Page 52 of Stranger's Choice
She raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t supposed to be looking back then.”
Sebin’s smile grew a touch feral. “No, I wasn’t supposed to be touching. Not looking at you in that costume is beyond my control.”
Sebin sent amessage to the Dusty Gohtadar Tavern only to discover that Tjalik was out of the city visiting his sister. Sebin would have to wait until Tjalik was back in Kalitalo to warn him that Heolin might suspect his rebel leanings.
Perhaps it was for the best. When he met with Tjalik, he needed to push the man to understand how his rebellion would need to adapt to be successful. So much depended on the magical races, and Sebin still didn’t know if Heolin would be an ally. Or if the sprite could convince others to join him.
Sebin tossed the note from the innkeeper on the table and looked over at Auraelie.
She smiled at him. She had changed back into her tunic and trousers, but the way she looked at him was sultry. Her outfit hardly mattered when she looked at him like that. “When do you need to meet Tjalik?”
Sebin stood up and walked toward her. “He’s gone for a few days.”
“So you have nothing else to do this afternoon?”
“My schedule is wide open. Why? Do you have any suggestions?”
Auraelie tapped her finger against her lips. “Hmm. Let me think. I heard there is a talentedgohtadarplayer in one of the lesser chambers today.”
“I don’t have the patience to listen to music right now,” Sebin said, stepping closer to her.
Auraelie’s smile grew. “The animal trainers in the outer courtyard, then. I hear they have shapeshifter blood in their ancestry and can truly talk to their pets.”
Sebin took another step forward. “No. I don’t want to go outside.”
“I know!” Auraelie rested her hands on his shoulders. “You want to play a game ofphan.”
Sebin blinked. “What isphan?”
Auraelie drew back. “You’ve never playedphan?”
“I don’t even know what it is.”
“Oh, we have to play now.”
Sebin gaped at her. “Now? As in right this moment?”
“Well, not right this moment. I have to get a board first.”
She turned.
Sebin reached out and put his hands on her hips. “Auraelie. You can introduce me to this game later.”
She turned back. “Right. We can play later.”
She looked genuinely disappointed. Sebin could have sworn when she started asking him how he wanted to spend the afternoon, she had not been leading up to playing a board game. Even if she was the one who had suggested it. But for whatever reason, once he admitted to not knowing the game, she really had wanted to play.
He groaned. “All right, go get yourphanboard.”
She kissed him. “Thank you. I haven’t played in years.”
Auraelie rushed out of his room, and Sebin was left thinking about how many simple pleasures she hadn’t enjoyed in years. Things he took for granted, she had done without for nearly a decade, if not longer. She hadn’t even had a family since she was seven, not really.
Sebin might not particularly like his father or brother, but they were still present in his life. And he had a sister and cousins whom he loved. Who loved him. He had never felt like he didn’t have a place he belonged.
“Do not rob her of a home,” Sebin repeated Pajwar’s words. The oracle had to have been speaking of Auraelie. She hadn’t had a home since she was seven. Sebin needed to make sure that she could finally return to Losesti. He’d return the life her people and the Emperor had stolen from her.
“Phan,” Auraelie announced, opening his door only a few minutes after she had left. She held up a wooden board decorated with a series of painted lines and a bag.
