22. Zeina
ZEINA
After her first lecture, Zeina tried to stay away from the classrooms. She told herself over and over that it was too risky. Ahmina was her cover and she needed to be careful with how she used it. Hiding in plain sight worked until everyone knew where to look.
But as the days went by, she dreamt of listening to Professor Hashiluna’s lectures.
Alchemy was fascinating. She had never heard anyone talk about plant magic before, which Hashiluna had clarified was more like magic dust. Not real magic, traces of magic.
Still, it was rarely talked about. Sure, most Jarrians practiced basic Alchemy—a potion to aid an illness, a light sleep tonic—but nothing as complex and intricate as what the Academy taught.
Zeina had gone to school until age eight when her parents disappeared.
With no one to take her in, she lived on the streets, fending for herself.
She knew how to read and write, but not well.
What she knew about the world, about people and magic, she gathered on the streets, like collecting small, pretty pebbles.
The knowledge she gained and the people she got to know made it tempting to stay in one part of the city.
Anytime she settled somewhere, life became easier for a while until the inevitable shift.
Staying in one place put her at a greater risk of being caught stealing or talking her way into free food and supplies, which could land her in prison.
Jarrah didn’t take lightly to the homeless mooching off of hard-working citizens.
Not only that but any connections she forged with people put them at risk alongside her; as much as shop owners liked her, they liked safety more.
One of the reasons she was able to survive this long was because she didn’t have emotional attachments to cloud up her mind and put her in danger of getting caught.
Anytime she got too comfortable, it was her cue to leave.
Being comfortable meant being slow. And being slow meant getting caught.
But at the Academy… she couldn’t help herself. She was drawn to the classroom, drawn to what was possible when she was Ahmina. She craved more.
She should have been focused on her escape plan. Instead, all she could think about was Alchemy.
It started small. She learned Ahmina’s schedule, and then became braver, spying on Ahmina from hallway closets and dark corners, testing out how well she could blend into crowds and classrooms if she pretended to be her.
It wasn’t unusual for students to temporarily join lectures to make up for absences or for extra practice.
If Zeina knew anything, it was that people were usually too engrossed in their own miserable lives to notice half the things going on around them. Certainly, most wouldn’t notice a girl as quiet and careful as morning mist.
Still, she couldn’t let her guard down. And really, Alchemy was the only lecture worth risking her identity for.
She loved learning about all the plants that stretched beyond the wall.
The Academy focused so much on the creatures.
But the plants, they held magic too. If you listened carefully, you could hear it. And it called to her.
The Apothecary had been restored, and Alchemy was back in its usual location. Its stone walls were lined with rows and rows of indented shelves, carrying jars of herbs, seeds, pastes, flowers, and all sorts of plants that Zeina couldn’t name.
Sitting at a lone table, she read the instructions for the potion they were making in class.
Well, she tried to read the instructions.
She struggled to read regular Jarrian, but the script in the textbook was even more difficult as it was filled with old Jarrian and exotic plant terms she didn’t recognize.
In a whisper, she sounded out the words to herself.
“Feel like blowing this place up?” Lennox tossed his brown leather satchel in the seat beside her and sat down.
“Excuse me?”
“An explosive potion. Could be fun?” He smiled and raised his eyebrows.
Zeina deadpanned before returning to her text. She could feel Lennox’s gaze shift between the book and her.
“Alright, everyone,” Professor Hashiluna called across the class as students gathered around the tables. “Today we’re doing a sedative potion. If you get it right, your partner will only get a little sleepy for a few minutes. Get it wrong, and they will be in a coma for a week.”
A student raised their hand. “When would we use this potion in real scenarios?”
Professor Hashiluna’s demeanor was as consistent as a stone wall.
Nothing phased her. Nothing pleased her.
She was like an emotional vault. Her only show of emotion was the occasional raised eyebrow and today was no different.
“Yes, you all want to know. Get the potion right and I'll tell you.” The students groaned and started shuffling around the room, grabbing jars and mixing materials from the shelves.
Zeina pulled the textbook closer, sounding out the words in her head.
“Okay, Alchemy partner, what ingredients do we need?” Lennox tilted his chair back so it was balancing on just the back legs, his boots resting on the table.
“I’m not your partner. I work alone.”
“Suit yourself, but the last student who tried to do that was kicked out of school for not being”—he mimicked air quotes with his hands—“a collaborative teammate.”
“Kicked out?” Panic rose in Zeina’s chest. She couldn’t go, not yet. Weeks of having a comfortable, safe place to sleep and warm, fresh meals felt good. Not to mention she had only just started learning Alchemy.
“Yeah, I mean they didn’t even—”
“Just copy him.” She pointed to a student picking jars off the shelf. “And hurry up.”
Lennox dropped the chair back down and stood up. “Alright, alright, all you had to do was ask.”
A few minutes later, Zeina was no closer to figuring out the instructions, and Lennox was back with an arm full of jars.
“Listen, I know you’re into reading and shit but if you stare at that textbook any longer, you’re going to go cross-eyed,” Lennox said, setting the jars down on the table in one big heap.
Zeina sighed, flopping the textbook down with a thud. She studied him for a moment, contemplating whether to accept his help, before shoving the book across the table into his hands.
“Here, tell me what to do. I’ll do the mixing. And if you mess it up…” Her eyes locked on his, unblinking. “You’ll be the one in the coma.”
His mouth fell into a lazy smile. “Yes, boss.”
Somewhere along the way, Zeina stopped listening to his instruction.
The plants spoke to her, whispered messages, and she listened intently.
Mix elderwood herb here, gently place amphilia petals there, rub only a tiny smudge of bayan root for a single second.
