Athan waited for her to turn to him, then he gave her a deep, exaggerated bow and extended his arm to the right. “Shall I show you the way, m’lady?”
“Oh, don’t you start,” she huffed.
He chuckled and righted himself before leading Treven to the right. Dnara quickened her steps to catch up and gave Treven’s neck a friendly pat as it bobbed between her and Athan. They walked in silence past two alleyways before Athan ducked under Treven’s head, moving to Dnara’s side. Treven protested Athan’s cutting in by yanking on Athan’s lowered hood, much to Dnara’s amusement. Athan placated the mule with a few whispered words and a carrot.
They passed another street corner before Athan spoke. “Not too mad at me, I hope?”
“Not too mad,” she jested while watching two women hang a string of multicolored, knotted fabric remnants from one two story window to a second story window across the street. “But, I do wish you had told me.”
“I only thought-” He stopped and sighed, his hand raising to rub the back of his neck. “I guess it doesn’t matter what I thought, does it?”
“I appreciate your concern for my well-being,” she said as they came to a stop to let a cart of wood planks roll through the intersection. “You have been nothing but kind to me. It’s just...” Her hands fidgeted with her bandages, trying to put feelings to words.
“Please, tell me,” he said as they crossed the intersection. “I did upset you,” he pressed. “I can tell.”
A heat rose to her cheeks at his observations but she tampered it down. “Athan, I have spent my life having choices made for me. I may not make the best decisions, but now that I can, I wish to make them for myself.” The truth sprung from her lips, revealing unexpressed feelings as she said it. She hoped he didn’t take her words too harshly, but they needed to be said.
“I didn’t even think about that,” he grimaced then went quiet. They stopped together at the next corner to watch more decorations being hung and people walking by. Treven nudged Athan hard enough in the back to make him stumble forward. After righting himself and pushing Treven’s nose with a harassed smirk, Athan stepped in front of her and waited for her to meet his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said as people and carts continued to move around them. His words carried over the noise, blocking it out until she could hear only him. He took her hand in his, and the world around her disappeared until there remained only him. “I am truly sorry, Dnara.”
The way he looked at her... She couldn’t be certain, but she believed no one had ever looked at her like that before, like she mattered more than she could understand; like he saw her as something else, something intangible yet real in the same indescribable word. A whisper on the wind buzzed through her nerves, from neck to fingertips, giving her the strangest sense of connection to him. If she could just hold onto that feeling, if they were to meet in the middle of this new world forming within her heart, then she could understand it all and give it a name.
With one timid hand raising towards his face, she stepped closer in a want to understand. His eyes widened, thoughts blooming within, and he stepped closer to accept the connection she offered. The energy pulsing through her body increased and the wind grew more insistent. Fear of the unknown sank away, replaced by the promise of hope, and she knew he felt it, too.
“You’re crazy!” A voice shouting in the distance broke the spell.
She sucked in a sharp breath and lowered her hand, offering a smile instead. “Apology accepted.”
Athan returned her smile and opened his mouth to speak, but more loud yelling from down the street refocused his attention. “Sounds like trouble near the temple.”
With the connection shattered and the wind now silent, an uneasy feeling crawled its way up her blistered arms. To her, it sounded like voices were raised in desperation. Pushing her unease aside, she followed Athan as he led Treven onward.
At the end of the widening street, they entered a small courtyard with well-tended greenery, a tall fountain and a large set of white stone steps leading up to the grand building Dnara had expected for a temple. The temple’s white stone almost glowed in the sunlight, its facade carved with words, symbols and large rectangular murals depicting scenes from well-known stories involving the gods of Ellium. Even the hitching post to which Athan looped Treven’s reins had delicate carvings and phrases from the sacred stories. The growing commotion, however, drew her awed gaze away from the closest mural and down to a crowd gathered in the courtyard.
“We should take you to the gate and hang you by your feet from it,” one angry voice yelled.
“Now, now, let us not be hasty, friends!” a familiar voice pleaded.
Athan cursed under his breath. “Idiot.”
“Isn’t that the wine merchant?” Dnara asked.
“Phineaus peddles more than wine,” Athan replied as the crowd grew increasingly unsettled. “People put up with him because he’s usually worth a good laugh, and sometimes his prices can be reasonable, if you haggle like your life depends on it.”
“It’s a fair price!” Phineaus held up his hands, asking for calm. “Surely, having a light in your homes at night is worth a meager twelve dol!?”
“Twelve dol?” Athan balked as they reached the back of the crowd. He stood on his tip-toes, trying to see over some of the taller people standing in front. “What could he possibly be trying to sell for twelve dol?”
“A lamp,” a man in front of Athan said over his shoulder. “It still lights when others have stopped working, so he thinks he can ask a king’s ransom
