I woke up in my bed in Phaeliisthia’s estate, feeling like I’d just missed whatever my dream was about. I was certain I’d had one, but I just… couldn’t think of it.

For a deliciously long moment, I basked in the sunlight coming through the window. Then, the memories of the end of Tuo’Antzin crept in like a distant, chill wind off the ocean. I shivered in the sunlight, and the shadows reached for me. Pushing them back, I was relieved to find they obeyed.

The assassins—they’d had the same powers.

That thought jolted me. I’d seen Kyrae, but what about Ssiina and Ussen Ysta—had my warning gotten through?

I uncoiled myself and slithered for the door, snagging a shirt with my tailtip. I flipped it on, not caring that it was backwards, or that it was thin and my only clothing up top, and slid downstairs. Each step down the stairs was a sharp bump; I held a wince the whole way. With my initial burst of energy fading, soreness crept up on me. I was pretty sure I had bruises on my bruises.

But I was way better off than…

Best not think about that. At least they didn’t have a death face like Nyss.

Was that better or worse?

Unsure of where to look, I aimed myself at the dining room, barreling in through the doors to an empty table, set with a single plate. Dried meats were piled on it, and a bowl with a beyond-healthy portion of fruit had been laid next to it. The open coil before it was in the sun coming from an open window, and it looked warm.

“Where is everybody?” I hissed to myself.

“They’re in the courtyard.” Zinniz’s sudden reply made me jump.

Actually jump. If the dining room wasn’t two floors high, I’d have crashed into the ceiling. As it was, I came back down on bruises and whimpered.

“My apologies if I’ve scared you, Issa.” Zinniz moved in front of me and gave a shallow bow. “I only barely dodged the door when you came in.”

I blinked. “Oh. Sorry.” I glanced at the servant and the food and then back again. “Is everyone okay?”

“Yes it’s for you—oh. Yes, the only deaths were the two assassins, and regrettably the two guards of Ussen Ysta’s. They were found later last night, their—” The small red lamia coughed. “It wasn’t a particularly gruesome death, but I’ll spare you the details. Eat, and I’ll let the others know you’re awake.”

I looked at the food and the open window and back again. “May I eat outside?”

Zinniz smiled. “You may, but you should finish dressing first, as—”

I nodded, then grabbed the plate with the meat and dashed back out of the dining room for the hall that led outside. Behind me, I heard Zinniz sigh.

I had half the meat down by the time I made it out the door. Seated in the courtyard, surrounded by familiar stone columns, Phaeliisthia was talking with Kyrae and Ssiina. I yawned when the light hit me, fangs popping down for a moment before I snapped them back up and took another piece of meat.

Then I noticed another person present: Ussen Ysta.

Unfortunately, they’d all seen my boisterous entrance—including her. I swallowed quickly and smiled, realizing that I had no idea what they’d told Ussen Ysta. Then I realized I was only wearing a backwards nightshirt.

Phaeliisthia stared at me with a tightly set jaw, and Ussen Ysta did so with wide eyes.

My sisters, however, rushed over.

“Issa!” Kyrae said, jumping up into me before I could think of anything to say. She squished into my chest and I felt my cheeks heat up. “How do you feel?”

“Fine!” I replied quickly, holding the plate up with both of my arms. “Good, actually, but I’m still really sore from—”

Ssiina impacted me and my bruises all flared up at once from the larger mass of my lamia sister crashing into the two of us, some of the meat flew off the plate, but I kept it steady at great expense to my bruises. Kryae grunted, then started to giggle.

“Issa!” Ssiina said. “You’re okay!”

“…bruises,” I choked.

“What?”

“Bruises… sore.”

“Oh!” Ssiina backed off me and my lungs felt like I could breathe again. “Issa I’m so sorry, I just—”

I hugged her back, with my lower body, squeezing hard. “It’s okay, Sis! I’m glad you and Kyrae are alright!”

Kyrae barely ducked out of the way in time, giggling.

Ssiina let out a grunt of air, closing one golden eye as she winced. “Okay, you win!”

“Good!” I let her go, and Ssiina pouted.

Both of us turned when Phaeliisthia cleared her throat. “Good of you to join us, Issa. Hold still a moment.”

Huh?

Phaeliisthia formed a few sigils, and I felt a sudden warmth around my upper body. When I looked down, I realized I was now wearing a very familiar outfit—a copy of the ones Phaeliisthia had made for us after we started as her students. White with gold and red accents, the outfit was a little childish after what I’d worn the night prior, but it was familiar.

“Thanks!” I beamed.

Phaeliisthia sighed. “The solid illusion will not last long and is easily disturbed. Hard as it may be for you, I need you to sit still while we talk. You will change when we are finished. Am I understood?”

“Yes Phaeliisthia,” I replied automatically.

“Good!” Our tutor clapped her hands. “Now, please join Ysta and I. We were just talking about when Kyrae noticed something amiss, and your input will be invaluable.”

