“I’m sorry you had to see that. Enjoy the rest of the conference!” 

With an abashed face, the woman turned and ran down the hallway. 

“She’s still got a lot of anxiety,” a different woman’s voice said to Hesyi’s left. 

“There are more dangerous phantoms than that.” 

“I’ll kick those away, too.” 

“And if one bites off your legs?” 

“Then I’ll punch them.” 

Korsta growled, but the woman chuckled. 

“If they get your arms, I don’t recommend biting them,” the woman said. “I imagine they taste horrible.” 

“Oh no,” Hesyi said. “That’s when I’ll headbutt them.” 

Hesyi:

Korsta got a clear look at the odd, interfering mortal as she passed. Fair skin, small face, eyes folded in the corner, and sleek black hair just like millions of other Kangdi women on this island nation. But to Korsta’s eyes, her cool jewel undertones made her gleam like an iridescent pearl; her gaze was watchful, her determined eyes seeking a problem to solve, her tiny lips ready to provide a comforting smile; her frame, so slender it appeared that a calm breeze would blow her away, moved in a way that suggested she would stand her ground in a typhoon.

Chapter 1: Invisible Warmth 

Hesyi should have instantly known there was something wrong as the day began, since she woke up completely rested. 

Instead of realizing the problem, she spent several precious seconds stretching, sighing in relief as her muscles – tight from hours of stillness – loosened, before she looked at her phone and saw the time. 

9:47am. And many missed alarms. 

Huh. Wasn’t her presentation at 10:30 this morning, at the convention center, which was a twenty-minute bus ride from her local stop that only left at 10:05 and 10:45? 

And all the while, she hadn’t done her morning chores – like make breakfast for the family and clean up the kitchen – either. Oh, right! It was Saturday, which meant the recyclables had to go out, too. 

The phone’s timer changed. 9:48am. I’m gonna be late! Hesyi threw her warm, heavy sheets over her and embraced the cold of reality.

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