Chapter 193: What the Mask Hides
Grace had learned, within days of waking into this world, that people saw exactly what she let them see.
It wasn't illusion in the way stories used to describe it — she couldn't conjure buildings from nothing, couldn't paint false scenery across a ruined street. Her gift was smaller than that, and infinitely more useful. She could shape the version of herself that reached another person's eyes. Soften the sharp edges of her expression before anyone caught them. Smooth her posture into something delicate, breakable, harmless. A held breath transformed into a tremble. A calculating glance transformed into wide, frightened innocence.
She'd tested it obsessively those first few days, alone in her apartment, watching her own reflection shift and settle under the pressure of her will until she'd found the exact shape people needed to see in order to stop looking any closer.
