Okay, wasn't going to say anything in this thread since I was the reader for the story, but I'm kind of puzzled here.
Unblinking, what point in the story are you referring to when you say that Lam's strength was hidden 'til the last minute? The line you reference, her saying "I am still strong, you see, still quite strong for my age, and will not hear of your only passing through" -- she's an elderly woman, trying to assure him that she's still healthy and not about to keel over dead. She's trying to encourage her long-lost son to stay with her for awhile and tell her about his father and everything of his life. Is that the line you're reading as "sinister"?
Or are you talking about the moment when, as a younger woman, she jumped her lover-to-be as he emerged from the Moon cultist house? (Reed, I think this is the moment you're referring to?) That was about halfway through the story. But the story says from the beginning that the girls are trained in dance practically from birth, and Lam was in her prime, so why would it be a surprise that she's strong? All dancers are strong. (Look at
this woman's arms.) So I can certainly buy that Lam was strong enough to overpower her lover. This didn't need to be stated because it was obvious to me. Dancer in her prime = top notch athlete.
Not that she really needed to overpower him, though. The story doesn't mention him struggling at all, once he figures out who she is.
And since I'm here, I might as well mention my own thoughts on the story -- I loved it. And hopefully people can hear that in my reading, because I found this story an absolute joy to read out loud. Like reading poetry, which is especially apropos given Ms. El Mohtar's other calling.
I was kind of confused by the intro, though. If I hadn't known what was coming, I think I would've been thrown by all the description of Cahokia, the ancient pre-Columbus American empire, prior to a story set in an ancient fantasy Arabic culture. The intro had me craving a story set in a fantasy mound-building society. (Hn. Maybe I should try writing one of those.)