Page 153 of A Forgery of Fate

“That’s not what I meant,” said the demon. Her smirk grew when Elang raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead, then, and try. I’ll be watching.”

He decided on poison. It wasn’t easy preparing one that’d kill instantly and with minimal pain—but the girl was innocent. At the very least, he owed her the extra effort.

A few weeks later, he was ready. He put on a mask, donned the robes of a fourth-rank magistrate, and set out into the heart of Gangsun.

“Your Heavenly Match is on Dattu Street,” reported Shani, sitting invisibly on his shoulder. “She just left the bakery. She should be heading home, but it looks like she’s got an entourage.”

That wouldn’t do. He needed to catch her alone.

Wordlessly he followed her as she made a sharp turn down an alley.

Shani was right, Truyan wasn’t alone. Five young women had indeed followed her, but from the stench radiating off of their spirits, he could tell they were up to no good. They surrounded her, tittering in high-pitched laughs that made his ears ring.

“What’s the rush?” said a girl who smelled like rotten lilies. She knocked the hat off Truyan’s head so her hair came loose, blue and bright for all to see. “Just as I thought. Balardan filth.”

Truyan ignored her and continued forward. The end of the alley was steps away.

Run,he thought, even though she couldn’t hear.Don’t keep walking.

From behind, the girls yanked on Truyan’s tunic, hard. She fell, and they grabbed the basket out of her arms. “The bandit’s got stolen bread!”

A slew of steamed buns tumbled to the ground. Unfazed, Truyan began picking them up.

Her composure rattled the girls, who made a game of kicking the buns toward the nearby canal. “Hungry?” they taunted. “Blue-haired scum. Go back where you came from.”

“Thisiswhere I came from.” Truyan rose to her feet, her eyes shining with irritation. “I was born here, idiots.”

“Idiots?” Rotten Lily sneered. “Girls, hold her down.”

Her friends restrained Truyan’s arms, and Lily struck a match, intent on setting her hair on fire.

Looks like the dirty work is being done for you,Shani remarked to Elang.Shall we leave, or should we make sure she dies?

There was an odd and unfamiliar pressure in Elang’s chest. “She needs help.”

He reached into his pocket, skipping over the vial of poison for a changing potion. He drank it quickly, gritting his teeth as his face spasmed, dragon half contorting to match the human one. At the last minute, he turned his mask into a pair of spectacles.

He stole out of his hiding place, only to witness firsthand Truyan’s ferocity. She butted her head into Lily’s and slammed her hip into another girl, effectively shoving her into the canal. Then, as she wrested a hand free, she punched Lily in the nose.

Shani watched, amused.I like her more when she’s angry.

Elang wasn’t listening. Truyan’s actions were only making the bullies angrier. They surrounded her again, this time with rocks in their fists.

He stepped into the alleyway, wearing his harshest, most authoritative scowl. “What goes on here?” he demanded.

“A magistrate!” cried the girls when an errant rock flew at his face. With startled shrieks, they fled.

Truyan ought to have fled too, but she remained. As if he didn’t exist, she stooped to pick up the steamed buns, counting them under her breath. When he approached, she barely spared him a glance. “Your spectacles are broken,”she merely said. “I hope you’re not expecting me to pay forthem.”

This disarmed Elang, if only momentarily. “Is that how you speak to a magistrate of this county?”

“I know the face of every lizard around here,” she replied matter-of-factly. She blew at her bangs. “You’re not one.”

“Lizard?”

“Magistrate, I mean. They’re all the same. Beady eyes, lumpy skin, mouths pressed tight like it costs them coin to smile. Lizards.”

“I see.” Elang’s lips twitched with amusement as he helped her pick up a steamed bun. He wondered what she’d think of his real face. “Are you hurt?”

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