Of Shadows & Starlight: A Fantasy Romance (Sunder the Stars Book 1) by Sophia Nye

Author:Sophia Nye [Nye, Sophia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Rasvim

Kas and Aleksei “knew a little place” in the heart of the city where we could get some food and sift through the chaotic night.

Down two sketchy alleys and up a flight of stairs, we came to a little shop tucked away atop a landing overlooking a marketplace. Given the grimy roads we’d traversed to get here, I was pleasantly surprised at the warmth and charm of the place. I could tell instantly it was one of those rare spots that secretly serves the best pastries in the kingdom, but only to those who knew where to find it.

A hand-painted wooden sign hung above blue and white striped awnings. The Sweet Spot. Wrought-iron chair and table sets were scattered over the landing, as many stuffed beneath the awning as could possibly fit and the rest spilling onto the balcony, their mismatched table cloths flapping in the warm breeze. Every space not occupied by a chair exploded with plants in painted terracotta pots.

“If they don’t have pastries, I’m going to be very upset,” I warned.

Kas laughed. “Oh, they do. I’ll go grab some for us.”

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Aleksei protested, hurrying through the open door ahead of her. “I’m paying this time, remember?”

I turned to find a table with Amiira, only to discover that she’d moved to the edge of the balcony, staring wide-eyed at the marketplace below.

“I don’t think I can guess what you’re thinking this time,” I commented, watching her instead of the bustle of activity below. I clearly had the better view.

She turned toward me. “I’ve never seen so many people in one place,” she said. “Not like this.”

It was an odd qualifier, I realized. She must have seen a similar crowd, but in a different setting. “Is this your first time in Jadan?”

She nodded, looking back down at the people below. “Except when we fought the succubus, but I didn’t get to see much then.”

“Here we are!” Kas called, carrying a plate of pastries out and setting it on the table nearest the overlook. She had four smaller plates for each of us, and Aleksei had a pot of tea and four cups.

“What,” Amiira began in awe, “are those?” She grabbed a pastry covered in icing and dripping cream from the side, inspecting it like she’d never seen one before.

“They didn’t have them in my village either,” Kas said. “They’re pastries.”

“They’re sinful,” Amiira replied after her first bite. That word, on her lips, with her mouth full, got my complete attention.

“That they are,” I agreed, taking a giant bite from one filled with apricot jam.

“So,” Aleksei said when he’d finished his pastry, “how did the two of you end up at the manor?”

“We were with Coryn only hours before the fire,” I told him, omitting pretty much every detail. I didn’t know enough about Aleksei and Kas to let them that far in just yet. “Asri and Kaine left the house, and Asri saw the fire as she was heading up to the academy. She told us this morning, so we came to investigate.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.