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Ana, in a dark-red hooded cloak, was purchasing a bowl of broth and an ale from a merchant three stalls down. She was facing away, but he’d know the shape of her anywhere... her slim waist flaring into hips he’d held a hundred different ways. The way she shrugged with just one shoulder and fiddled with her hair—the tips of her golden waves peeking out from the sides of her crimson robe—while waiting for the merchant to bundle her meal into a tight satchel.
She paid and lowered her head, shuffling quickly away. Tyr ground his jaw, predicting the path his next thoughts would take.No. You will not follow her. She is not your business. She is not—
MEOWWWWWWWW.
Tyr looked down at his little sidekick with a deep frown. “No.”
Rikard hissed.
“I saidno. Shall I say it in Vjestikaan too? Old Ilynglass?”
“Brother, are you talking to your cat again?” Agnes asked from the other side of the wall.
“Nien! I mean... er... Ag, I’ll be right back. The cart is right here.”
“Whatever,” she said dismissively and returned to discussing the virtues of rhubarb.
“Stay,” Tyr ordered, and Rikard responded by lengthening his lean body into a comfortable, satisfied stretch.
Tyr darted off, sliding through the growing crowd of shoppers. He caught flashes of Ana’s red cloak, dancing in and out of the pockets of villagers, evading him. He pushed on, nearly knocking an old woman sideways, and when he stopped to apologize and make sure she was all right, he spotted Ana again, ducking down a row of cider tents being erected.
He finally caught up to her, but before he could think of what to say, she spun around, her eyes flashing with rage... and something else. Fear. Of him?
“Why are you following me?” she demanded. Her jaw ground back and forth. “No need to think of a lie, Tyreste. I know what you’re doing. Why?”
All he could think to do was nod at the wrapped soup in her hands. “Why are you eating in town?”
Ana tucked her chin downward in offense. “Why wouldn’t I eat the food from the village?”
“It’s not like you, is all.”
She disappeared the bag under her heavy cloak and stared boldly ahead. “Why are you following me?”
“Iwasn’t.I’m here with Mother and Agnes—”
“Last night...” Ana sighed and glanced at her feet. “It shouldn’t have happened. It was my fault for giving you the impression it was what I wanted.”
Tyr took a step back. “I wouldneverhave forced—”
“I know,” she said quickly, shaking her head at the ground. Her brows furrowed. “Iknow. That’s why I said it was my fault. I’ll take all the blame and leave none for you to carry. But please don’t follow me. You said... You said if I walked out that door...”
“That I never wanted to see you again?” Tyr bit back a bitter laugh. He wished she’d look up, but meeting her eyes terrified him as much as the labyrinthine emotions holding his heart hostage. “How I wish I’d meant it, Ana. I would do anything to mean it.”
“Then tell me why you’re following me!”
Several villagers stopped to watch them. Tyr smiled, waved, and stepped closer, lowering his voice to a whisper. “I have never seen you so afraid, Ana.”
Ana scoffed and cast her glance sideways. “Then maybe you should respect my wishes and leave me alone.”
Something in the way she said it,alone,hit him like a sack of rocks. Shewasalone. For all her wealth and privilege, she’d been alone for years. He’d only seen glimpses of the pain she’d tried so hard to hide, even from him. “I don’t...” He swallowed hard. “I don’t need you to love me. And I won’t try to win you back or convince you what we had was...” He breathed in. “But you arenotalone. Do you hear me? I will always be here if you need me. I will always help you.”
Ana’s shoulders started to shake. He reached forward to hold them, and when she looked up, tears were streaming down her face.
“Ana,” he whispered.
When her lower lip quaked, something broke inside of him. But then something worse took hold of her. Her eyes widened to saucers, terror slipping into every inch of her expression.
“Anastazja!Thereyou are.”
