The last light of twilight cast long shadows between two fancy-looking houses. According to the unpleasant woman next to us, one was to be mine and Ssiina’s, and the other was to house four ussen from influential families.

Kyrae’s was down the street.

And right now, she was struggling to keep an impassive face. I wasn’t sure what to say other than hurl insults, but Ssiina…

Ssiina was showing every minute of her extensive saying-what-you-aren’t-saying education.

“These accommodations look lovely, thank you.”

Ussyri Tahaksa smiled. “We are honored by your compliment.”

Ssiina made a show of looking between the two buildings, almost identical in size. “All that space for just two of us? I understand land at the Spring is limited, but this almost seems excessive.”

“You are Hssen. It is only just for those blessed by Jaezotl.”

Jaezotl? I want to punch her—would that be alright?

“Certainly. Of course, knowing that our ussen neighbors’ home accommodates four individuals with greater need of privacy, surely our quarters could accommodate three close sisters?”

Ussyri Tahaksa’s smile vanished. I like to think I stole it, and with the glare she shot at me I was inclined to agree. Next to me, Kyrae kept up the demure act, but I could see her hands shaking behind her back.

“That’s a great idea!” I piped up, sweeping a surprised Kyrae into a side hug. “Room for two lamia would be plenty for one elf.”

“An excellent proposal, however the home is not designed to accommodate those who lack serpentine form.”

Kyrae pulled free and stood between me and Ssiina. “So you’re saying I’d be uncomfortable?”

“We merely wish to ensure your needs as ea are met.”

“I’ve slept for years in the mud under buildings and dry spots under eaves. I can handle a ramp.” More than usual, Kyrae slid her voice into the sibilant S’s of formal Lamian.

“And you should never be made to suffer such discomfort again.”

“Ussyri,” Ssiina said with a faux-apologetic tone. “I do not think we could possibly compare such an accommodation to life without a home.”

“I did not presume you to slight us, no.” Ussyri Tahaksa turned. “Come now, we will take your ea sister to her place of residence. I assure you it is lavish and an easy slither away.”

I spoke up before she’d done more than turn her lower body. “Yeah, it’d be pretty rude of us not to inform her would-be housemates she’ll be staying with us. In fact, they’re welcome over too, at least for lunch sometime.” I added a handwave gesture to go with my not-so-high-class tone. I wasn’t so much testing the waters as throwing my tail in and hoping to catch a catfish.

It worked. Ussyri Tahaksa whirled around to glare at me. “Hssen Issa, I must respectfully request you follow the decorum of the Spring during your residency. Such things are asked equally of all who stay and learn here.”

I rose up on my lower body until I was taller than her and hissed. “Like how me, Ssiina, and Kyrae all get to stay in the same house because we’re hssen? Oh wait.”

She scowled. “Childishness does not become you.”

“Nah, it totally does.” I lowered myself back down. “Look lady, I’ve lived in a mud pit with Kyrae. All three of us lived in a home with stairs in it—stairs—for years and my underscales got used to it. Just let our sister stay with us. We’re going to sneak her in anyway, so save us all the trouble. Please?”

The ussyri’s jaw dropped open so far I heard it click. The silence was broken by Ssiina failing to stifle a giggle fit.

“W-what my sister means to say, in more… pleasant diction is that we are all hssen legally, and quite close as sisters. I do not believe our request is untenable. While unprecedented, Kyrae’s adoption itself was unprecedented and—”

“No.” Ussyri Tahaksa’s tone was like ice, and I felt the weight of magic in the air. Sigils I couldn’t see and without so much as a twitch of her hands. Ssiina paled, and her jaw snapped shut, nearly taking the top of her tongue off with it.

I didn’t regret my words. I’d shout down the Jii’Ssyri if I had to.

I was surprised when Kyrae spoke. “The Jii’Ssyri and Ea’Ssyri both approved of my adoption. Would you go against their judgment?”

Ussyri Tahaksa leaned down toward Kyrae, her face a handsbreadth away from my sister’s, fangs extended. “I am not questioning your status, Hssen Kyrae. Just as ea ussen live separately from lamia ussen, so too shall ea hssen live apart from lamia. Is it not a small concession to make?”

For a moment, I thought Kyrae was going to fight the ussyri. Writ large on her face, fury dominated my sister’s features and bled out through a malice-filled glare. Instead, she backed down.

“Fine. I accept.”

“Excellent.” Ussyri Tahaksa’s jaw snapped shut and she reared back quickly. The feeling of oppressive magic faded and she soon wore a smile like nothing had happened. “Now, shall we move past this tantrum and get you three situated? I am more certain than ever that the Spring has much to offer you all. Especially you, Hssen Issa.”

When she looked at me, it felt like she was seeing inside my head. Does she know?

***

“That bitch!” Ssiina swore as soon as we’d closed the door to her sleeping room.

