We pushed deeper into the market, passing stands displaying jewels that shone with inner light.Crystals that pulsed in time with my heartbeat and gems that whispered when I leaned too close.
“Tonight is the great feast,” Mira announced.“A night of indulging, drinking, and music beneath the stars.”
Her voice held a note of nostalgia, but her expression was teasing.“You’ll love it.It’s very different from what we usually do.Though, it can get a bitintense.”
I narrowed my eyes.“How so?”
“The Jinn are… very free with themselves.I’m sure you’ve realised, they are not like mortals.There are no rules.There is no shame.”
“We truly enjoy ourselves,” Kaseer interjected, eyebrows wiggling suggestively.
Understanding finally dawned on me, and with it a feeling of unease settled in my stomach.Theo however, looked as giddy as a child.
Mira lowered her voice.“The music here is made to entice you.It makes you feel—” she hesitated, her cheeks flushing.“It will draw you in.Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Her words made something flicker in my chest.Half dread, half…excitement?
We entered another section of the market.It felt different.Darker.Not in colour, but in essence.
My heart kicked into a frantic rhythm when I spotted her: a woman seated crossed-legged atop a beautiful, patterned rug.Black robes draped her slender form and inked into the centre of her forehead was an eye, stark against porcelain skin.
I slapped Theo’s arm. He yelped before following my gaze, his eyes widening until white was visible all around his irises.
The woman was identical to the Seer from back home, except youth still clung to her features.
“This is so fucking weird,” I hissed through clenched teeth.
Theo’s body had gone rigid as stone.“I know right?This shit is eerie.”
“Who is that woman?”I asked Kaseer, jerking my chin toward the crossed-legged figure.Her unblinking third eye tracked our movement despite her downcast gaze.
“I don’t know her name, but I do know she possesses vision magic,” he said.“A rare magic among us.”
My brows clashed together.Zaheera had claimed the same power.“It’s rare?”
“Rare in the way she has them, yes.She can summon visions by touch.”
Zaheera had claimed to receive visions only when fate allowed it.The ability to summon by touch… My old fascination with Seers roared to life.That burning curiosity to know more.To understand the tangled threads of what might be.
I took a hesitant step toward her but halted abruptly as Zaheera’s voice sliced through my mind.
“Do not speak with her.Do not allow her to touch you.” Each word fell like a stone.“She will see what you will do, and all of this will be ruined.”
I couldn’t respond without looking completely insane, standing there arguing with empty air.How Zaheera could see me remained a mystery—another question for my ever-growing list.
I wrenched myself around, veering sharply toward a surge of marketgoers, putting as much distance between myself and the woman as I could manage without running.
“Good.”
Zaheera’s presence vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
We turned back toward Dalkhan’s palace.Mira practically floated with excitement, already envisioning preparations for the feast.
I suppressed a groan at the thought of attending.
The stone!I’d completely forgotten.
I cursed silently, falling back and catching Tavrik’s arm.I mouthed the words and understanding immediately crossed his features.He slowed his pace to match mine, scooping up a pebble from the ground and lobbing it at Theo’s back.
