Chapter 32 - CHAPTER 32: Poor Luna

The cart rattled through the compound, leaving behind the hush that matched the size of the wound. Servants parted as if to let sorrow pass. The lane narrowed and the air felt colder in the healer's courtyard: bundles of dried herbs, jars of things steeped in strange colors, and the smell of simmering broths that had been meant to mend. Nyssa's hut was a patchwork of clean linens and the stern discipline of tools hung in order. She ushered the other women into motion with a professional briskness that did not obscure the way her fingers brushed for a heartbeat against Liora's arm as if to test whether the woman's skin remembered warmth.