Nikki finished polishing the nail on her left little finger and gave all the nails a gentle blow of air. She looked at her beautifully manicured nails and smiled. Although she had put only a sheen of an almost transparent silver dust color on them, the nail polish made a world of difference to her look. The only girl on this planet who would leave her nails plain because of martial arts practice was her friend Sedna. Nikki shook her head. No wonder Sedna had never had a boyfriend. They’d been friends for a long time, and she knew Sedna was a mage. Sedna had introduced her to the tribe and had been the one who’d recommended her for this job. They needed a human to manage the natural medicine clinic—someone who could understand the tribe, be discreet, and handle problems caused by humans.

