Aeril, Matron of Assassins, the Silent Blade, the Lady of Knives, Snatcher of Souls–and, sometimes, the Crafter of Delectable Culinary Delights–entered the world. The goddess stood taller than all about her. No, not just tall. She was more, as if this reality could not contain her grandeur. Her very presence made the vast chamber seem small. She wore a gown threaded from shadow and stitched with pearls that twinkled like stars. It draped her shoulders to hug a slender torso, blending with the skin of her bare arms that reflected night, as she gripped her hounds by chain leashes linked to spiked black-iron collars. Only her face was different: the upper half a bloodred that flowed from chiselled cheekbones to scalp–where braided rows of hair fell back in thick corded ropes that looked spun from gold.
page 185, The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark
