“No.” Leaving was the last thing I wanted to do. I recalled the strength surging through me when I had summoned the rats, the panic I had caused. What would happen to me if I left Kion untrained? How many more people would I inadvertently harm? Leaving now would be the most irresponsible I could do, and it would justify the hatred people had for bone witches.
But talk of the taurvi and the nanghait had stirred up another memory. “I don’t think this is only about me. I think there’s something wrong with Lady Mykaela.”
“About her heartsglass?”
“Not just about that. I overheard a conversation between her and Mistress Parmina not too long ago.” I tried to swallow the lump I could feel lodged in my throat. “Fox, I think she might be dying.”
Behind us, the two women chortled their agreement and finalized their deal with a lengthy handshake.
? ? ?
The zivar shop was less chaotic than Rahim’s atelier workshop but was almost every bit as colorful. Long, traditional hairpins were mounted on different stands as we entered, decorated in every kind of motif imaginable. There were paper-crepe flowers, silk paper fashioned to represent seasonal scenes, lacquered combs, and fan-shaped metal streamers. I saw a few simple designs, such as a long, silver stick unadorned save for a small, ceramic rose at the end of its chain and extremely elaborate works of art, such as a tortoiseshell comb depicting a long bouquet of paper goldfish and silk flowers woven along its length, so large and cumbersome that I wondered how anyone could walk around balancing such a heavy display on their heads.
The store proprietress was a sunny-faced young woman named Chesh who talked a mile a minute as we browsed and never once came up for air that I could tell. She knew the details of every pin and comb in her store and had admitted to crafting most. “People want what everyone has nowadays.” Chesh wore eight or nine of her own pins in her hair. Jewels and flowers dangled down on either side of her face, before her ears. She shook her head, and the bright jewels swung back and forth as a counterpoint. Fifteen boys and girls worked for her, but unlike Rahim’s workshop, hers was neater, with lesser suggestions of constant chaos. “Last year, everyone wanted rubies carved in the shape of twin hearts offset by white clovers. The year before that, it was yellow lilies in green jade, mounted in white streamers. Only a few weeks ago, we were inundated with people asking for pink jasmines and silk rabbits on emerald-studded leaves, just because they saw Princess Inessa wearing them at a dance.” She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t they understand that the point is to cater to your personality and not others you see wearing zivar?”
I couldn’t say that I understood the point of zivar yet either, so I just nodded, still somewhat awestruck. Fox, overwhelmed by all the beauty and femininity inside, had opted to wait outside the store.
“I’ll help you find what kinds of zivar appeal to your tastes,” Chesh promised. “And knowing Mistress Parmina, I would be more than happy to come up with one-of-a-kind designs for you, as I have always done for the Valerian. I will talk to Rahim and Mistress Salika with regard to the color patterns and spells Mistress Parmina has decided for you. In the meantime, please feel free to look around and tell me anything that you might find appealing.”
I had already decided that there was no way I could wear some of the larger designs, out of a small fear they would somehow dislodge themselves and tumble to the floor, taking most of my hair with them. Instead, I idled by the simpler hairpins and combs and found that I enjoyed looking through them. Quite a few caught my eye, but I hesitated, not sure how many I could choose. I would have been satisfied with two or three, but Mistress Parmina would have none of that.
“Why are you concerning yourselves with these cheap trinkets?” she demanded, uncaring that Chesh was within hearing range. “Do you think people will look up to the Valerian if their asha walk around with things in their hair that you would need a magnifying lens to see?” She was about to say more had Chesh not smoothly intervened.
“We have a new supply of gold combs like the ones you prefer, Mistress Parmina, and I want you to look through the collection before I put them up for display. I have made the silver silk doves you’ve been asking for, but there is the matter of selecting which comb to pair them with…”
“A new supply, you say?” Interest piqued, the old woman turned to her, and I took the opportunity to get out of the way, retreating to a display stand where I exhaled noisily.
“You shouldn’t bother yourself too much about her,” someone said. “We’re all used to Mistress Parmina, and we don’t see her all the time. You live in the same house, so why aren’t you?”
He was easily one of the loveliest boys I have ever met, a few years younger than I was. I knew it was a strange thing to say, but “lovely” suited him well. He was clad in the simple frock that all the other shop assistants wore, and he had long lashes and a gently rounded face. He also had eyes of the brightest blue, a magnificent complement to his tanned skin. He bowed low, and his heartsglass spilled out over his shirt. The boy looked younger than I was, but Lady Mykaela had said that those who worked in the Willows were allowed to receive their heartsglass earlier if they wanted. His was a rich-red color, but there was something strange to it, something I couldn’t quite place at the moment.
The boy slipped his heartsglass back inside his robe, then held a silver hairpin out to me. It was shaped like a wing, with blue sapphires embedded along intervals on its metal feathers. It reminded me of the sapphire pin I had to sacrifice to the oracle when I first arrived at Ankyo.
“It’s beautiful,” I gasped. “But how did you know…?”
The boy shrugged shyly. He had long hair tied neatly back in a small ponytail, and he tugged at its end. “I just thought it suited you.”
“I love it,” I told him, smiling. “My name’s Tea.”
“Mine’s Likh.”
“Well, Likh, thank you. You’re really good at this.”
Instead of beaming back, the boy looked a little sad. “That’s what Chesh says too. Do you want me to help you pick out some more pins? I know a few other things that you might like.”
“That would be good because I don’t even know what I like yet.”
He grinned. “This place seems intimidating, especially if you’re new to zivar. The whole of the Willows seems intimidating, really. The trick is to remember that we’re all here to make you look prettier, so it can’t be that bad a thing.”
We laughed, and he led me to a few more display stands.
I spent most of the day happily occupied and found enough items to sate even Mistress Parmina’s need to show me off. She settled the bill, Chesh promised to deliver them to the Valerian as soon as she finished them, and Likh waved at us as we left. “This is enough for one day,” Mistress Parmina announced.