Saba rinsed me off with a few buckets of cold water, which would’ve felt much worse if my room hadn’t been heated with an amulet. She made me dress again, then sat me in front of the mirror to style my hair into albaso braids—thicker and thinner braids alternating on the scalp, releasing midway in a burst of curls at the back of my head. Curls. Actual curls instead of frizz. It looked sweet. I looked sweet. And healthy, and … better than I’d looked my whole life.

There wasn’t much she could do for my unextraordinary face, and maybe I was stupid to refuse the makeup she offered. But there was only so much of a cleanup job I could take before I disappeared into someone else’s ideal. So far, I felt like myself, only cleaner.

It felt good. I hoped people didn’t take this for granted, feeling clean, looking presentable. I certainly didn’t. It’d taken a few hours, but was worth every minute. It might’ve been the best thing that ever happened to me.

“Thank you, Saba,” I breathed. I touched the ends of my hair, the split, damaged ends replaced by relatively soft strands, then looked at my friend’s pleased expression in the mirror. “Can you believe it? I didn’t talk that entire time.”

Saba gasped and hunched over my chair, shoulders shaking. I leapt up and leaned my knee on the seat to see what was wrong, a grin abruptly replacing my grimace. She was laughing. It was a joyful experience to watch, and I joined in without questioning the impulse.

“You might just be my favorite person,” I said, grabbing her—oh my—surprisingly hard shoulder. “You’ve got solid muscles. I assume it’s from Magnus making you do all the hard work around here.”

Saba rolled her eyes, but with a slight, forgiving grin.

“I should get back to work before Magnus loses his mind again,” I said, leaning forward. I paused. Would Saba be comfortable with a hug?

No. I wasn’t going to overstep the boundaries of the only friend I’d ever had. Besides, I didn’t have much experience with hugs, and had a feeling I would mess it up.

“Let me help you clean up first,” I said, to which Saba held up her hands and shook her head. She grinned and handed me my basket of supplies, then shooed me out of the room and shut the door behind me. I found myself staring at my own closed door.

Everyone in this house was so strange. But at least Saba was the good kind.

I made my way downstairs. Between that trip to town, my nap, and that much overdue makeover, I’d spent most of the day not working. Then again, it wasn’t as if I’d ever taken a day off before.