“I … I’ll buy loaves for our journey,” she said and pulled her hand free.
“Wait—” Cassiel moved to follow, but the merchant called out to him.
“Milord! You agreed to make a purchase.”
She took advantage of the distraction and quickly escaped across the street to the baker’s shop. She needed some space from him to untangle her thoughts and right her head. She was relieved when Cassiel went to keep his word.
Dyna squeezed into the crowded shop and got in line. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. The delicious smell of bread gave her a small thing to look forward to. When it was her turn, she requested half a dozen rolls, and the baker’s wife bagged her order. Leaving the bakery, she bit into a roll. Steam billowed out as she moaned happily. She had missed the taste of fresh bread.
“Is it good?” someone asked with a chuckle.
Dyna looked up at the man she nearly bumped into and a chunk of bread lodged in her throat when she gasped. She coughed, hitting her chest to dislodge it. “Commander Von!”
He laughed and patted her back. “Pardon, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“This is unexpected.” She smiled back, but everything in her immediately tensed in alarm. The last time she had seen Von, she had told him about Mount Ida. “What has brought you here? You disappeared in Landcaster.”
“Aye, I had been in a hurry to be on my way, but I came looking for you. It so happens that I know an old acquaintance that is well-traveled. He has offered to be your Guidelander.”
“Oh, is that so?” she said airily.
“Forgive me, I had not thought of him at the time.” His deliverance was smooth with sufficient sincerity on his face, but she wasn’t convinced.
“Well, I must discuss it with Cassiel.” Dyna mentioned him as an excuse, and to let Von know she wasn’t unaccompanied.
She rose on her toes, barely glimpsing Cassiel’s head above the crowd. He would know what to do about this. The commander following her here from Landcaster could not be good. She lifted a hand to call him.
Von grabbed her arm, lowering it. “If you would like to employ the Guidelander, you must come with me now. He is not a patient man.” His tone was a little more insistent, his smile a little more forced.
Dyna jerked her arm away, steeling her expression. “In that case, I’m no longer interested. If you’ll excuse me, have a good day.”
She gave him a stiff nod and turned to go. She needed to tell Cassiel and Zev right away. They needed to leave—
A calloused hand clamped over her mouth and wrenched her from the street into an alley. Her startled cry cut off as the ground vanished from beneath her feet and Von tossed her on his shoulder. He sprinted away, taking her further and further away from the light of the market and Cassiel.
Fear arrested her heart, squeezing it tight until only her unheard screams echoed in her ears.
Chapter 39
Cassiel
The merchant haggled Cassiel for all the coin he could get for the pair of matching opal knives. Cassiel wanted to believe he chose them because the edges were fine, and not because Dyna had liked them. But he had seen how she had admired the knives.
They would fit perfectly in her small hands. She may not have strength but he could teach her how to defend herself with a weapon. God of Urn knew she had an uncanny knack for attracting trouble. A part of him hoped the gift might restore the bridge he had knocked down between them.
Well, if he could ever face Dyna again.
It had been a shock like no other to wake with her soft, diminutive form pressed against him. With his hand on the curve of her waist, feeling her warm skin beneath the thin fabric of her chemise, his body had immediately responded.
Horrified and ashamed, he had shoved Dyna off, startling her awake when she flopped on the cold floor. The hurt and confusion had been clear in her eyes as it churned through him. He hadn’t known what else to do or say. So, he ran out of the room like a coward.
All those emotions he left her with had swelled through him all morning. She wouldn’t even look at him. He hated it, but he didn’t know how to talk to her. When he tried, he couldn’t get a proper apology out. He kept thinking about the feel of her, and the humiliating things he said last night.
Cassiel groaned and rubbed his face. He had confessed that he found her eyes beautiful. Gods. Perhaps he could pretend he did not remember anything at all.
He tucked the knives into his boots when a rush of fear throttled him in the gut. It was sudden, jarring. And it had come through the bond.
Cassiel launched into the crowd, shoving past protesting people to get to the bakery. He slammed through the door only to meet startled customers and the angry baker.
