She nudges the creature with her mind. Feels its ribs and lateral muscles contort and bend as it changes direction. Away from the path that leads to where Khawla is snipping mint leaves, blissfully oblivious. It seems to work. Though, later, Shay will tell herself that perhaps the snake altered course on its own and she only imagined having any part in it.
Deebi told her the other humans in Ard Al-Ghul are fugitives. In all likelihood, Khawla has ties to the Citizens’ Naturalist movement. Shay must keep her hizoura magic a secret. Sure, Shadi may have downplayed the threat the rebels pose to her. But that doesn't mean her new acquaintance won't spurn her if she learns the truth.
The opinion of a stranger shouldn't matter, but despite the risks that come with trusting people, Shay would not mind if the maid stayed long enough for them to not be strangers anymore.
15
Quick overview of the four pantheons of Shawafa
(plus a note about elementals):
Green: The pantheon of Rabia, associated with earth energies—nature, growth, restoration and fertility—most commonly manifests as Shifa (healer) or Hadaiq (gardener).
Silver: The pantheon of Iman, associated with air energy—communication, expression, transformation, and travel—most commonly manifests as Waswas (whisperer) or Mutahawil (shifter).
Red: The pantheon of Noor, associated with fire energy—strength, illumination, defense, and lust—most commonly manifests as Batal (champion) and Hamsa (shield).
Blue: The pantheon of Rasha, associated with water energy—calm, flexibility, wisdom, and balance—most commonly manifests as Ghaib (concealer) or Taqs (weather caster).
Note that element manipulators, known as Jinnamin, can manifest in any of the above pantheons and are able to create, shape, and control one of the four elements.
—excerpt fromHarnessing the Flow: A Compendium of Feminine Magic
Shay can't find her remembrance beads. She's thoroughly searched her sleeping room, the kitchen, the salon, and the washroom. The cottage is not so large that there are copious places to look. If Hammu laid his sticky fingers on them …
Soft thumps and sounds of shuffling come from the bone-eaters’ sleeping room. Since the brothers have left for the night, Shay surmises Khawla mustsbe in there. She would assume the maid is cleaning, since that is what maids generally do, but in the first quarters of Khawla's employment, she has shown scant domestic proclivity, spending more time doodling in notebooks that leave her side of their shared room a bin of pencil shavings. With her penchant for conversation and a rather delightful ability to impersonate the brothers’ speech and mannerisms, she's been more of a distraction for Shay than anything. Although by no means an unwanted one.
“Khawla, have you seen—”
A cast of silver shines from between Khawla's fingers as she holds up the hjabat, about to slip the heavy ring onto her other hand. She pauses, looking over at Shay, her face brightening. “Look what I found hidden away in Aidi's wardrobe!”
Thoughts of the missing beads fall away, and feelings of mistrust rise in their place. Shay swallows tightly, but experience has shown her not to ignore her suspicions. “Why would you open a box that doesn't belong to you?”
“It's not like I'm planning to keep it,” Khawla says with an easy smile, as if that makes her actions permissible. “I just like being nosy.”
“Well, don't put that on.” Shay hastens closer and stops herself a breath away from snatching the ring. “Just—put it back where you found it.”
Khawla lowers her hand. She tilts her head. “Why are you so upset? Is it yours?”
Shay almost says no—that would be safer. But the longer Khawla is here, the more accustomed to her presence Shay becomes. Her growing attachment will only make it harder when the maid inevitably learns the truth and consequently abandons her.
“Yes.” Shay sighs with all her chest. She squats down on the closest sleeping pallet—Deebi's if the knotted blankets, scattered crumbs, and pillows puddled thick with drool are any indication. “Please don't ask me to explain. It will be so much better if you can just put the hjabat away.”
“What did you call it?” Khawla stares at the ring with a new glint in her eyes, before turning that gaze and its ferocity on Shay. “You have to tell me now.”
The maid plops down in front of Shay on the floor. A wiser seating choice,come to think of it. Shay scoots off the pallet and joins her there. She wrings her hands. “Alright. I'll tell you. But give me the ring first.”
Khawla cradles the talisman in her palm and brings it level with her nose. She regards it with squinted eyes. “But it's not a ring, is it?”
“The hjabat,” Shay reluctantly amends, holding out her upturned palm. Her heart sinks to the pit of her stomach. Somehow, her mother is still managing to ruin her life even while being completely absent from it. “Please, give me the hjabat.”
“Wakha, wakha.” Khawla relents, placing the ring in the cup of Shay's hand. The maid peers at her steadily. “I understand if you don't know me well enough to trust me. But I assure you, your secrets are safe with me. Should you choose to confide them.”
She has no idea about the magnitude of what she's asking. And yet … Shay gets the impression that even though Khawla really wants to know, the maid won't continue pushing her if Shay denies her request. It softens her defenses.
“It was all a huge misunderstanding,” Shay explains, picking her words with care. The ring sits heavy in her hand, as if it has accumulated the weight of all her sorrows. “And now I'm wanted for arrest, even though I didn't actually do anything. I'm almost sure I've been set up.”
Understanding flashes over Khawla's face. The maid nods. “Someone betrayed you.”
