Page 65 of The Seeker

He brushed a hand down my hair, and I cringed, knowing how dirty it was. “Lucky for you, the king offers daily audiences with anyone who shows up. We only need to wait in line tomorrow, and he will hear your plight.” His eyes drifted to the sky. “It’s too late to join the line today, so you have time to think of what you will say.”

My anxiety fizzled out, only a small tendril remaining.

“Come on.” His hand gripped mine. “Let’s find somewhere to stay for the night.”

He guided me into the crowd, the view of the forest replaced by market stalls and brick walls. It was all I could do to watch where I was stepping to avoid crushing the toes of others, my mouth dropping open to gaze at the beauty of the town as Otho led me through street after street.

I’d long ago learned that Ralheim wasn’t the largest town, but I’d never realized how small it was compared to Shianp. Where we’d had one market square, with only a few shops in total, it seemed like everyone here owned a shop. First, there was a street filled with colorful clothing stores, all colors of fabric hanging in the windows, then another with storefronts packed with nothing but wooden furniture. Then we came to a street lined with carts, all of them cooking different foods. There was meat on sticks, vegetables on sticks, and even small cups of cut fruit and fried breads. I found myself lingering in front of a particularly sweet-smelling cart, and before I could even ask, Otho was reaching into his pocket, handing the man a coin in exchange for a twist of something coated with cinnamon and sugar.

He offered it to me. “Here, these are some of my favorites.”

I didn’t waste any time biting into the warm treat, the bread immediately melting in my mouth. Besides the cinnamon and sugar, there was another savory ingredient—vanilla perhaps. Between the two of us, the treat was gone in moments, and though I longed to ask for another, I knew there was more to see.

We left the food street to find the next one filled with an array of flower vendors. Each one featured a different variation of blooms, some of which were so colorful I found my jaw dropping. I pulled on Otho’s arm. “Why are all of the shops sorted like this?”

He glanced around, as if just realizing it himself. “I’m not sure. Maybe it’s good for business? A little competition? Or if you’re shopping for something specific, you know where to look.”

I nodded, drinking in all of the sights that surrounded us.

We continued our journey, and I couldn’t believe we hadn’t run out of city yet—it felt like we’d been walking forever. And I knew that after we saw the king, I would be desperate to stay another day, to experience all Shianp had to offer.

Otho finally guided me onto a street filled with inns, ducking into one supporting a hand-painted sign decorated with delicate purple flowers.

The Moon Flower Inn

How fitting.

The reception area was empty, other than a tall desk and the young woman who stood behind it.

“Where are the others? Did we lose them in the crowd?” I whispered to Otho.

He shook his head. “We agreed to rent rooms here. I assume they are already in their rooms or spending even more time exploring than we did.”

“Oh.” I pressed my lips together. “Does everyone know their way around Shianp, other than me?”

Otho spoke to the innkeeper, procuring a key before turning back to me. “No, only Karl, Askel and I have been here before. But I assume they are sticking together.”

I gnawed on my lip, wondering when they had time to discuss all of this without me overhearing. I hoped Ena was staying with Askel, considering I hadn’t mentioned we were splitting from the group.

Suddenly, the room felt too small, too hot, and the walls were closing in. I glanced back toward the open door. Though the streets were dusty—the large number of people perusing the shops and inns kicking up quite a bit of dirt—I had to step back outside.

I looked at Otho, who was conversing with the innkeeper in low tones, and motioned to the door. I couldn’t tell if he saw my motions or not, but I didn’t wait around, ducking out into the open and inhaling massive gulps of air.

It felt silly, to feel as I had inside, while my lungs inflated as if nothing had been amiss before.

After taking several moments to simply breathe, I stepped back into the shadow of the inn, leaning my back against the red-bricked wall as I watched people from every walk of life parade by.

There were women dressed in long, beautiful silk dresses, their skirts layered on top of one another in a way no woman in Ralheim would dare. Many gripped the hand of a child or two, the young boys of one woman playing a game around their mother’s skirts even as they walked. There were men, too. Some with women, others by themselves. They mostly wore breeches similar to mine, their shirts tucked⁠—

“Runa!”

I spun toward the sound of my name without thinking, only for shock to steal over my features.

The face that called to me was my own.

Milo was here.

I smacked myself, thinking that maybe I had lost consciousness. There was no way that Milo would come all this way, not after the fight we’d had, when he told me he refused to be involved in the war.