What he did care about was the child Merik had chosen to target.A child. He would have stepped in sooner, but he got there as fast as he could. Luckily that woman had been nearby and incredibly protective.
Cason cursed under his breath. He was supposed to be keeping quiet and not drawing attention, but that woman had easily seen through his disguise. It didn’t help that in yanking Merik off the ground, his moon-blessed ink had been revealed, but he nearly exposed his sun-blessed magic as well. He had heard the woman’s dagger when she punched Merik—a subtle stretch of the leather sheath against her forearm and the small click of metal. He wasn’t so sure she believed him when he lied about it being a guess.
Something about that woman was different than he expected. Maybe it was the fact that she was barely average size and challenged a man who could have snapped her in half. It could have been her astute perception of his association with Merik and Rynn, skills that she probably needed to take care of several orphaned children who were sure to cause trouble. Maybe it was her beauty and blue eyes that were brighter than he had ever seen in his life, even after she had shaken off being attacked.
Or maybe it was the fact she wasn’t afraid of him.
Serill had mentioned that the villagers would be different than the elitist earth-kind in Rooke.
The way she had studied his moon tattoos was in fascination, not jealousy or resentment. He thought he had picked up on the trace scents of moon magic when she leaned closer to his arm, but he hadn’t been close enough to tell. It wasn’t unheard of for anyone without markings or a formal education to learn a few spells and harness their magic. For all he knew, she could have had stronger storm magic than he did and the only thing holding her back was money.
If only that man hadn’t come storming down when he did—not that Cason was upset that someone else had planned to come to that woman’s rescue, and not that she needed it with quick reflexes like she possessed. Cason was planning on trading information with the woman, but he resorted to asking about the markets. He had hoped his kind gesture would sway her to point him toward someone in the market that would know something about magic-blessed trinkets and finola poison without outright asking about it. He was still trying to be subtle.
But apparently that subtlety wasn’t going to work in the markets either. As he walked along, it almost felt like the crowd parted to avoid getting near him. They didn’t even look at him. It was like an invisible force told them to avoid him by at least eight feet.
Right, his fire magic. Whether these people had the earth-blessed tattoos or not, they could probably sense the flame that was walking through their market. He was pretty sure that even someone who wasn’t gods-blessed could smell the smoke. On more than one occasion in Anfroy, he’d been told it smelled like hickory, same as his mother’s. Everywhere else, people just smelled destruction.
Cason stopped at one table that had a mix of stones, breads, and some rather rotten looking meat. As the old man working saw him, he quickly shoved all of those items into a crate and hurried away.
The captain grumbled, pausing at the next vendor who had a wide array of stained glass and wind chimes hung from the thin tree that didn’t provide much shade. The man working the booth glanced over his shoulder but turned back around.
“Excuse me,” Cason said.
The man didn’t respond, still hunched over whatever project he was working on.
Cason opened his mouth again but decided against trying to get the man’s attention when he was clearly being ignored.
“They can smell you.”
The woman’s raspy voice from the next table somehow startled him, despite the low volume. He had seen her sitting there, but her back had been turned to him, and with the casual, leaned back position she was in, he had somewhat assumed she was asleep.
“I’m sorry?” he asked, shifting a little closer.
White-blonde hair flowed out of her hood, draping over her chest and bunching into her folded arms over her stomach—very muscular folded arms and stomach. That shirt left nothing to the imagination, and the baggy trousers were probably hiding just as many muscles in her long legs.
Her lips twitched into a smile. “Did you think no one would notice you came with those shiny Rooke snobs? Their armor isn’t very discreet, though your outfit isn’t much better.”
He clenched his jaw. Of course this would be useless—everyone in Averlyn would have been able to tell he came from money. And once theRooke snobscame marching in with their armor, it was a lost cause to find the assassin. He should have just stayed in Dredon.
At least the sights in Averlyn were better. He’d met that beautiful woman at the orphanage, but the woman sitting in front of him was… well, she was stunning. The last woman Cason had been interested in was strong—and a formidable sparring partner at the sun temple until she decided that serving in Anfroy’s army and collecting trophies would be a better use of her time. The blonde woman here could have rivaled Era in beauty and strength. He couldn’t quite place this woman’s appearance—not quite Anfroidian, despite the light hair, and easily not Rooke, but he’d never met someone from Dycorus before.
Absolutely stunning.
Her rounded nose twitched but her eyes remained shut. “Enjoying the view?”
Cason felt his cheeks flush. “I… sorry.”
She blinked and focused on him, her pale gray-blue eyes tracing his body. Her tongue flicked ever so slightly before she shrugged. “You’re at least better looking than those pigs.” She yawned, wincing slightly as she stretched, not making any effort to hide that her chest was thrust in his direction. “If I hear anything about any Veil Worshippers that slipped through your fingers, I’ll let you know.”
He grumbled under his breath. Twice now he had been caught off guard by women in Averlyn. Maybe his sun-blessed senses had decided to take the day off. Captain Valkip was failing miserably on this mission. He took a breath and tried to channel the young, less uptight man that Serill seemed to enjoy.
“How badly did you embarrass the men?”
“I’m not sure the soldier I talked to will ever see the world the same way again,” she replied with a sly grin.
“After last night, I think that’ll be the case for all of them.”
She raised her brow. “Is that so?”