I slithered into her coil and let my upper body fall headfirst into the pillows. “Where’d you learn to swear like that?”

“What?”

I pulled myself up enough and repeated what I’d said, this time not into a pillow.

Ssiina snorted. “I learned it from you and Kyrae.”

“Oh, right.”

“Did you think I wasn’t paying attention?”

“Well, I mean… I guess I just didn’t think?”

“You do that a lot.”

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“Hey!” I shot back, genuinely hurt.

Some of what I’d felt must have crept into my voice because Ssiina frowned and coiled up next to me, voice softer. “Sorry, Issa. I… honestly I’m glad we all pushed back against this. But we’ve made the most powerful person here into our enemy.”

I groaned. “She was already our enemy, Ssiina. If anything, we just showed her we aren’t going to take unfair treatment without a fight.”

“A fight we lost.”

“Yeah, don’t remind me. You think there’re no servants here because of that?”

She shrugged. “Maybe, or they don’t live here and will be by tomorrow.”

“So we have even more useless space? I think I saw two rooms just for lounging around before we came upramp—do we each get our own?”

“I don’t know, Issa. I’m tired. Really tired.”

“Me too.” I yawned, letting my jaw pop and fangs drop. “At least we can share a coil, right?”

Ssiina nodded. “And they brought what was left of our luggage here, so we’ll maybe have something to wear tomorrow.”

“That’sss good.” I felt my eyelids drooping. Normally, the shadows would reach to embrace me for the night, but here they were distant, like they hadn’t been in years. I felt naked. “I hope Kyrae’sss okay.”

Ssiina returned the yawn and coiled herself around me. “Me too. She’s… stronger than we are, I think. She’ll be fine.”

“Mhm. Doesn’t make it less shit though…” I laid myself against her and my eyes slipped closed into blackness.

“Issa… language…”

I don’t remember if I responded, because I slipped away to sleep. The void was quiet and exuded a comfortable pressure; moreover, the terrifying presence didn’t seem to be around. So I moved about, reveling in the sort of freedom to use my powers I’d not had since the attack.

Even in a dream, they felt weak, fuzzy and distant. Moreover, the void was warm at the edges, and when I pushed, my hand slipped into soft starlight. Not from above, but from windows and an open door, looking out across a well-kept garden.

Dark lumps of mountains pushed up into the bright tapestry of the night sky, and I tried to wriggle free of the soft arms that held me. Those arms shifted, tight but loving, and I looked up into a face I vaguely recognized.

She was… I almost thought she was Ssiina, but she had my eyes. And she was big. With a soothing hiss, she brushed a hand over my head and I shivered against a sudden wind.

Coiling up against her chest, I remembered who she was just as my eyes slipped closed. Right as the darkness of the void started to swallow this errant dream, a bone-chilling scream rent the night.

My eyes snapped open into darkness, and a faint burning sensation. Wisps of shadow wafted off my form while Ssiina breathed peacefully next to me, lower body intertwined with my own. My power waxing and waning like this got me thinking: what do I truly want?

Power, yes, but memories and self and family. Phaeliisthia seemed to think I could have all three, and if that meant playing some stupid game as part of some high-and-mighty ussyri’s power play, then so be it. A lot could be said about shadows, but their pervasiveness was immutable. I only had to look for them.

***

Don’t take out your anger on your “roommate,” Kyrae thought as she walked up the steps to the door of her new “home.” Honestly, it was nice. She’d call it royal if she hadn’t lived in the Emerald Palace.

But because she had, she could see better the signs of wear and repair. The home, with its polished white walls and green-tiled roof, was certainly well taken care of. But it was notably less nice than where her sisters would be staying tonight.

Already, she missed them.

Kyrae raised her hand to knock, then remembered she was expected. Ussyri Tahaksa was a deceitful, bigoted bitch, but she had no reason to lie about such a thing. And with her gaze boring holes in the back of Kyrae’s skull, she supposed she should make the right impression.

Opening the door, she called out inside, “Hi! I’m your new roommate! I assume you knew I was coming, so my apologies if I’m barging in!”

Quickly, she shut the door behind her and looked around the foyer. It was… pleasant. More akin to Phaeliisthia’s estate by proportion, with chairs visible in the sitting room to one side and a set of stairs sweeping up to the upper floor. To one side, by the door, her things that had survived were already piled together with a halfhearted attempt at making it look less like a pile and more like a stack.

The biggest detail, however, was the abundance of potted plants that filled the interior like a jungle, complete with a floral, earthy, living scent.

Kyrae was just about to call out again, when a bright voice from the upper floor called back down to her.

“Coming!” the voice said in Elven.

Not a moment later, a diminutive young elf woman in a green and brown outfit replete with leaf-and-stick pauldrons bounded down the stairs barefoot. Her skin had a greenish tint to its brown, and her hair spilled down to her shoulders in a dark green tangle that seemed like it was almost trying to hide a pair of owlish brown eyes.

