First, we stopped by a vendor selling rations; it was a priority to make sure we stacked up on food—who knew when we would ever get the opportunity to actually pick what food to eat again? Traveling didn’t come with such luxury…
“Did you want to see these?” Lionel asked suddenly, his voice sweet as honey. I had to snap out of it.
“What?” I asked, finally able to look up.
The stand before us had wooden carvings, with beautiful details. Small figures of animals, houses and people. Behind the man selling them was a full-sized carving of a bear. I gaped, it was amazing, like nothing I had ever seen before.
“You want one?” Lionel turned and looked at me.
How would I ever be able to choose!?
There was a vase with flowers carved too, they looked stunning, but would probably cost a fortune.
My eyes landed on a small cat, and my smile disappeared.
“No?” Lionel looked confused.
“Nope, I’m okay,” I said through my teeth.
He turned back, his free hand digging in his pocket for something. “I’ll take the deer.”
“A deer?” I echoed, questioning his decision.
The man behind the stand placed the little wooden carving into a small pouch and handed it over to Lionel for a coin.
“It will be my new lucky charm.” He flashed me a smile and I began to wonder if it was him or Nate who had hit his head.
Meat hung over some of the stalls, others had crates filled with fruits, some that had seen better days than others. Still, to see this amount of food in one place left me stunned. How were they able to procure it, or keep it from the Ashen Corps? I gathered what I could with the small coin I had.
“I’ve missed this,” Lionel said along a deep breath.
“What? Normal people, animals, the smell of manure?” I teased.
“No. The slow-paced life, the everyday, you and me.”
Okay, now I knew Lionel had hit his head somewhere along the way.
“Well, adventuring together is… not exactly dull,” I chuckled, my nerves starting to give in.
My hand tugged abruptly, when I spun around he had stopped in his tracks, staring at me. His eyes were like open doors, emotions spilling out of them.
“How long are you going to pretend to not hear me?” he asked, his voice soft, but firmer than before.
“Of course I’m—”
“No, I just told you that I want to bewith you,” his words cut me off.
I opened my mouth, but it was as if my tongue was swollen; no matter how I tried, nothing came out.
His fingers slowly slid out of my hand. “Ethalyn, if you don’t feel the same, tell me. Put an end to it.”
“I-I…” I stammered, choking on my words.
His posture slowly sank, the eyes that had glowed with life suddenly lost their shine. His head turned away and I knew he would slip out of reach if I didn’t act now.
My hands shot out and grabbed his arm, tight and violent, as if he was hanging from a cliff.
His head snapped back towards me, his eyes confused and yet eager.
