Honey, Plums, and Cinnamon

Iyalah lost an eye in exchange for her Talent: the ability to smell love. When her mother falls ill, she and her shape-shifting companion seek out the paranoid despot who rules their city. For while he has money aplenty, he has no means to determine which of those close to him love him in truth and which of those seek to betray him.

Iyalah does. But no palace is complete without its secrets...

Originally published in Galaxy's Edge, Issue 9, July/August 2014