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She’d beenfriendly.
Or at least notunfriendly.
My heartbeat picked up as I saw a male fae headed toward me. When he got close, I nodded at him.
He nodded back too.
Excitement had my shoulders lifting, and my chin too.
They weren’t glaring at me or pretending I didn’t exist.
Apparently Zoran wasn’t the only one who’d decided to stop treating me like shit.
I passed a dozen more fae on my way there, and they all nodded. One guy even smiled at me.
I beamed back at him.
When I reached the marketplace, the first vendor I saw was a woman selling baked goods. She grinned at me, and I grinned right back.
“What can I get you?” she asked, leaning over the edge of her booth.
“Oh, nothing right now, I’m just looking around,” I said quickly. Without money, there wasn’t a chance in hell that I was asking the water fae for anything. I didn’t want to mess with the tentatively-positive feelings they seemed to be developing for me. “Thank you, though. I’ll come back later.”
Her grin widened, and she nodded. I recognized the boxes at her booth as the same ones Zoran had brought me with those incredible not-cinnamon rolls the day before, so it didn’t seem like a stretch of the truth.
One of the other vendors seemed to have heard me say that I was just looking, and spread the word quietly, because no one else asked me what I wanted as I walked around the marketplace, looking at everything and legitimatelytalking to people.
It was bizarre.
And beautiful.
I legitimately could’ve cried. But I didn’t, of course. What if my happy tears scared them out of their friendliness? I had to enjoy it while it lasted.
One of the women at a clothing stall waved me over from the other side of the row I was on. I glanced around, making sure she was actually gesturing to me, before heading over to her.
“I have your dresses!” Her smile was bright, her expression friendly.
“I don’t remember asking for dresses,” I admitted, glancing around again to make sure she was really talking to me.
“Oh, no, King Flood commissioned them.” She waved me closer, and I took a few reluctant steps closer. “Do you like them?” She gestured toward an entire rack of dresses, all in rich, expensive-looking fabrics. My cheeks heated, and panic began to set in.
“They look beautiful.” I reached up, smoothing a finger over the edge of the soft, thin fabric of a dress in a gorgeous pale blue color. “I didn’t bring money with me, though. I’m sure Flood will be back for them soon.”
“Oh, no, no. The king already paid.” She waved a hand toward me. “Make sure you like them, before taking them? I’ll bundle them for you if you approve.”
“Yeah, sure. Yes. Of course.” I stumbled over the words. “I’m sorry, I’m not very good with people. On Earth, I was a student. A scholar, if you guys have them. No one’s really told me much about your education system.”
Her eyes brightened. “My son is a scholar! We have an academy on the beach, off in that direction.” She pointed toward a part of the sprawling city I hadn’t made it out to yet. “What did you study?”
“Healing,” I admitted. “Well, biology, first. The way living things function. I was going to become a healer in a few years, but then I was brought here. And you don’t really have those.”
She laughed. “No, no need for healers. That’s a relief though, isn’t it?”
I smiled. “Honestly, it is. This monster took a big bite of me in the Aboa, and if I’d been on Earth, it could’ve killed me. But here, it just healed right up. The way fae heal is incredible.”
“Yes, our elements take care of us.” She beamed. “You are much more pleasant than I heard.”
My face flushed, probably the same color as my hair. “Thanks, I guess?”
