Page 56 of Somber Prince
Scents of fried street food and candied treats had been a common feature of any fair or outdoor market back home. I’d taken it for granted before. And now, it felt like something important was missing.
“There is a food stand.” Sigid gestured at a merchant just ahead of us.
The table of the stall held neatly wrapped packages the size of a sandwich. It was impossible to see what type of food they held through the gray parchment wrapper, and they weren’t signed or labeled either.
A man approached the stand. He looked like he’d either just come from the desert or was about to go out there. The top layer of his long skirt-garment was lifted over his head and pinned to his hair, draping down his shoulders like a cloak.
“Five, please.” He handed to the merchant a shiny hexagonal coin in exchange for five wrapped packages that he promptly stuffed into the satchel hanging on his side.
“What are these?” Kostya leaned over the table, taking a sniff. “They smell. Couldn’t be any good.”
The woman merchant tilted her head, giving him a mixed look of curiosity and disdain.
“Humans. Do you always sniff things? Like dogs?”
Kostya straightened his back, staring her down.
“Does your food always stink like shit?” he snarled, very much like a dog she’d likened him to.
She yanked a dagger out of the sheath on her belt so quickly I had no time to blink.
“Don’t you dare!” She launched at Kostya over her table. “No one talks shit about my food.”
Our guards crossed their swords in front of Kostya, shielding him from the merchant’s wrath.
Sigid lifted his hands in a pacifying gesture, cautiously shifting forward.
“The Joy Vessel meant no offense, good woman.” Sigid quickly ushered Kostya and the rest of us past the food stand and into a different aisle, away from the woman and her dagger.
“Wow,” Lucia muttered under her breath, tossing a cautious glance over her shoulder. “And here I thought shadow fae were cold, unemotional creatures.”
I held on to her sleeve, afraid of losing her in the crowd. “They come of all kinds, I guess, just like any other race or species.”
Granted, Kostya had been a pest, but that woman should probably invest in a porch swing or some puzzle pieces to help her manage her temper. That made me think of Rha, of him holding my hands while helping me through my meltdown, and of our kisses. A warm glow spread through my chest, and I caught myself smiling.
Melanie suddenly bumped into my back.
“Hey! Watch it!” she yelled at someone behind her.
I turned to see the man who’d just bought the food from the high-tempered merchant. He gave Melanie a quick bow and briefly squeezed her hand.
“My apologies, Joy Vessel,” he said softly before promptly disappearing into the crowd.
The guards slid closer to Melanie, but the man was already gone.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
She threw a confused look in the direction where the man had gone.
“Yeah… I’m good. He tripped, I guess, and pushed me.”
“Were you hurt?” one of our guards enquired.
“No. I’m fine,” she assured us.
When the guard turned away, she opened her palm with a piece of paper rolled into a tight tube lying on it. Her forehead furrowed in confusion as she opened it.
“Did that guy give it to you?” I asked, keeping my voice down. “What does it say?”