It wasn’t ideal. The sun was shining. The streets were filled with booths and shopkeepers and crowds, all of whom might see my next move. But I was no longer thinking straight or strategizing much further beyond: get bread, eat bread.
I glided past the table, reaching out a hand.
One warm loaf in my grasp, I curled it in toward me.That was smooth,someone’s thought rose above the wordless hum, and I froze. Someone was thinking about me. Someone had seen.
CHAPTER 8
Arie
THE VOICE WAS FAMILIAR.I glanced behind me in the direction it had come from, but in that split second of indecision, another man stepped out in front of me. I hadn’t seen him underneath the awning. His eyes landed on me. Dropped to my hand. I slipped the soft bread beneath my cloak, but it was too late.
“Thief!” the shopkeeper screeched, pointing his stubby finger at me. “Stop her!”
I ran, dodging hands that reached out to grab me, but I didn’t get far. Someone seized my cloak, yanking me to a stop. Others latched on until they held me firmly in place. I gripped the bread so tightly that the middle caved in and it threatened to break in half.
Why did she stop? She could’ve made it.There was that familiar male voice again. I swung my head around, trying to glimpse the owner of the thought. Over my shoulder, as the shopkeeper shoved through the crowd yelling orders, I spotted him. Golden eyes. He leaned against a building, watching the scene unfold.
A hand clamped down on my wrist, yanking the bread in my hand above my head for everyone to see. “This woman stole from me,” the man screamed over the crowds, drawing attention. “I call for the maximum punishment for the crime! Do I have three to bear witness?”
My mouth was dry. The maximum punishment in most kingdoms was either slavery or death, depending on the leniency of the crown. “Let me go!” I struggled to yank my arm from his grip without success. The bread dropped to the ground. “It’s just bread! It’s not even worth anything!”
“Notworthanything!” The man’s face reddened.
“I’ll witness,” a woman snapped, crossing her arms as she glared at me. “That’s the only way they truly learn their lesson.” No mercy there.
“So will I,” a man intoned, shuffling supplies from one hand to the other. This was ridiculous. What kind of people reacted so harshly over a piece of bread?
The shopkeeper twitched as he waited for a third. “Who else? Come, I don’t have all day!”
A pause.Maybe not everyone in this city is insane.But, no. Even as I thought this, two more voices sealed my fate. I tried to pull away again, startling him, but he was stronger and faster, and so were two strangers standing nearby.
The crowd closed in. There was nowhere to go even if I could break free. I stilled, feeling bruises form under their fingers. The shopkeeper untied the rope securing his tunic, wrapping it around my wrists. The sharp rope bit into my soft skin. I flinched as he tightened it. “She belongs to me now!” He raised his voice so all the onlookers could hear, adding, “She’ll fetch a high price at the auction tomorrow, if anyone is interested!”
He yanked on the rope, leading me back to his shop. How had this happened? Was this how people truly lived? As the crowd dispersed, a grin spread over his face and he added to himself, “I won’t have to work for weeks.”
I stumbled along behind him, unable to escape, listening to him ponder the price I might fetch tomorrow. I clenched my fists. We’d see about that.
