The cloak flowered after Suth was dead.
Ysabet saw the first pale point near the old woman’s shoulder. She thought it was a fallen petal. Then another opened beside it, and a third along the hem. Tiny stems lifted out of the moss, separating the green threads without any sound.
Chaska rose.
Ysabet caught her sleeve.
The courier looked at the hand, then at her. “I only wanted to see.”
Ysabet let go.
The flowers opened over the whole cloak. They had no scent she could detect. Their centers were dark, their petals almost transparent. In the elk’s light they looked wet.
Pip lifted its head from Suth’s wrist.
