Page 24 of The Lustrous Dark
“Let me guess.” She tilts her head thoughtfully. “You sometimes like to slip away to other people's rooftops. To clear your head?”
He chuckles, and Shay dislikes her inability to detest the sound. “No, believeit or not, I knocked on the door downstairs first. But the midwife told me I'd find you up here.”
The confusion that passes over her is brief, like a cloud momentarily blocking the sun. Of course, the midwife knows exactly where she is. Shay has never been as good at hiding things as the midwife is at sniffing them out. Given the circumstances, it might have behooved her to work harder at developing the skill of deceit.
She narrows her eyes at Shadi. “Did you follow me home?”
“Oh.” Shadi blinks a few times in rapid succession before flashing his palms in innocence. “Oh no. I wasn't … It wasn't hard to find you. I merely asked for directions to the midwife's home.”
Shay takes a calming breath. That makes sense. And he's changed clothes since she saw him last, so … yeah. She just really, really needs to be alone and think right now. “Wakha, so why are you looking for me?”
“Do you mind …?” He gestures toward the empty space beside her. “Can I sit down for a minute?”
No.“Um, sure.” Shay scoots far to one side, even though there's ample room already.
“Thanks.” Shadi eases down next to her, and Shay notices the edges of his hair are damp, dribbling droplets of water down the smooth skin of his tanned neck. He smells like soap blended with essential oils. Sandalwood, maybe? And he somehow managed to scrub the green stain from his fingers, which reminds her of all the reasons she should not be noticingwhathe smells like. “I came because I want to give you something. To thank you for your advice earlier. The banana peel really helped.”
Shay nods as he holds out his wrist for her to inspect. Indeed, the blister is smaller and much less painful-looking. Still, it's not the kind of thing that warrants a house call to thank someone, much less a gift. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small sachet.
Shay knows what it is before he hands it to her. Before she catches a whiff of the pungent odor. Before she tugs loose the drawstring to reveal the vibrant green leaves tucked inside.
Moon pepper.
“What is this?” She asks angrily, her fist clenching around the cloth and crunching the herbs inside. “I don't know what you think I am, but …”
“Please, let me explain,” he says gently, his voice soft as an evening breeze. “I took it for my sisters. They live far away, and moon pepper doesn't grow there, so I picked it all to take to them. I needed to make sure they had a supply that can last for quite a while, because I don't get to visit them often. They require it, especially in the region where they reside, for their safety.”
Shay is not certain he is telling the truth. Between the midwife and the touched one, she's not sure if anything anyone says is true anymore. But all she really hears him saying is that there are others like her. She's not the only one.
Of course, she knew there must be other hizouras, but she's never known one personally. Or even met someone who has. Too bad Shadi said his sisters don't live nearby. Shay thinks she'd like to meet them.
“It didn't occur to me that anyone else would need it,” he continues. “Not until I saw you in the woods today. If that's not enough, I can bring you more.”
“No, that's fine. It's … Thank you.” The amount is enough to get her out of Nezjar, at least. And Shay is grateful, or she wants to be. Would be, if everything weren't as confusing as it is right now. She laughs, suddenly feeling foolish. “I guess you're not a Naturalist, then?”
He stiffens, inhaling sharply. “Is that what you thought?”
“Well, it made sense at the time,” Shay blunders, now worried she's insulted him. “I thought you picked the moon pepper so that any hizoura in the area would have to come out of hiding and you could … you know.”
He blanches. “I could … what?”
She runs a finger across her throat, clicks her teeth. “Kill me?”
He winces. “First off, I'm so sorry that you thought that. I—wow, I have never been pegged as a murderer before. That is certainly not the impression I intended to give.”
Shay shakes her head remorsefully. “You didn't. That's not how I meant it. But do you see the logic in my thinking?”
“I'm not sure the Naturalists would kill you either, but it is probably best to avoid their notice.”
“Oh.” Shay tilts her head. “What do you think their plan is, then? My understanding is they want to eradicate magic in all forms.”
“Yeah, sure, but for now they have no power. They have as much reason to stay hidden as you do. The main thing they want is to overthrow Al-Mukhtar, destroy Snow, and stop its production, right? I don't think you have to worry about them hunting down hizouras, at least not until after those goals are achieved.”
“How would they accomplish those goals?”
Shadi shrugs, then squints thoughtfully. “I guess they'd have to find the source of Snow, and destroy that.”
Shay has never met someone willing to talk so openly about the rebels. Most people are afraid to even discuss the topic, lest they be accused of insurrection. “And after? What do you think would be the fate of those with tainted blood?”
