He takes us toward the center of town, where he finds another stable to tie up the horse. We walk along the bustling street that’s lined with shops. People call out about their products and children run through the streets laughing and playing. We walk in silence for a while, taking it all in.
I look over and find him grinning at me.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he replies, then turns his head forward again, still a hint of a smile in his eyes.
“You seem happier than usual.”
He side-eyes me. “I finally got you back.”
“The three of you could have succeeded without me. Would have.”
He looks away, out into the distance. “No, we couldn’t have.”
I don’t argue. It’s pointless.
“Strange…” I say slowly, as I eye a patron at a shop on the main street.
He doesn’t respond, but I sense him tracking my gaze.
“Look just below the coat,” I tell him. Because peeking out of the tall, willowy male’s jacket is a sliver of something gold. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that’s an Arryzan with golden wings. But much like the dragon shifters, they’re rarely seen outside of their region anymore.
“Huh,” he muses to himself.
As the busy street bustles around us, we watch as the male receives something wrapped, looks around him suspiciously, then disappears down a dark alley.
“This way,” he says, grabbing my hand and leading me toward a shop with beautiful dresses, shirts, and pant sets. He opens the door, still leading me with his hand clasping mine. I don’t protest.
“Hello.” An elderly female greets us with a smile. She looks like she’s mixed between a syloc, a smaller species like a Dothronite, and possibly something else. Interesting. She immediately eyes us both from head to toe. Her hair is knotted in a quirky updo on the top of her head with pins crossingthrough it, and there’s also a ball with needles sticking out of the pocket of her loose, uniquely-styled yellow dress. “How can I help you?”
“She needs a few new outfits,” Daegan tells her. “Nothing purple.”
I open my mouth to protest, then shut it again when I see the look he’s giving me. He’s up to something.
“I actually don’t have any money…” I say as I realize that truth.
“I’ve got it,” Daegan says.
The shopkeeper looks at us with a smile that tells me she thinks we’re a sweet, adorable couple. How wrong she is.
“Let me see what I can find. I’ll be right back.”
I immediately turn to Daegan when the seamstress gains some distance. “Why do I need new clothes? And why can’t they be purple? That’s my preferred color, in case you forgot.”
“I know.” Daegan crosses his arms, his eyes traveling from my feet all the way up to my hair. “And so does your father, and possibly all the guards who are looking for you. Besides, all you brought from… that place was the outfit on your back.”
“So I need to blend in with the crowd more. Got it. Smart.”
“You could never blend into a crowd,” he says clearly.
A moment of tension follows as we look at each other.
“Perhaps I should chop my hair as well?”
His lips twitch and then his eyes slowly travel from the top of my head, all the way down along my braid. “As long as I can still grab onto it,” he says with a shrug.
I shove his arm, and he doesn’t even budge. He smirks and saunters off down the side of the shop, perusing the clothes.
