"Rubeans don't have magic or any special abilities at all and many Void-touched have abused the power they can exert over these people. I'm doing you a favor instead of letting consequences take their natural form," Ianthe replied, glad that the vendor hadn't called for her to intervene. "It's not about value but the principle of the matter. Normally, I wouldn't care but last month was rough and people are on edge."

But Peony turned to try to smooth things over. The vendor was angry and thought slapping Peony across the face once was retribution enough. One offense in kind for another. Ianthe made no move to stop it. Zadza was zadza.