Ahlam shakes her head. Her husband and sons usually keep to their section of the riad and function as security when there is need for it. “Half of the rooms are empty. Sadly, I don’t think that will remain the case for long.”

Though not on any official list of halfway homes, word has spread among humans of this place’s existence, and oftentimes there will be a knock on the door at odd hours of the night followed by a soft plea for assistance. No one is ever turned away.

Ahlam returns to us after asking the kitchen to prepare a meal, and we talk to her. She understands, perhaps as much as she can, that we’re not strictly human, but she doesn’t ask questions that she knows we won’t answer. That’s why, apart from a second look at Taraana, she doesn’t mention his presence. We’re familiar with each other, however, so there’s a world of things to talk about. We spend an hour in conversation.

“Could you do us a favor, Ahlam?” Paheli asks the woman as she is about to return to the kitchen to check on the progress of the meal.

“Of course,” Ahlam replies with a sweet smile.

“Could you ask around and see if there’s someone called Farroukh selling goods in the old souk? Could you let us know where exactly his store is?” Paheli asks.

“I will, bibi. The information should be ready for you by tomorrow morning,” she answers readily.

Paheli thanks her and she leaves. A few minutes later, she returns with the first of the many dishes the chefs in the kitchen have crafted for us.

We indulge our appetites and our senses on freshly baked bread, bastille, kefta, meat skewers, salads, and couscous. Sated, we make our way to the wing of the riad reserved for us.

Instead of individual rooms, our space in the riad is a long, wide room with beds and bedside tables separated by screens at intervals. Sort of like a high-level dormitory. A separate living room furnished with chairs and a dining table located right beside the dormitory is set aside exclusively for us. We gather in this room while Ahlam has the dormitory freshly cleaned.

“It is obvious from the middle worlders’ actions that human conjuries present very real threats to them,” Valentina says, returning to the conversation we have been having since we left the city.

“I told you, Assi said human conjury unravels middle worlders,” Taraana says.

“That’s probably the reason Yasmine wanted to use it against them,” Kamboja says, mentioning the keeper whose object we read in the Library of the Lost.

“It makes sense now,” Etsuko says, tapping her lips.

“What makes sense?” Areum raises an eyebrow.