Page 109 of A Fate in Flames

“So,” Kaseer began, “who wants to hear about the time I tried to impress a woman by wrestling a river beast?Spoiler: the beast wonandI lost my pants.The entire realm saw my bare ass, and I still didn’t get the girl.”

After a few more ridiculous stories and easy conversation, we finally made it to the markets.I’d thought the ones back home were impressive, but this was something else entirely.

There were no colourful canopies strung up, rather it was all deep midnight fabric hanging in heavy drapes, creating thick shadows.Stalls crammed impossibly close together stretched beyond sight, each pathway branching into dedicated alleys.There were spices of every colour.Weapons that gleamed with unnatural sharpness.Fabrics that rippled like water even when no breeze touched them.

My eyes locked with Theo’s across the sea of movement.We had both spotted the same thing.A woman stood behind a pastry stall, back straight and chin lifted with pride.Her display overflowed with sweets I couldn’t even name—golden pastries so delicate they looked like they might shatter, triangle-shaped delights drowning in rosewater syrup that made my stomach clench with want.The honeyed sweetness cut through everything else, wrapping invisible fingers around me and tugging me in.

The woman was just as mesmerising as her goods.Her skin glowed like burnished copper, her ash-coloured hair twisted into an elaborate knot with loose tendrils framing her face.When she smiled, two gold teeth flashed in the dappled light.Her beauty was strange and captivating in equal measure.

I surged forward before slamming to a halt.I had no money.I spun back around to Mira.

“How do we purchase anything?”I asked, my head swivelling back to the pastry stall.

Sweets had always been my undoing.

“Oh!”She giggled, reaching for a pouch hidden around her waist.“I completely forgot.”

She poured several gold coins into my palm—perfect circles stamped with serpent heads.

“Are you sure?”I flipped one over, running my thumb over the design while guilt crawled up my throat.“What if you need them?”

She waved me off.“Don’t be silly, Elira.I have plenty.The king pays handsomely to those who help within his palace.”She closed my hands around them.“Go.Everything here is reasonably priced.You’ll be surprised what you can get.”

I smiled.“Do you want a sweet?”

“Yes, please!I’ll just be here.”She turned back to the fabrics, lifting a piece of light-swallowing black silk.

I nudged Theo in the ribs, interrupting his conversation with Kaseer and Tavrik.He’d completely forgotten about the pastries that were practically calling my name.

He doubled over with an exaggerated groan before falling into step beside me as we approached the stall.

Those triangular pastries drew my attention completely.Theo of course, couldn’t keep his eyes off the seller.The woman’s golden smile widened when she caught him staring, her cheeks darkening beneath her copper skin.

No one could resist the Theo charm.

“How much for—” I did a quick count, my fingers hovering just above them, afraid to touch something so perfect, “—five of these.”

“One coin.”

My eyes widened.Certainly I’d misheard.“Really?”

“Mhm.”She stretched out her palm, waiting.

I placed the gold coin into her hand.She quickly stacked five pastries into a perfect pyramid on a cloth napkin, drizzling extra syrup over the top until they glistened.The sweet aroma of honey and rosewater enveloped me as she pressed them into my waiting grasp, warmth radiating up through the cloth.

“Enjoy,” she purred, gold teeth flashing.

I practically ran back to Mira, who now clutched bundles of material to her chest.Tavrik and Kaseer stood nearby, heads bowed in close conversation.

“Here you go!”I thrust my hand forward, giving each of them a pastry.Kaseer’s eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise before he dipped his head in thanks.

We bit into them simultaneously and—Heavens—the sound that tore from our throats was obscene.

We drew dozens of eyes, but instead of the disgust I expected, there were smiles.Even a few approving nods.The seller clasped her hands beneath her chin, satisfaction radiating from her like heat from a furnace.

Every bite was an experience—the flaky exterior giving way to something impossibly soft.Syrup that tasted of roses and honey and something wild I couldn’t name coated my tongue.By the time I’d devoured the last bite, my fingers were sticky and my body hummed with satisfaction.

That had been, without a single doubt, the most divine thing I’d ever tasted.I silently vowed to come back for more.