It was like music to Zeina’s ears—a beautiful orchestra, a frequency, and it became all that existed until her own voice rang in her ears. “Done.”
“Very good, Ori,” Hashiluna said from behind her, making her jump. “Go ahead and give it a try.”
“Me? No.” She pushed the smooth wooden bowl with the completed potion over to Lennox. “He will sample it.” She couldn’t afford to be sedated. She couldn’t even afford to be sleepy, unless she was tucked away in a safe hiding spot.
“The second years will be travelling beyond the wall after this lecture. You’ll have to sample it this time.
” Her long black fingernails held a claw grip on the bowl as she slid it over to Zeina, urging her on.
Lennox sat back in his chair amused, and Zeina huffed out a breath.
If she got this wrong and passed out, or worse, went into a coma, her secret would be out.
“Go on, we don’t take lightly to cowards here, Ori,” Hashiluna said, her eyes cold.
Zeina picked up a clean wooden spoon from the table and dipped it into the potion. It numbed her tongue slightly, and her whole body relaxed.
“And?” Hashiluna peered down at her.
“I feel… fine. Just more relaxed, I guess.”
“Interesting.” She looked Zeina up and down, taking her in. “It takes a long time for an Alchemist to create that potion in a way that produces a calming effect in humans. For the majority, creature and human alike, it simply causes drowsiness.”
Was that a compliment? It would have sounded like one if Hashilinua didn’t look at Zeina like she was dirt on the bottom of her shoe.
“Ahmina was the first student to complete part one of the exercise. What I didn’t share at the beginning of the lecture is that there is a part two,” Hashiluna said to the class.
Zeina’s cheeks heated as everyone turned to face her.
They watched in awe as Hashiluna opened the broom closet and pulled out a large golden cage containing a creature.
An actual creature. Zeina’s heart raced.
The thing looked terrible. Its beak was long and jagged, and its talons were sharper than a dagger.
Cramped and limited by the restrictive cage, it couldn’t spread its wings, but Zeina could tell its wingspan was massive.
“This is a Rat Tail Falcon. Who can speak about it?” A few hands shot up. The professor ignored them, instead calling on two women sitting huddled together laughing.
The one with long, straight, brown hair cleared her throat and sat up a little. “It exposes secrets. It possesses mind magic and some experts argue it has psychic capabilities.”
Zeina’s leg trembled. This creature had the power to expose her to every single person in the class.
“Correct. And Sapphira, just because your family has a legacy at this school, doesn’t mean you get to giggle in the back of class like a child. Don’t forget you’re here to learn, and there is still a lot for you to learn.”
Sapphira tensed and Hashiluna continued, “Ahmina here has shown exceptional talent when it comes to executing this potion. Let’s see how effective it is on the Falcon.
Given how well her and her partner performed this task, it should dull the Falcon’s abilities.
If any part of the potion is even slightly off, well, let’s just hope Ahmina doesn’t have any secrets she doesn’t want known. ”
Zeina thought about running, but she knew that would draw too much attention. She had to act like Ahmina, and Ahmina would be thrilled to show off. But if the Falcon revealed who she was and why she was here, she would likely be executed for infiltrating the Jarrian’s defense system.
“Ahmina, we don’t have all day. Bring your potion.”
Zeina rose to her feet and picked up her potion with trembling hands.
Standing in front of the Falcon, she silently begged it not to expose her as it infiltrated her mind.
First, she was looking down at herself as a baby, wrapped tightly in blankets, while her parents gazed at her fondly.
Their skin melted, morphing, and then she was in school which was promptly whisked away before she was on the streets of Jarrah, a woman sneaking her fruit behind her back.
“The Falcon shows us the moments you keep close to your heart. The reason why it is such a formidable opponent is because it shows more than just the secrets you keep. It shows the parts of you that are hidden away.” Hashiluna’s voice floated in from outside her memories.
The day the woman had given her fruit, Zeina had contemplated ending her life.
She was so tired of fighting, so tired of the gnawing ache of hunger, a giant crater of loneliness in her heart.
But the woman quelled her hunger and told off a man who had threatened to get her arrested.
Just to get rid of her. And she would have welcomed it.
But the woman’s kindness hit Zeina so hard, it knocked the will to live back into her.
She never let herself sink that low emotionally, physically, or mentally ever again.
“If you don’t want the entire class to continue watching your memories in their minds, Ahmina, I suggest you give the Falcon your potion.” Hashiluna’s voice cut through her memories, and Zeina quickly slid the potion into the Falcon’s cage, careful not to let her fingers go past the threshold.
She hadn’t realized her visions weren’t only hers—they were in the minds of the entire class, too. The Falcon sniffed it slowly, and she silently begged the creature to drink it before another vision entered her mind.
But it had barely given her a moment of reprieve before she stood outside the Library of Jarrah, staring at it. Longing for knowledge. Longing to go in.
Zeina blinked, the vision gone. In front of her sat the Falcon, slumped over. It looked like it was somewhere else entirely, as if relaxed enough to use its magic on itself for pure enjoyment.
Zeina let out a sigh of relief. It worked.
She returned in a daze to the table where Lennox sat, his eyes locked on her the entire way.
Hashiluna continued with her lecture, but Zeina wasn’t listening.
Her mind raced. She was this close to getting caught.
The memories that were shown could have very well been Ahmina’s, but only a few more memories and it would have shown the entire class who she really was.
She swallowed hard, desperate to escape the room.
Zeina had never been one to pray to the Moon Goddess. The deity certainly did not bless her, so what was the point. But that night, for the first time ever, she thanked the Moon Goddess for keeping her secret safe.