“Is that what you’d like?”

He spent several seconds in thought, then straightened. “Being a girl or a boy or a Deathseeker or an asha isn’t about how you were born; it’s about who you are. You had no say in how you were born, and neither did I, but my ability to be true to who I am is the reason I’m an asha, not a Deathseeker. And the reason you’re an asha, not a Faceless.

“I don’t want to make other people uncomfortable, but I want to be who I am, and I need to understand my pride in that before anything else. Even if there are no spells to give me that shape, it doesn’t stop me from knowing I am a woman, whatever else they may say. Can’t…can’t I at least have that?”

“And I’ll support you,” I promised, smiling. “Every step of the way, Lady Likh.”

Likh grinned sheepishly. “It sounds so much simpler than doing it.”

“The best truths are always simple, I think. Life makes them complicated. Agnarr sounds like a rather perceptive person, and he seems to get to the heart of the matter quickly. I bow to his wisdom and yours.”

Likh laughed, suddenly shy. “Thank you. I’m not entirely convinced of his wisdom yet. But back to the issue at hand—now that you’ve been refused shadowglass, what do we do? We’re no better off now than we were before coming to Istera.”

“I don’t want to be their chosen Dark asha, Likh. But perhaps we can find another compromise.”

“We’ve received word from the Gorvekai,” Kalen said, returning with Khalad. “They want to see us.”

“Let’s not keep them waiting.” Khalad treated my injury, then we stood. “Shall we see what Lord Agnarr wants, Lady Likh?”

Likh giggled. Khalad looked puzzled, but a smile tugged at the corners of Kalen’s mouth.

“I am sorry,” Lord Agnarr said when we had entered his hut, “that we could not come to an agreement.”

“How exactly is Stranger’s Peak capable of its magic?” Kalen asked. “It is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. How has this been kept a secret for so long?”

“The average asha or Deathseeker may enter, but they will find nothing there on their own. Dark asha and Faceless who have attempted shadowglass have reasons to keep our secret. If they cannot be chosen, then it is to their benefit that no one else is. The legends of Hollow Knife and Blade that Soars have always been shrouded in mystery. But there is one detail that many have forgotten: where the two brothers fell, a mountain rose in their place.”

Khalad stared. “Stranger’s Peak marks where Blade that Soars and Hollow Knife died?”