My sisters and I all nodded and moved together to sit back down, and I nibbled on another piece of jerky. As usual, I ended up in the middle, although this time, Ssiina made no comment about being the eldest. There were no jibes from Kyrae either.

“Sis?” Ussen Ysta asked.

And that’s why. Oh no. I messed up.

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Ssiina coughed to hide her surprise. “We are merely very close friends as students. ‘Sisters’ in a friendly sort of way.” She looked to Phaeliisthia, but our tutor’s gaze remained stony.

She wants to see how we handle this? What if Ysta can’t be trusted?

I looked again at Ussen Ysta Ssyt. Her blue-gray eyes bore dark circles under them and were red from crying, and she wore the same clothes as the night prior, albeit freshened up. She looked… less without her makeup, and the blue-green scales of her tail seemed dull as she pulled closer to herself. Either she was close to a shed, or she’d had a very bad night. Maybe both.

She sure didn’t seem like a threat or a backstabber.

With how she looked, I honestly felt bad for how exuberant I’d just been. I resisted the urge to offer her an apology and some meat.

Ussen Ysta looked between me and Ssiina, and her eyes widened. “You… I hadn’t noticed last night, but you two… are you really unrelated?”

Ssiina inhaled sharply. Without all the posturing and makeup and the distraction of the crowd, it had to be obvious we were related. Ssiina resembled our mother with our sire’s eyes, while I had the reverse. But we had plenty of features in common—and I could hardly pass as ke’lania after showing off my fangs moments ago.

Ussen Ysta didn’t press, she just sighed and changed the subject. “I don’t need to know. Maybe it’s safer if I don’t, but I don’t know what to do anymore. Without Kliss and Kiina, I…” she choked up. “There’s no one…”

She sure seems genuine. Screw it.

“Here.” I picked up the last piece of dried meat and handed it to Ussen Ysta.

She looked at it, unsure.

I gestured with it. “Take it. Please. I’m sorry for your loss—I’m certain Kliss and Kiina were wonderful people.”

Ussen Ysta took the meat with a shaky hand. Surprisingly quickly, she brought it up to her mouth and took a bite. We all sat in silence for a moment as she ate.

Ssiina looked down at me. “Issa?”

“She wants to help her, right?” Kyrae answered for me.

I nodded. “Yeah, I do. I… she has enemies. Someone’s looked around for assassins to take her out before.”

Ssiina blinked. “How do you…”

After she trailed off, Ussen Ysta swallowed, coughing a little. “I’ve known that for years. It’s not uncommon for ussen, particularly those who go against the family, or pose a risk to whoever will inherit control of the family’s holdings. I am—was—both. I knew it was too good to be true that they’d allow me to use family funds and come here…”

That night flashed before me again. The knife. Nyss’s dead expression. “No, I—"

“A moment please, Issa.” Phaeliisthia interrupted me, holding up a hand. “Ysta, what will happen upon your return home?”

Ussen Ysta looked down toward her tail, her hands fidgeting. When she spoke, her voice was bitter and tired. “Well, I’m not certain my family was behind this, but if they were, then I doubt I’ll make it home. I’ll simply disappear in the way there—the delta is wild and dangerous, after all.”

“What if you were escorted?”

“Will you also provide me a guard?” Ussen Ysta snapped suddenly, looking up at Phaeliisthia. She shrunk away when their gazes mean. “I—I’m sorry, Phaeliisthia, I—”

“Do not apologize. Continue.”

“Y-yes.” Ussen Ysta took a deep breath. “When I return, if they are not behind this, I will be sent to a remote estate and put under guard. If they were, I will be disposed of silently. They’re already paranoid after Hssen Tyaniis’s rampage.”

“Hssen Tyaniis’s rampage?” I blurted out.

Ussen Ysta looked at me, then Ssiina and she winced. “I’m just making things worse. It’s nothing, really.”

“It is not nothing.” This time Ssiina was the one giving a demand. “Please, tell me.”

“If your sire finds out…”

“I will handle her. Do you wish to disobey an order from a hssen?” My sister’s words were harsh, but her voice wavered.

Still, Ussen Ysta flinched. “Hssen Tyaniis, your sire, she’s been hounding my family and a few other major families of late. Some kind of heretic hunt, looking for people who practice dark magic. There’ve been a few executions, and many disappearances.”

Whoah. I felt my stomach twist. Sire Tyaniis had said she’d take care of things, but I hadn’t wanted her to kill people. But… why would she listen to me? I felt myself tearing up and I wiped away at my eyes, hoping Ussen Ysta wouldn’t press me.

“I… see.” Ssiina said slowly. “Thank you Ussen Ysta.”

“With that taken care of,” Phaeliisthia interjected, “are you certain there is no path forward within your family?”

Ussen Ysta shook her head.

“Would you consider another option?” the dragon serpent’s voice turned conspiratorial. “I have need of knowledge regarding your family’s misdeeds. I could offer protection—a long-term solution.”

