.”

“Oh, no thank you!” our host beamed. “There’s some time left before the play starts, and I’d like to pick your minds regarding what you can tell me about sigilcraft.”

“We’d love to! But it may be best that we’re not overheard.”

“Oh, I can do that much!” Ussen Ysta moved her hands through motions I vaguely recognized, and felt a fuzzy surge of power and the sounds from around us went almost completely silent. “I can’t mute everything, but we’ll want to hear the start of the play announcement anyway.”

Kyrae was staring at Ussn Ysta’s hands. She made a comment I didn’t really understand, and the two of them almost immediately dove into a conversation about different approaches to sigilcraft. I looked to Ssiina for help, but she was engrossed as well. I noticed however, that the two of them were very careful about what they said, and Kyrae in particular kept glancing around.

That paranoia was enough for me to overcome my fear and reach out again to the shadows. Distant as they were, a coolness swept through me and I shivered as sound came back from outside Ussen Ysta’s spell. A cacophony. I couldn’t make out much, but I heard nothing suspicious.

“Are you unwell, Issa?” Ussen Ysta asked.

“Oh? No, I’m fine. Another memory, that’s all,” I lied.

“What about your own techniques?” she continued, seemingly innocent. “I’d love to hear if you’ve any insight to offer.”

I wasn’t sure anymore. At the very least, I wasn’t about to go dumping secrets. “I’m… a little further behind. A lot of potential, but also a lot of catching up that needs done.”

I couldn’t tell her I wasn’t a sigilist like my sisters. But I also couldn’t be a student of Phaeliisthia for another reason.

“Oh? I’d still love to see a demonstration!”

I shook my head. “I’m afraid Phaeliisthia has barred me from showing my own work.”

Ussen Ysta’s eyes went wide and I knew I’d screwed up.

“Really? Can I have a hint?”

“No.”

“Please?”

I shook my head. I have to come up with something. Kyrae and Ssiina looked anxiously between us. If either of them intervened, Ussen Ysta could think we all had something to hide. Earnest interest or not, this was dangerous.

I begged for a cry to ring out announcing the start of the play, but I had no such luck. No timing of plot convenience to whisk me away to safety.

“Foundational,” I started, unsure of where I was even going. “I’m studying language and history to try to develop techniques.”

“Oh, languages are always fun! Do you speak human imperial? I’ve been learning it, along with most of my family, since we have all this immigration coming into Ess’Siijiil these days. Humans are fascinating creatures.”

“They are,” I agreed limply. “And I do.”

Please work. Ussen Ysta smiled and introduced herself, poorly, in human imperial. Yes!

I giggled, and she pouted.

“I’d like to see you do better.”

In turn, I introduced myself formally, and described my status as a student of Phaeliisthia, Guardian of Uzh. I then talked a bit about seeing a play on Tuo’Antzin.

“Oh! Tuo’Antzin! You’re talking about today. I didn’t understand much of that last statement.”

Ssiina chuckled. “That word was in Lamian. Of course you’d recognize it.”

Ussen Ysta blushed. “How about… what other languages do you know, Issa? Elven I assume—and I know that one too!”

I nodded. “I’m learning Merfolk and Girtabshal.”

“Girtabshal! The scorpion people from the desert across the northern reaches of the Sekalln.”

“K’tsch’kil.” I grinned, giving her the name of the desert.

Ussen Ysta blinked. “Oh! I like that click!”

“It took a while to really get down.”

“I’d bet!”

Under Ussen Ysta’s earnest smile, my anxiety started to recede. The four of us dove into conversation in earnest, time flying by until a shout broke through Ysta’s spell and signaled the start of the play.

The timing interrupted the last thing Ussen Ysta was saying. She whispered the final part, almost furtive. “But I’m not going to go chasing power from other sources, you know? The world around us and the grace of Jaezotl are all I need.”

Like a dagger through a heart, her words froze me. I missed the entire opening scene of the play. Next to and on me, Kyrae and Ssiina seemed unbothered, focused on the play as the colorful actors pranced about.

Was I the only one to hear that? Did she say it under her breath and I caught it through her own shadow?

I glanced down at Kyrae sitting on my coils and Ssiina trying very hard not to look like she was watching Ussen Ysta as much as the play. They didn’t seem like they’d heard. The two of them were certainly suspicious of Ussen Ysta—Ssiina especially seemed to focus on the ussen’s motives.

I hated that I couldn’t make the sigils to do what Ussen Ysta had done earlier and give us a chance to talk more. I also didn’t want to cause a scene. So I grasped Kyrae’s hand and gave it a squeeze. My elf sister glanced at the other two, and then at my anxious expression.

She nodded and mouthed, “I know,” squeezing my hand back.

She pulled my gaze down, and I saw she’d already started on some complex sigil array, shielded in my coils. Smart.

My hearts missed a beat. Kyrae was worried too! Relief flooded me, but also fear. I loosened myself just in case I needed to move quickly. Ussen Ysta’s words about “other sources” of magic were probably just a coincidence. A common sentiment, nothing more.

But what if they weren’t?

What if Ussen Ysta was trying to confess something?

What if she wanted to find us and Phaeliisthia not just for knowledge, but for protection.

There was no doubt in my mind that the woman was earnest.

But that thought nagged at me. Another one soon followed. Where were Ussen Ysta’s bodyguards?

Instead of the play, I tried to focus on the shadows. I had a feeling. A very, very bad feeling that this play wasn’t going to be the most memorable part of Tuo’Antzin.