Page 107 of A Veil of Gods and Kings

“Shit.” I jumped up. “Hyacinth, we have to go.”

“Can’t we wait five more minutes?”

“No.” I frowned at the sky as I yanked my tunic back on. “We’re about to have a visitor.”

37

Epiphany

I snatched Temi’s hand and pulled her around the back of a column in the palace. “Do you think the guards would let us pass a second time?”

She cocked her head to the side; her braids drifted over the plum of her dress. “Probably. Why?”

“Would you take me out tonight?”

She drew in a long breath but then nodded. “Sure.”

Half an hour later, we both strode past the guards again, and we ambled towards the city where buildings huddled like masses of silvery rocks in the dim lighting of the evening sky. “Thanks for this. I needed a break.”

“Is Lord Galeson being unpleasant?”

I scrunched my fingers into my hair. “He’s nice enough, I guess. But tonight I don’t want to talk about him or my future or anything. I just wish to do something fun. Is that okay?”

Temi tucked her arm around my back and squeezed me in closer. “Of course.”

“And I’ve decided I’m going to continue training with you.” After all, I was supposed to have the rest of the summer. And I wasn’t ready to give it up yet. I could balance my duties and still go out with Temi.

Temi’s lips pinched. “You’ll have time?”

“I’ll make it.”

“Okay.”

We reached the city, which was so distinct from the palace I lacked words to describe it. A constant hum of people streamed through the palace as well, but they moved orderly and organized, uniformed, and timely. On the streets, individuals in all different styles of clothing jostled by, laughing, talking, wearing furrowed brows, or yelling. Children squealed as they weaved between the legs of others.

“Watch it, you rascals,” a man boomed in their direction.

One little boy grinned at him over his shoulder before the crowd swallowed him.

The man clicked his tongue and leaned towards his companion. “In my day our parents never would have tolerated that kind of behavior.”

“That is the truth,” his friend muttered.

They, too, got absorbed into the bustle of people. Noises peppered through the space, vendors calling out to passersby, so many conversations they blended into a hum. The clattering, glittering, jangling of the world all in one spot.

Tangy citrus burst into the air alongside yeasty dough and sour smells that seemed to curl on the edge of everything.

I’d lived near this my whole life, and yet I’d never seen it from this perspective. More and more I realized just how sheltered and disconnected my upbringing had been. Temi strode up to a stall, drawing coins out of a pouch on her hip, and brought back two steaming loaves of Chosomo bread. She plopped one into my hands, and my palms burned. I bounced the loaf around between my fingers. “I didn’t realize it could be this hot.”

Temi chewed a bite and swallowed. “You have to eat it this way to truly appreciate it. Well”—she nodded towards my pastry—“go on.”

“It’s too warm.”

“If it doesn’t burn your tongue a little, you’ve never actually eaten it.”

“How would you know? You’re new to this city.”

She cocked up an eyebrow. “But I’ve seen more of it than you have.”