She blinked and tilted her head at Kyrae and for a moment, neither spoke.

“Oh, where are my manners! I’m Ussen Farula Moondance of Deepwood Province.” Her tone shifted formal, and she gave a shallow bow, leaves and hair bouncing. “My apologies, but while I was informed of a roommate, I was not told who to expect. If you want, you can just call me Farula—titles are stuffy.”

Kyrae blinked and took a moment to remember her Elven. “I’m Hssen Kyrae Ssyri’jiilits.”

Farula’s large eyes blinked once and she held a hand up to hold in a bubbling laugh. “I… forgive me; you’ve got a thiiick Lamian accent and I thought you said you were hssen.”

“I did. Did the news not reach here?”

The brows furrowed under the other girl’s tangle of hair. “...What did you say your clan name was?”

“Family name.” Kyrae took a moment and focuses on enunciating. “Ssyri’jiilits. I’m Issa and Ssiina’s sister by adoption.”

“Oh.” Farula’s eyes went wide as saucers. “Oohhhhh. So that… wasn’t just a rumor?”

“I swear it on my family’s name.”

She blinked rapidly, then shot her hand out. “Ihavesomanyquestions!” Before Kyrae could decide what to do with it, Farula grabbed her hand and yanked her a few stumbling steps toward the sitting room before suddenly stopping.

“Wait, oh no!” She let go of Kyrae’s hand. “I’m so sorry! Didn’t mean to offend you if I did! Promise!”

Pouting, she looked like one of the older orphanage kids trying—and succeeding—to look cute. Kyrae couldn’t hold in a bout of laughter, which Farula matched, nervously at first.

“No! Not at all!” Kyrae waved both hands in front of herself. “Really, I hate all that noble posturing too. We had so many lessons.”

At that, Farula beamed. “Me too! Oh, please could you answer some questions? What’s the Emerald Palace like? I heard elves aren’t allowed in. Oh! Let’s sit down. You can just move the duskviper orchid… to the… window, I guess. Stack it by the burnflower vine, there shouldn’t be too much light for it—oh this is so excitiiing!”

Kyrae took a moment to try to process the rapid Elven, then took the dark-flowered plant Farula was gesturing at and moved it near the vine with flame-orange leaves. One of the spiked flowers snapped shut near her finger and Kyrae winced.

“Oh she doesn’t bite! Much! Now come on, sit down!” She patted her own seat then sat in it, kicking her legs. “I can call you Kyrae, right?”

“...Right. Yes! I mean, yes that’s fine.”

“Great! So where should we start… oh! I know—how did you meet your sisters?”

Kyrae smiled, feeling a faint nostalgia. She took a look around the verdant room and breathed deep of the earthy smell. I miss my sisters, and this is bullshit, but it might also be fun. “Well, it’s a long story.”

“I slept yesterday afternoon, so I’m fine if you’re fine!”

It wasn’t hard to hear the “please be fine” in her pleading tone. Unable to hold back a smile despite her and Issa’s sad origins as sisters, Kyrae gathered her thoughts and started to tell a cleaner version of her and Issa’s story.

Farula listened with rapt attention at first, then slowly drifted off, head resting in her arms on the table, until Kyrae heard light snoring. Maybe talking about Phaeliisthia’s history lessons was a bridge too far? Oh well.

With a genuine smile, Kyrae reached over and shook Farula’s shoulder.

The young woman snapped to attention and Kyrae found a small bone blade at her throat faster than she could react. Her eyes met Farula’s half awake ones, and when realization dawned, the blade clattered to the floor, leaving an oily stain from something in its hollow tip.

“Sorry!” she lowered herself in obeisance. “I… can I show you your room? A-and I’ll explain this first thing in the morning okay! Just… I should’ve said I don’t like being touched when I’m asleep. N-not that that excuses it or anything but—”

“It’s fine,” Kyrae lied. She understood Farula’s fear of being woken all too well, but that didn’t make her heart calm its racing, or cull the sudden panic she felt. Did she trust Farula too quickly? Her regret seemed genuine, though. The small girl looked on the verge of tears even. “Just… let’s get some sleep and we’ll talk more in the morning, okay?”

Why does an ussen like Farula have this fear?

“Okay!” Farula reached for Kyrae’s hand, then seemed to think better of it. “I, uh, follow me.”

Kyrae did so, grabbing some of her things on the way by, and found her room upstairs to be well-appointed with a large bed and an entire garden’s worth of more… normal looking plants.

She moved the ones nearest her bed away once she’d closed the door, moved the desk in front of the door as quietly as she could and tried to go to sleep. Predictably, she found she couldn’t and wished she’d gotten an explanation. But she wasn’t going to move the desk back and go try to wake Farula up again.

I really hope Farula isn’t a danger; she’s honestly really cute…