The woman only smiled and pressed one into my palm. "A gift," she whispered, before turning to the next customer.
I hesitated, the fruit warm against my skin, then bit into it. Sweetness flooded my mouth, sharp and strange, like honey touched with salt. For the first time since entering this world, I almost laughed.
"Not bad, is it?"
The voice came from beside me smooth, steady, threaded with an ease that made me turn. A man stood there, tall, his features sharpened by the shifting light. His eyes gleamed a shade too dark, like polished obsidian, yet his smile carried no threat.
"I..." I swallowed quickly, clutching the fruit. "It's… different."
"Most mortals find our food overwhelming at first." He tilted his head, studying me with polite curiosity. "But you seem to manage well."
I stiffened at the word mortal. Always that word. Always the reminder. But when I met his gaze, there was no mockery, none of the coldness I'd grown used to. Only warmth, interest something dangerously close to kindness.
"Don't look so wary," he added, almost laughing. "I mean no harm. You looked… lost, that's all."
And against my better judgment, I felt my shoulders ease.
"I wasn't lost," I said quickly, though the words felt weak even as they left my lips.
The stranger's smile widened, patient, as if he had all the time in the world to wait for me to admit otherwise. "No? Then you walk these streets like you've lived here forever." His tone was playful, but beneath it lingered something smoother, more deliberate.
I shifted the glowing fruit in my hands, suddenly aware of how out of place I must look among the flowing robes and shimmering scales around us. "I'm only… curious," I muttered.
"Curious," he echoed, as though tasting the word. "That can be dangerous here. This city is full of secrets. Some you may not want to uncover."
A chill threaded through me, though his voice remained light, almost amused. I should have stepped away then, but his presence held me still the way his words seemed both warning and invitation.
He studied me, head tilted, his dark eyes reflecting the shifting light of the lantern-fish above. "You're not like them." A subtle nod toward the merchants, the children darting past. "You don't move the way they do.