“Enchanted pair of eyes! Useful for seeing through all kinds of things,” he shouted. “Like deception and jars of wine. Or even”—he stopped and grinned—“a lovelyapsara’s clothes.”
A group of men crowded theraksha.I moved past them and flicked my wrist. A night wind rattled through the bazaar, kicking up the silk skirts of tents and display tables and stealing the eyeballs straight out of theraksha’s hands and into my palm.
Therakshablinked. “What happened to it?”
“You lied to us!” yelled one male.
“THIEF!” roared theraksha.
I grinned, ducking beneath a silver rope strung with colored glass lanterns before disappearing into the crowd. Nritti hated the way some of the men and women of the Otherworld looked at her. Somewomen would lust after her. Some women would blame her for love unrequited. Some men would lust after her. Some men would blame her for love unrequited. And when everyone in this world had power, beauty could become a dangerous thing.
By the time I got to theapsaras’dancing podium, a huge crowd had gathered. I watched as theapsarassoared through the air, silk trailing behind them. Each time they stamped their feet, thegunghroobells around their ankles released tiny blooms of petals and gold dust. The crowd sighed. Tablas dropped low beats and the sky broke, sending golden flakes to rain down on the audience. They were near the final movement of the dance. Flutes and bells, horns and silvery voices grew louder in urgency, spinning a story to which theapsarasdanced. A tale of kings vanquishing demons who wandered beyond their realm and invaded the mortal world in the dead of night. Nritti had mentioned that tonight’s performance would be held in honor of the human prince. Maybe the song was about him and his deeds. I spotted an opening near the back of the crowd and edged closer. I couldn’t stay for the finale, but I always tried to see Nritti’s dance before I set up the vendor stall of dream fruit.
From the sudden intakes of breath, I knew that Nritti had taken over the stage. She leapt into the air, soaring above the others. The light clung to her, and her steps echoed in the very vaults of the heavens.
Here was why they called her the Jewel of the Heavens.
When Nritti danced, the world felt too small. Spectators leaned out, crowding themselves elbow to elbow to watch her. Except one. Seated at the front of the stage and flanked in an ivory throne carved of clouds, sat a young man. His crown was mortal-made, for it did not gleam with Otherworld jewels and even his finest silkswere not as resplendent as the most common of our garb for it did not contain a single thread of moonlight. In profile, he was handsome. When he turned his head, he was shockingly beautiful. Even Nritti—who had walked past the god of love himself without a second glance—could not keep her eyes off of him and he, even though he was not looking at her, seemed to tilt toward the sound of her. His whole body seemed shaped to the light she cast. It was only when he turned his head to face the crowd that I saw why he didn’t bother to look at her:
He was blind.
***
“… I asked himtwiceabout the talon marks down his back,” said a harriedyakshini.She had a long multicolored beak and bright gold hair that ruffled furiously about her face. “And do you know what he said?”
I faked a grin. Sometimes I’d get customers who considered purchasing a dream fruit little more than telling someone all about their horrific day. This was one of those occasions. The line had been long at first, but once thisyakshinihad gotten in line, half the beings behind her had dwindled. The other half were either smiling smugly—probably thinking of how to leverage the long wait time into their haggling methods—and the other half were one word away from leaving. I wanted to scream. This woman was jeopardizing my ability to empty out the Night Bazaar of its sari collection.
“No, I don’t. But I do think that you’ve paid generously for a dream fruit. Perhaps even two!”
She cocked her head to one side. “Two?”
“Yes.”
I shoved the fruit into her arms.
“One for you and one for your mate,” I said loudly and quickly. “Nothing makes a couple stay together more than mutual dreams.”
“I suppose so,” she said, gathering the fruit. “Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
I did not say:Please come again soon.
The next person in line was a handsomeasura.He was tall, broad-shouldered, with sparkling eyes that glinted green as the jungle in one moment and blue as the sea in the next.
“That line was horrifically long, but had I known that a thing as lovely as you waited on the other side, I wouldn’t have complained.”
A thing.I suppressed a recoil.
“I am sorry about the wait.”
“I could wait forever.”
Please stop talking.
“But compensation is necessary. My time is precious. I’m a king, you know.”
So are half the people here.
