The herbal shop was still and humid, thick with the scent of dried roots, crushed bark, and flowers in various states of decay.
The mont Amari turned her back, Rin nudged Nova forward and stepped in after him, her fingers anxiously playing with the hem of her sleeve.
"Amari...I... need a favor."
She started, voice too light to be casual.
The older woman raised an eyebrow and turned her gaze toward the young girl.
"Isn’t dragging a stranger into my workspace already a favor?"
"No. The man I brought—he’s... he’s lost his mory."
Rin said quickly.
Amari’s hands paused mid-reach toward a hanging pouch of blackened herbs.
"He doesn’t rember anything. Not even who he is. I found him wandering near the imperial pools, disoriented. And since it’s kind of my fault he got caught up with , I was hoping you could let him stay here for a few days. Just until he stabilizes."
Rin continued, speaking faster now.
Nova turned slightly toward Rin, his expression unreadable, but didn’t interrupt.
Amari crossed her arms.
"And why, exactly, would I take in a grown man with no mory? Especially one who gives off the kind of quiet that says he’s seen blood before."
"Because...You owe . You know you do. And if you help this one ti—I won’t ask for anything else. We’ll be even."
Rin took a deep breath and said quickly,
That gave Amari pause. She looked from Rin to Nova again, narrowing her eyes.
"He doesn’t look harmless."
Rin offered a weak smile.
"He is. Mostly. He’s just... quiet."
Amari didn’t seem convinced. Still, after a long silence, she finally sighed and waved her hand toward the back of the greenhouse.
"Fine. I’ll keep him. But if he breaks even one of my plants, I’ll feed him to the soil. And he stays out of the way. These aren’t regular weeds. They’re delicate. They respond to energy—and they die from too much of it."
Nova remained silent. His eyes drifted toward the back, scanning the greenhouse with more focus.
The mont his gaze touched the nearest cluster of vines, he could feel it. Aether. Faint, subtle, raw.
The sa energy woven into himself and others—but here, it was unnad. It pulsed from the roots of these plants, clung to the walls like morning dew, and drifted from Rin’s body without her even realizing it.
Interesting.
This world didn’t understand aether. They used it without knowing. Without control. Which ant... they were vulnerable.
Nova’s mind ticked, but his face gave away nothing. He simply gave Amari a short nod.
That, for her, seed unsettling.
"Quiet n are the worst. Go make yourself useful and stay out of my way."
She muttered, turning away.
Rin’s shoulders sagged with relief.
"Thank you, Amari."
"I said don’t thank . This ends our debt."
Amari snapped.
Rin gave her a grateful smile and turned to leave, but before she could step past the threshold, Amari reached out and caught her wrist.
"You’re not going anywhere."
Rin froze.
Amari’s voice was sharp, but her eyes—when they glanced down—were softer.
"Sit down. I’ll treat your wounds."
Rin tensed. Her hand drifted to her side, clutching the fabric of her shirt.
"I don’t—"
"I know you’re hiding sothing under there. And you think I’m going to just let you leave without fixing you up?"
Amari said, voice firm now.
Nova watched silently from the corner of the room. Rin’s posture gave away her discomfort more than anything else.
Her fingers curled tightly into her sleeves, and her eyes dropped to the floor.
"...You always know."
She muttered.
"Obviously. Now sit down and stop being difficult."
Amari said, already preparing a clean cloth and so kind of glowing salve.
Rin hesitated a few seconds longer before quietly moving to one of the worn stools near the table.
She winced slightly as she eased into the seat, and Amari gave her a pointed look.
Nova didn’t speak. He leaned against the wooden wall, eyes half-lidded, but alert.
He wasn’t sure why he stayed.
Maybe it was the sll of the herbs. Maybe it was the faint hum of the aether-rich plants.
Maybe it was the way Rin’s quiet stubbornness reminded him of a ti when he, too, had sothing left to lose.
Rin hesitated for a mont, her fingers tightening around the hem of her shirt. Then, with a quiet breath, she pulled it down to reveal her back.
Amari’s hands froze mid-reach.
The skin was bruised dark, shades of blue, purple, and black pooling across her shoulder blades and spine.
There were older scars too, faint but still visible—faint traces of past punishnts layered beneath the fresh ones.
"...You idiot! You absolute fool."
Amari muttered, voice low and tight. She placed the jar of glowing salve down harder than necessary.
"I’m fine."
Rin said quickly, offering a crooked smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
"No, you’re not. You’re going to keep letting them do this to you until what? You can’t move anymore?"
Amari dipped her fingers into the salve, and the mont she touched Rin’s skin, the girl flinched.
"It’s not that bad."
"Not that—"
Amari snapped her mouth shut before she said sothing she couldn’t take back. Her fingers moved more gently now, rubbing the healing mixture over the bruises.
"You need to quit. Whatever cursed job the palace gave you—leave it. This isn’t worth it."
"I can’t."
Rin murmured.
Amari paused.
Rin looked over her shoulder, eyes clearer now, gaze steady despite the pain.
"Even if I do quit... it’s not like they’d just let walk away. I’ve seen too much. I know too much. You think they’d let live knowing the royal family’s secrets?"
She gave a soft laugh, but it didn’t hold humor. "They’d hunt down before I even left the inner ring."
Amari was silent, hands still, resting against Rin’s bruised shoulder.
"The royals...they’re not like us. They have god-given powers. Divine blood. They’re not just people—they’re sothing more. If I disobey, it’s not just that suffers. It could spell disaster for everyone around ."
Rin continued, voice quieter,.
"...You’ve been too close to them."
Amari said under her breath.
Rin didn’t deny it.
"I have. And that ans I can’t run. So I’d rather stay useful. Keep my head down. And survive."
Amari grit her teeth, but said nothing more.
Behind them, Nova remained still. Watching. Silent. Thinking.
Nova’s gaze lingered on Rin’s bruised back for a mont longer before he turned away, lost in thought.
The words god-given powers echoed in his mind.
It reminded him too much of Callex—of the way a select few were granted knowledge, control, permission to wield their aether while the rest lived in ignorance or servitude.
He glanced back at the two won. Rin sat stiffly as Amari worked in silence, the air between them heavy with unspoken things. Nova finally spoke.
"Is your royal family the only one with these... powers? Or are there others like them?"
The question made both won pause. Rin blinked. Amari’s hands stilled mid-motion.
They exchanged a look, unreadable but tense.
"You’re serious."
Amari said flatly, staring at him now.
Nova nodded, calm and unreadable.
"You really don’t know anything? Not even the basics?"
Rin murmured.
"Where I co from, information like this is tightly controlled. I want to understand where I’ve landed."
Nova lied smoothly.
Amari folded her arms, her expression sharpening.
"Then you better listen closely, stranger. Because around here, asking the wrong questions about the royal family can get you killed."
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