Tyaniis was a firm believer in the cycle of reincarnation. Not just as a devout of Jaezotl, but on a deep, personal level. Hinssa had passed too soon, but her next life would be full—Tyaniis was certain of that. And Tyaniis hoped, fervently, that she would meet her beloved again in the next life.

Zaiia had betrayed not just Tyaniis, not just Ssyii and Lassani. More than even the Empire of Jii’Kalaga, she had betrayed Jaezotl.

Politics, bias, even a knife in the dark were all something she could have imagined her half-sister doing. Zaiia was, for all her bluster, a coward. Before she’d touched the rift and let that awful otherworldly presence into her, Tyaniis had let slide her opportunistic attack at her back.

Tensions had been high, and Zaiia’s plan had clearly gone wrong. Right?

Truthfully, Tyaniis hadn’t seen Zaiia’s first attack coming, and she was thankful Dyni had made good use of the tools she’d given her. Losing a hand was a fair exchange for a knife in the back, borne of desperation and panic. However, Tyaniis had hoped that, in the face of the true form of what her sister had been treating with, Zaiia would at least side with the Empire, if only for her own sake.

What had happened that had made her choose differently? What had happened to the sister who’d been her friend growing up?

Did jealousy do all this?

She stared across the snack-laden table at her half-sister Zaiia, or a twelve-year-old version of herself. Tyaniis knew this wasn’t real, but she wasn’t sure why. This wasn’t an afterlife, or a message from Jaezotl, she thought. Right?

The familiar sound of cicadas buzzed into the heavy air of the late wet season, and Zaiia was smiling. All around them, the garden was in full bloom and the sun was just the right warmth on Tyaniis’s scales. Ssyii had given her half-sister her portion again, and Lassani was looking Tyaniis’s way expectantly. Reproach my sister, her eyes said. Tyaniis sighed, and wasn’t surprised when her voice was that of a child’s.

“Zaiia, you shouldn’t eat that.”

Zaiia frowned. “What? Ssyii gave it to me! I didn’t force her to!”

“You made her think she wouldn’t fit into her dress.”

“I did no such thing!”

Tyaniis sighed. She always does this. She hates that I’m the eldest. “You and I both know you implied it, Zaiia. Even if Ssyii doesn’t eat it, you shouldn’t either.”

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“Why not? I’m ra’zhii too, and I’m going to be bigger than you!”

“It’s unhealthy,” Lassani said quietly. “Bad for your body to eat too much.”

Little Ssyii stayed silent, looking quickly between the others with wide eyes and lips twisted into a worried frown.

“I know that!” Zaiia snapped. “It’s just one extra!”

“Zaiia,” Tyaniis pleaded, “Please?”

Tyaniis remembered this moment. She thought she knew what would happen next. Instead, Zaiia grimaced and swallowed the piece of cake whole. Dark sludge dripped from her mouth, and Tyaniis’s younger half-sister leapt across the table, one hand warping into a cluster of blades.

Tyaniis was too shocked to move, and just as Zaiia’s hand plunged for her heart, Tyaniis woke up.

The room was dim, but the light still hurt her eyes. Above, the ceiling was familiar, but wrong. This wasn’t her bedroom; it was her lounge. And she was splayed out, not coiled. At least she thought so—her whole lower body felt distant. She tried to sit up, only for an explosion of pain to force her back down with a grunt.

“Mistress!” a familiar voice called out.

“She’s awake,” another unfamiliar one said hurriedly.

Paralyzed by pain, Tyaniis heard the rapid rasping of scales as someone approached where she laid.

“Bless Jaezotl, I don’t believe it.” From above, Ussyri Noksi Kosseti’s face appeared. Her dark braids were tied up tight behind her head, and she looked exhausted. Bags hung under her blue eyes, and the skin of her face seemed to almost sag. “Don’t move,” she ordered. “We don’t know how you’re alive, and we don’t want to risk losing you.”

Tyaniis tried to move her neck, but the pain made her stop. She tried to move an arm, but she could barely feel the limb. She tried to speak; all that came out was a dry, crackling hiss.

Ussyri Noksi whipped her head away from Tyaniis. “Don’t you dare get up, Dyni! If you open up that wound again, I won’t be able to save you.”

Tyaniis heard scales shuffling and a groan, followed by a terse “Yes, Ussyri.”

She’s alive! A little trickle of hope began to flow, but Tyaniis needed answers. She needed to know what happened, especially to her daughters and sisters.

“Good.” The ussyri nodded. “Relax for now, Hssen Tyaniis. Do not try to move. Do not use your magic, and do not strain yourself. We’ll need you to attest to what you witnessed when you’re able, but you can’t do that if you’re dead.”

“Tuo…an…” Tyaniis hissed, the word barely audible as such.

“Presumed alive,” Ussyri Noksi answered immediately. “Phaeliisthia took them, and the Temple has received word they look to be headed for Ess’Lakzhiil. Their bodies were not among those found, and the dragon serpent was sighted leaving with figures visible on her back.”

Tyaniis hissed out a pained sigh, locking eyes with the ussyri.

Ussyri Noksi flinched, then looked away. “Hssen Zaiia is missing, Hssen Lassani is alive and recovering well, and the Jii’Hssen… is alive as well.”

Tyaniis glared harder, though as soon as her lower body’s heart sped up, she felt her consciousness slipping.

“Damnit!” Ussyri Noksi swore. “Relax! Relax! The Jii’Hssen is still asleep, but she appears uninjured and all she needs to do is wake up. You cannot strain yourself, Hssen! You only have one heart left!”

What?

If nothing else, that last statement caught Tyaniis off guard. Her heart relaxed, and the fog lifted from the edges of her vision with agonizing slowness. Ussyri Noksi moved up and down her body until Tyaniis felt she could breathe a little easier. When she did, she only felt one heart pulsing, and a cold dread washed over her.

How am I alive?