Solar Reign

X L I

ANDORRA WAS jittery by the time she went to return to the castle. Unfortunately, on the return, neither her thumb nor Oberon's was coded into the elevator, which of course denied them access to where they'd hoped to return.

Instead, both of them stared at each other silently in the small space, silent, brains whirling with options.

"Ero will come find us, right?" Andorra suggested, her tone slightly hopeful, but even she knew that was a long shot. This was the perfect chance for the King and his son to get rid of Andorra completely without doing anything.

"If Ero wants us found, he'll find us, I'm sure of it." Oberon wasn't voicing what they were both thinking: Ero probably didn't want them found.

"In the meantime, we could go to the market district. Look around for a bit? What other choice do we have?" Andorra pressed the second level and the elevator lurched to a start, moving them before either were ready. Oberon flattened his hand on the wall to balance himself.

"You're right, we don't really have anything else going on. What do you think you're going to do about the astrai?"

That was a question she had been asking herself since Larson had mentioned the potential location. What was she going to do? Snooping was the obvious answer, but how was Andorra going to snoop in a palace she didn't know anything about? Even worse, what if she was caught?

She swallowed thickly, gears spinning in her brain. Even if she did find the astrai, how was she going to get the fae out of Averotho? And how was she going to do it undetected?

"I don't know. I don't know. Even if we do find the astrai, how are we going to smuggle her out of here? I'm pretty sure she's probably heavily guarded, just like everything else here. And I'm pretty sure they aren't going to just let us take her." Andorra nibbled on her thumbnail. "I'll think of something."

When the elevator doors slid open, Andorra wasn't surprised to see the hustle and bustle of the street. Everyone was moving around, some with bags and some without. Andorra stepped out, her hand finding Oberon's, and she gave it a tentative squeeze.

"Let's look around for now. I'll start thinking of a plan as well." Oberon took a moment to think, his eyes darting across the streams of fast moving fae, rushing from one place to the next. "Andy, whatever happens, you're not alone. We'll figure this out."

She gave a stiff nod, and the two of them walked with the traffic, eyes catching the different merchant signs. Some stalls had delicious smelling foods, the sounds of cooking and grilling almost louder than the voices around them. Some stalls had clothes and bags. Most stalls were filled to the brim with happy shoppers.

It was unlike anything Andorra had ever seen. The chaos didn't feel stressful, not like Andorra had expected. People moved around them, like water flowing by a stone, and no one shot her a nasty look, or muttered an impatient curse under their breath. Everyone seemed very content just to be there, shopping for whatever items called their names.

Oberon and Andorra ducked into a few stalls that held Averotho styled clothing. The handmade items looked professional enough to be sold anywhere in the world, even the human realm. Not that Andorra should have been surprised; her clothing back in Anlithamy were made of the same quality. Only, she hadn't really been clothing shopping, not since the incident with the masks in the Royal Court. Everything else had been a personal order to her seamstress.

She jolted, holding a simple-made shirt. Since when did I become so accustomed to the high fae life? So accustomed that anything but a personal order to my seamstress is weird? She felt an odd pit grow in her stomach at the thought that she was losing herself, her human self.