“I… I’ll need to think about it.”

“Of course,” Phaeliisthia purred. “But I cannot let you leave here without an answer.”

Ussen Ysta shivered.

“It’s okay,” I tried to reassure her, but she flinched away from my hand. “Ssiina can offer you other ways to help, right?”

I looked at my hssen-raised sister, who nodded hesitantly. “There are… methods. If someone were to take Ussen Ysta as their life partner, that is one way. But most methods would reflect badly on us—” my sister cut off as soon as she realized she’d slipped up. She glared at Ussen Ysta, who squeaked.

“I-I’ll say nothing! Probably! I haven’t been tortured before, and I don’t know much about defense against dark sigilcraft’s effect on the mind. I know my family’s been delving into it, though!” She clasped a hand over her mouth, but continued through it, “I’ll tell you all I know about that, too, but I’m not going to just tell others you have a secret sister. Pleasedon’tkillme!”

“They’re not going to kill you, unless you’re behind this and a better actor than any of the people from last night’s play,” Kyrae said reassuringly. “Issa and Ssiina are understanding sorts—they’re not even going to be mad that I, an elf, addressed them without their title. Or that I did this.” She reached over and gave me a pinch on the shoulder, a hard one.

“Ow! Hey!” I glared at her and hissed. “Why’d you do that?”

Kyrae just shrugged and gestured between me and herself. Ssiina rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth tugged up a little.

“Kyrae!” I moaned.

Ussen Ysta looked at us with wide eyes and I worried she might faint.

So I tried to be positive. “But Kyrae’s right! Look, I’m going to be introduced as Tyaniis’s daughter soon, so it’s really not that big of a deal as long as you can keep the secret for another couple of months.”

“I can!” Ussen Ysta said quickly “I will! And I’m really sorry if I caused any offense.”

“Really,” I insisted. “It’s fine. Please stop apologizing.”

“Well aren’t you a gathering of young folks spilling secrets far bigger than themselves,” Phaeliisthia chided. “Now before you make more mistakes, why don’t we discuss the events of last night, hmm? How about we start with what Issa noticed. And please, dear, keep the explanations to things we can all understand?” The smile she gave me was cold. Don’t mess up.

I nodded and began, telling my side of things but cutting out all the bits about having my own shadow magic. From the details I gave, I hoped my sisters would pick up on the fact that the assassins had the same magic as me—from the same source no less. Phaeliisthia, I assumed, already had.

As I told my side of the events of last night, my sisters and Ussen Ysta chipped in, and I learned of the other assassin’s demise. I never would have dreamed Ssiina was willing to bite someone. I didn’t mind because I grew up as a street skink, but her?

It wasn’t until the end that Ussen Ysta posed a question.

“Were Hssen Issa’s eyes also the result of the magic affecting her? She seemed quite capable of fighting it off, if that was the case.”

“My eyes?” I tried to play dumb.

“Those affected by dark sigilcraft and dark magic in general often show signs related to the senses or body parts targeted.” Phaeliisthia said in a no-nonsense tone, preventing me from putting my tail in my mouth… again. “Magic blinding the eyes or binding the limbs may often be visible in extreme cases. Dark shadows blocking Issa’s eyes makes sense with shadow magic blinding her. It is possible she resisted it, or that the fall off the viewing box broke her assailant’s control over the spell.”

“She told us to look out behind us with her eyes both solid black though?” Ussen Ysta pressed, confused. “The warning saved my life—I’m certain I’m remembering it correctly. Could it be that Hssen Issa is unusually adroit or that the blessing of Jaezotl intervened?”

Phaeliisthia’s eye twitched—subtle enough that I doubted anyone who wasn’t looking for it would have noticed. I noticed because a part of me—that she has encouraged—enjoys watching for when she loses the complete control she likes so much.

Before she could answer, Zinniz interrupted, from over by the door to the manor. “Mistress, there are guests here to see you and your students. They are hssen.”

Was that why Phaeliisthia’s been hurrying us along? Did she already sense them? There’s no way she didn’t, right?

More importantly, who are they?

Phaeliisthia smiled, and the expression was crooked—wrong. “There are? Lovely.” The last word came out like it had been put through a flour mill. “Have them wait in the front garden, and let them know I will be with them shortly.

She rose, and glared down at Ussen Ysta with pale white eyes. “I believe Issa is unusually gifted in the art of magical defense, and I have taught her much toward that end. It is likely she fought through the magic despite its hold on her.” She turned to all of us. “Issa, get dressed. Ssiina and Kyrae, help her and yourselves prepare. Ysta?”

“Y-yes?”

“Zinniz will take you to a guest room. Make yourself comfortable and unnoticeable.”

“Yes Phaeliisthia.”

The serpent dragon’s face slackened to a neutral sort of imperiousness. “Quickly then. Today just became a great deal more interesting.”