After I purchase fresh cinnamon rolls and flatbread, I step back into the street. Children laugh and play. Dogs run around scavenging for bones. People talk and smile. There are no red circles. No hatred brimming in people’s eyes as they look at me.
Near the last shop on the bustling street, I spot the Seer and her sister, Tersah. The Seer throws her hands wide as she speaks, while Tersah keeps her arms folded and doesn’t make eye contact.
I hurry past them, heading back to the palace.
It’s enough right now. The home. The bedchamber I share with Hector. Ineedthese days of peace, quiet, stillness. It allows my heart to rest in a way it hasn’t been allowed to since Mother was murdered.
Soon, I will need to burst that bubble, though. I will need to ask him to not take me to the cave.
Footsteps approach from behind me. I half turn, expecting someone I know. A Bloodstone man draws to a stop and raises a beefy hand, as if in greeting.
There’s nothing friendly about him. He reeks of stale ale and manure. I readjust my basket and will my nerves to abate.
Sunlight floods through the clouds as he strikes so quickly, I cannot block his powerful blow against my cheek. Pain sparks across my face and shoots up my back as I land in a heap on the unforgiving ground. He leans down to grab me, but I scramble away—barely escaping him.
Dust kicks into the air as I jerk up my basket and whack his chest. His eyes bulge as he staggers back several steps.
Good! That will teach him to attack me.
I do it again, striking him so fast with the basket, he cannot escape my blow to his face. Anger flares behind his stare as he lurches toward me. Over and over again, I wallop him with the basket, kicking up more dust and enraging him. He growls and lunges at me.
A massive crow swoops from the awning of a nearby building and lands on the man’s shoulder. It pecks at the man’s face, inducing cries of anguish.
I gasp, stumbling back with my basket raised. Since when do crows attack someone like this?
“Stop!” The sharp command pierces my ears and sends the crow and my attacker fleeing.
I turn as Luc runs toward me, his boots pounding the cobblestone. He stops to check on me, then he races after the stranger.
A frown presses against my mouth as I glance down at my ruined basket. The man made me wreck the treats I was bringing home to Hector.
“Curse him!” The moment the words leave my foolish mouth, I slap my hand against it.
No! Bad, Sol.
Don’t curse anyone.
With shaky hands, I gather the ruined treats and the basket and continue my journey toward the palace. If I had more coin, I would return to the baker.
As I approach the center of the city, Quinn falls into step next to me and looks over at me. “Luc asked me to walk with you.”
“Thank you.”
Her gaze shifts over me. “Are you all right?”
I nod as my thoughts turn to the man with green eyes. Luc really hasn’t changed. He still looks sad and haunted. “How long have you known Luc?” Even though I know it cannot be too long, Ineeda change of subject. Any subject other than thinking about someone attacking me. Again.
Her brow wrinkles as she seems to consider my words. “About eight summers.” Quinn skirts around a puddle and glances over at me. “How large is Borggia?”
I blink, surprised by her desire to know about a Kyanite city. “About the same as Karra. So, I have heard. I have never been there.”
Father preferred a smaller village, and we rarely traveled.
“Oh.” Quinn wrenches her fingers together and stares straight ahead.
“Why?” I ask after a while of us walking in silence.
“I have always been curious about the larger cities in Tarrobane.”
