Kambiatories (2024)

She whispered it aloud.

She took the feather. And for the rest of her life, crows told her secrets, but she never again remembered the smell of lake water on her cousin's dock.

She fell through layers of silk and shadow, landing in a circular chamber walled with living trees whose bark rippled like breathing lungs. In the center stood three figures — not human, but woven from root, copper wire, and half-dried ink.

"We are the Kambiatories," they said in unison. "We exchange the unlived lives."

"Can I choose?"

Elara blinked. "What?"