“Gods, please, no,” Arken groaned.
“Don’t fret. I know a place,” I assured her. I had a feeling she would enjoy Corrine’s—the small café that was hidden between the pockets of administrative buildings near the Biblyos.
“Oh?”
“Just trust me, freshling.”
Arken rolled her eyes at the term, and I laughed again. I seemed to laugh often around her, and it was a breath of fresh air in contrast to my habits of more apathetic brooding.
“I think you’ll like it. Come along, Little Conduit.”
At a casual pace, the stroll from the amphitheater to the café took ten, maybe fifteen minutes.
“So what’s your story, Asher?” I asked her as we wove our way through the crowds. “What grand ambitions bring you to Sophrosyne?”
She shrugged. “Can’t say that I have any.”
I raised a brow. “I don’t believethatfor a minute. Nobody comes to Sophrosyne just for the Hel of it. Where did you come from, anyway?”
“Samhaven,” she replied, nonchalant.
As I looked back at her, I saw her eyes drift around the city with that same sparkle of fascination and wonder that seemed to have a permanent place in her expression. Like anyone and everything was worth a second glance.
“Okay, butwherein Samhaven?” I inquired. “That’s a rather large territory.”
The corners of her mouth upturned with the subtle hint of a smirk.
“Yes, though itissmaller than Pyrhhas,” she observed.
“Are you avoiding the subject on purpose, or do you simply delight in being difficult to talk to?”
“A bit of both, really,” she replied cheekily.
I resisted the urge to audibly groan.
“You are amaddeningwoman to try and get to know.”
Her sly smirk only widened. “Does that mean you’retryingto get to know me, then?”
So it would seem. I shouldn’t be, and yet here we were.
“Is that such a crime?” I countered.
“You tell me, Captain. You’re the local law enforcement, are you not?”
Arken snickered as I ran one hand through my hair in faux frustration. In reality, I was rather entertained by this, completely charmed by her quick wit. She really was something else.
“The Brindlewoods,” she finally answered.
“So you’re from Elseweire.”
“No,” she corrected, frowning slightly. “I’m from the Brindlewoods. Literally. I grew up in a small, nameless village right in the heart of the forest. It was several hours out from the port.”
Interesting.
“So what brings a small woodland creature like you out from the forests, into one of the largest cities in the world?” I inquired.
“Curiosity,” Arken answered. As if it were that simple. I rolled my eyes.