Glass Houses

[Oriena]

Oriena laughed at the girl's earnestness and the open way she smiled. "Knowledge comes with a price. What can you do for me, Ilesha?"
Usually it was the moment she'd begin spinning her webs, but this was one of the rare instances in which she felt honesty was in her interests. The words came out a tease, not a demand. "You're not dead. And I assume you survived the Sickness. That's half the battle, sweetheart."


She slipped from her stool to stand closer, glass still cupped in one hand. The ice tinkled with her movements. "It enhances our senses. That has uses."
She traced her fingers down Ilesha's arm. "I sensed you. Even before you used it. You glowed so prettily when you did."
Her smile curved sultry, burning gaze searching for hints of discomfort. She'd only find it amusing.

"But you should know that some will try to kill you for what you can do. Those people are marked, here--"
her grip fell to Ilesha's forearm, where she squeezed lightly "--with a serpent biting its own tail."
Though perhaps that would change now. "More than that?"
She tipped her shoulder into a shrug. "You'll have to be specific."