“What is that?”
“Nothing,” I mumbled, pulling the lantern down by feel and then running my fingers over the shelf where it’d sat to find a match.
“What’re you doing?” she asked.
“You’ll see.”
I struck the match and she gasped. “There’s some strange magic attacking your fingers!”
“It’s just fire.” If this were any other time, I would’ve laughed, but I couldn’t summon the feeling now. I lit the lamp and blew the match out, tossing it to the ground.
“What is fire for?”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose with my fingers. Was it really a relief to not hear her thoughts if she spoke every single one of them?
“Fire is good for a lot of things. Keeping warm, being able to see at night.” I explained, moving into the tunnels at a slow pace, making sure I didn’t stumble on the uneven floor.
“But it’s so much easier to see without it,” she whined.
That piqued my curiosity. “You can see in the dark?”
“Of course, can’t you?”
I glanced over at the strange girl, shaking my head as I finally let out a small laugh. “Um... No.”
She followed me through the winding tunnels, as I led us through one corridor after another, climbing a set of stairs before reaching a long, rectangular dead end. On the other side was the mirror to my bedroom.
It seemed like years since I’d wandered these tunnels with Havah.
There wasn’t a peep hole, for privacy’s sake, so I set my ear to the crack along the wall. Was there anyone inside?
I stood there for a full five minutes to make sure, holding my finger to my lips when Rena tried to speak. That, at least, she seemed to understand.
Finally, I pressed the latch that opened the secret door. The mirror swung out into the room on silent hinges.
No one was inside.
We entered my chambers, and I swung the mirror back against the wall, latching it before I crept to the closet, the bath, and the outer room, checking each one to make sure we were alone before I spoke. “It’s safe. Let’s get you dressed.”
Inside the closet, I pulled the first gown I could reach off the hook—a simple dark green with a modest neckline. The girl was smaller than me, both in height as well as in the hips and bust, so I doubted it would fit her perfectly, but it would do. Anything was better than what she currently wore.
When I held it out to her, she shook her head. “That’s a drab color. What about this one!” She plucked a bright blue dress from where it hung on the other side. “This looks like the ocean when you swim near the surface. And the jewels are like when the sun shines down and makes it sparkle.”
I shrugged. “I guess it kind of is.”
She tossed the cloak I’d given her to the floor and began to struggle with the dress.
“Here, let me.” I carefully untied the strings at the back and helped her step into it before lacing it up.
“Oh, stop it this instant,” she squealed as I tugged the laces. “I can’t breathe!”
“Women aren’t supposed to be able to breathe,” I said with a small smile, but I tied them more loosely.
“Humans are so strange.” She held up her long sleeve to admire the way the extra fabric draped, nearly touching the floor when she lowered her wrist.
“I suppose we are.” I stepped back to admire my work. “Nonetheless, you’re much more likely to blend in now that you’re not running around...” I trailed off. “You know... as you were.”
“In my birthday dress,” she said with a grin.
