Likh’s face hardened. “I won’t be missed in Kion. Kalen has Zahid’s blessing, and Khalad pretty much goes wherever he wants to. Master Narel, the old Heartforger—his condition hit Khalad harder than he lets on, but I don’t think even his master would disagree with Khalad’s decision.”

On any other occasion, I would have been proud of Likh. He was no longer the shy, doe-eyed assistant working in Chesh’s shop, offering pretty zivars and dreaming of dancing. But there was something wrong with Likh. There was a strange silence around him that I was still too sluggish to comprehend. “What were you doing in the Isteran library that night? I’ve been meaning to ask.”

Likh froze. “That’s—that’s strange to be changing the subject so abruptly, don’t you think?”

“Nothing about our situation is normal.” That night had been a blur to me; I remembered the dream I had more vividly than its aftermath. But even so, finding Likh there had struck me as odd. “Were you doing more research about the blight?” Focus on Likh. Focus on Likh. Don’t think about sisters or brothers or blood. Focus on Likh.

Likh gazed down at his stew. “Remember when you said that there could be runes for spells we haven’t even thought of yet?”

“I do.”

“What if—what if there was a spell no one thought existed, but you’ve been thinking of for the longest time, long before you were even an asha? And what if you thought maybe the rune does exist, only that no one’s been looking for it?”

“I don’t understand, Likh.”

“I’ve always thought that I was born wrong,” Likh whispered. “In the wrong body. I was wondering—I was hoping—that maybe there were other people who thought like me. People who felt different, like me. That maybe there was a rune where we could—where I could—change to be more me than I am right now. To occupy a different body more in keeping with my mind.”

“Oh,” I said, puzzled at first. “Oh…oh. Likh, have the other asha been giving you trouble in the Willows?”

He looked embarrassed. “There’s a lot of teasing. Some are lighthearted, but others…aren’t. And I haven’t been getting a lot of work in the evenings. A lot of clients stop asking for me when they—when they realize I’m not a girl or after they’ve grown used to the novelty of—”

“Oh, Likh. Why didn’t you tell me?” I wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him closer. “You should have told me.”

“You’ve already done so much. You’ve made the impossible happen for me. I still don’t know how to repay you for that.” Likh gulped back tears. “I wanted to figure this out on my own.”