Joythief by Brenda J. Pierson

Author:Brenda J. Pierson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crimson Fox Publishing
Published: 2023-02-15T08:00:00+00:00

Two days and Ehra had found nothing. No hint of where Mariq and Turien had been taken and even less on the device. Her search had taught her much about Temhet-Sakh, though, introduced her to so many people their names and faces and magic—more important to a person’s status than their birth—all blended together. She was left with a montage of meeting people, of brief conversations and quick laughs or scoffing arrogance. Her awe at their casual use of magic and excitement at being welcomed by them had yet to dim. In fact, with each new acquaintance she felt more at home, more at peace than ever before.

Hatife had been good to her. Her father had never blamed her for her monster, had never ostracized her. But others had, until Ehra had been forced to adopt a different persona, the quiet girl who rarely spoke and never had fun, just to avoid their attention.

Temhet-Sakh, though, promised far more than that. Here Ehra could be herself, if not free to use her magic. The monster would never allow that. But she met with no condemnation here, no judgment for her power. Just acceptance and understanding. And, of course, magic. Magic was everywhere in Temhet-Sakh, from the ground she walked on to the air she breathed. It was everything here.

Gherrim called on her shortly after breakfast, as he had each morning since she’d arrived. His obnoxious behavior and possessiveness chafed at her, his assumed control of her every move sitting uneasily in her stomach, but fighting it only made him hold her more tightly. Besides, the magic suffusing the streets and sparking between them helped smooth some of his rough edges. She couldn’t step out of his too-intimate touches when the magic made her warm and giddy like strong liquor. She couldn’t push away his clinging presence when his doting attention sent a flush of pleasure through her. She loved how he made her feel, so she chose to ignore just how much she didn’t like him.

He placed his arm around her waist as he led her outside, but not toward the sultan’s palace as he normally did. “Where are we going?”

“The sultan has found a place for your magic to be used,” Gherrim said. “We’re going to the sick rooms.”

Ehra’s heart thudded in her chest. Her fingers tingled and went cold, but did fear or excitement cause it? “We can’t… being around sick people is so dangerous…”

“You have to be around them, if you’re going to heal them.”

Heal. He couldn’t be serious. All Ehra had ever wanted to do was heal, to cure people of their sicknesses and ease their pains. Her monster gave her that power, but at a price she could not bear to pay.

“You saw what it took for me to heal Mariq in the desert. You know what it costs for me to heal.”

“Everything will be taken care of,” Gherrim said.

“But…”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, more sternly this time. “I told you it will be taken care of.

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