I did…
Her eyes crinkle at the corners, making me think she’s smiling under her scarves. “I don’t bite.”
Reluctantly, I sit in the chair and then cringe. It’s still warm from the man before me.
“I didn’t come to have my fortune told,” I tell her hastily.
The woman slides the now black, empty ball to the side of her silk-covered table.
“You are searching for someone,” she says, her voice dark and lilting.
I blink, startled. Galinor’s warning echoes in my mind, and I stand so quickly, I almost knock the chair over. “This was a mistake. I have no money anyway.”
The woman grabs my hand, holding firm. “I’m not reading your fortune, child,” she says, agitated. “I am giving you information.Sit down.”
I fall back onto the chair with a thump. Fleetingly, I wonder if I should argue about her calling me a child. She’s not much older than I am, if at all. Unless she’s somehow harnessed magic to stay young…
Deciding I don’t want to know, I keep my thoughts to myself.
I meet her eyes and withdraw my hand. “What information?”
She clasps her hands on the table and tilts her head, studying me intently. “You are looking for Dimitri, Prince of Bandolia.”
I hesitate before I answer. “I am, yes.”
“His troupe was here yesterday morning. They and several others left when the festival’s future was uncertain.”
I lean forward. “Where did he go?”
“The others with him were traveling to the Castle Lenrook. The queen will give birth soon, and there will be a great celebration.”
“Which road did he take?”
“I don’t know.” The fortune teller motions to a stack of cards on her left. “I can tell you if you wish…”
I stare at the cards, both intrigued and terrified. After several moments, I shake my head.
“Your choice.” She once again lays her hands on the table. “If you do not wish to have your fortune read, I’ve given you all I can.”
Dismissed, I rise from my chair but pause before I step into the street. “Why did you help me when none of the others would?”
She nods again to the cards. “Have you changed your mind? Would you like me to read your fortune?”
“No.”
“Then ask me no more questions.”
Feeling vaguely nauseous, I head back to the inn.
“You didwhat?”
I cringe as I glance around the inn’s tables to see if everyone is staring at us thanks to Galinor’s outburst.
They are.
“I didn’t ask her to read my fortune,” I answer quietly. “She only told me where Dimitri is headed.”
He leans in. “It’s not only that, Anwen. You went outby yourself in the dead of night. Do you know what kind of mischief occurs during these festivals?”
