“It’s too exhausting. I have to save my energy for things that matter.” He sighed and waved the amulet at me. “Are you paying attention? I’m not going to start again for you.”

“It doesn’t feel done.”

“It’s not.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “If only you weren’t so ambitious. Then we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“Feel free to leave after you’ve finished with that amulet,” I said. “I can handle it from there.”

It was stupid of me to say that—if he called my bluff there’d be no one to construct the amulet when the hyena was released.

He sighed and looked at the unfinished silver, not like he misunderstood it but like it was the canvas for some other thought. I didn’t dare interrupt that thought, and so we sat in silence for what felt like minutes. “Only four debtera in history have survived their encounters with a hyena. All of them suffered nerve damage from their injuries. None of them could bear to touch another living person again. Three of them killed themselves before old age could take them.” He shook his head, as if realizing he wasn’t working, and made a few more strokes. “I don’t want that for you.”

I swallowed, my throat dry as I took in his words. “Why haven’t you ever told me this before?”

“Would it have mattered? All children think they’re invincible. Besides, constructing amulets is in you, like music. Most debtera are content to cleanse everyday Manifestations, but you’ve never been. Teaching you to cleanse a hyena would’ve been too much encouragement.”

“I’m good at this, you know I am. And if you had just taught me everything, maybe you wouldn’t have to be here right now doing it for me. I know you hate being here.”

“You’re too inexperienced to know you should be afraid.”

“I’m terrified, Jember. I’ve been since the first night. But there are more important things than fear at the moment.”

“Yes,” he grumbled, “your insufferable lover.”

“We’re not lovers,” I said, my face burning, then added indignantly, “Anyway, you’re Saba’s insufferable lover, you know.”

“I know.” He cursed and leaned back in his chair. “For the life of me I can’t figure out why she still loves me.”

“Because love is a strange beast. I don’t know. Why do I love Magnus?”

He raised his eyebrows as he worked. “Yes, why do you? You used to make more sense.”

“Same reason I care about you,” I said, smirking. “Every girl wants to marry someone like their father. You’ve conditioned me to have horrible taste in men.”