I came awake with a feeling of dread the next morning. With a racing heart, I stared around the carriage. Vash was asleep on the bench across from mine. I was curled up on my side, tucked into my cloak. A bit of sunshine was coming through the curtains.
Oh, yes. I recalled it. I had been mated by the Dragon King, then fled.
I sat up, stretched, and put my dread to rest. Once I knew where it stemmed from, I could deal with it. And knowingthat Rian hadn't caught up to me yet made me feel some relief. Maybe I'd had enough of a head start that he couldn't follow my scent. I knew Dragons were amazing trackers, and Rian had vowed to hunt me if I left him. But surely scent trails faded with time and distance. He wouldn't be able to find me if I got far enough away fast enough. And if he'd gone after me, he would have caught up with me by then.
“Or maybe he's actually respecting my wishes and letting me go,” I whispered.
With the sound of my voice, Vashana came awake and focused on me.
“No,” I said. “He wouldn't just let me go.” I shivered thinking about how furious Rian would be when he woke. I hoped he wouldn't demolish my shop. It didn't really matter, but I hated the thought of it being destroyed and my employees coming in to find it like that. “Damn! I should have left notes for Raef and Arena. I should have left some money for them.” I grimaced. “No. I need to think about myself first. They will be fine. I need this money more than they do.”
Vashana whined.
“Are you hungry?” I unwrapped the remains of our dinner and offered her a meat pie.
She gobbled it up just as the carriage came to a stop. I pulled open the curtains and stared out onto a harbor. Ships, their masts spearing the sky, moored there, but not many. Mostly, there were little boats tied up along the docks. There was some movement on the boats, fishermen getting ready for the day, but other than that, the place was quiet. And beautiful.
The Ilshi Sea spread out before me, a horizon of blue broken only by a peninsula to the left. Seabirds cried to each other and circled the peach and peony sky above the harbor, and the gentle jingle and clicks of bobbing boats made a sweet song with them.
“We're here, Sir,” the carriage driver said as he opened the door on the other side of the carriage. “Welcome to Umelamo.”
“Umelamo,” I whispered. “Yes, this will do.”
“Your last stop then?” he asked as Vashana jumped out.
“Yes, I think so.”
“This is a good place to stay.” He nodded and helped me out. “And right here is the Seven Swords.” He waved at a door behind him. “It's a very nice inn. You'll be comfortable here until you can find a place of your own.”
“Thank you so much.” I gave him the second half of his payment—ten coppers. Yes, I'd overpaid that first driver by a lot, but then, I'd needed him to be motivated.
“I'll take your trunk inside for you if you like.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I looked up and down the sidewalk as he fetched the trunk. It was warmer there, though the breeze off the water was chilly. There was no snow, only a bit of frost on the windows. Umelamo was untouched by the bleakness of winter. The residents fought it back with tall, narrow, stone homes painted in bright colors. Yellow, orange, red, green, and blue. They should have clashed with each other, but they made a strange sense. Their straight, narrow bodies should have looked uniformand boring, but the tops of each building had delightful carvings that gave each one individuality beyond their color. I instantly loved the place.
“What do you think, Vash?”
Vashana yipped.
“Yes, I think so too.” I followed the carriage driver into the Seven Swords with confidence, if not peace. “This place will make a good home.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
A month later, I was still waiting for Rian. I simply couldn't believe I had escaped him. Dragons were notorious for clinging to their mates. And Rian was freshly mated, making him even more volatile. I imagined that he was going crazy trying to find me. Which made me jumpy. Even if he'd lost my trail, I had only gone one kingdom over. I'd gone north, toward Vix, but then veered west and entered the Kingdom of Karis. Karis had more coastline than Vix, and a different culture from both Vix and Sken, so it still felt like a new start, despite its proximity to the kingdoms I had lived in previously. More importantly, Rian wouldn't be able to search Karis without its King's permission. And that could take a while to get. Which may explain how I'd managed to evade him for so long.
And I wasn't hoping he'd find me. No, of course not. That would be ridiculous.
“Good morning, Galin,” Ebba said as I passed her on the way out.
“Good morning.” I nodded at the Argaiv woman and went out to the sidewalk.
I was renting a room from Ebba while I continued to look for a place to buy. I wanted a situation similar to what I'd had inSken—a shop downstairs with an apartment above. Ebba's rates were so affordable that I could take my time looking. It was probably best that I get accustomed to Umelamo before deciding on a place anyway. So, every day, I went to a cafe for breakfast (I'd found a few favorites already), then I took a walk around the town, speaking with anyone friendly enough to greet me. I was quickly getting acquainted with the townsfolk. They were a welcoming bunch who were fascinated by newcomers instead of guarded. Probably because they didn't get a lot of people moving to their little fishing community. And there were many Argaivs too.
“Good morning, Galin!” Alice, the human proprietor of the Sandcastle, my favorite cafe, called as I approached. “Your usual spot?”
“Please.”
