Page 30 of Unbound By Shadows
As the Padu came into focus, Sam tried to put aside his memories to see the market through Selene’s eyes. It was vibrant, the air heated with life. Aurelians of all races were laughing, arguing, haggling, or shouting across the stalls. The aroma of sugar and butter eclipsed the smoked meat smell as they passed a cake stand. Jugglers walked up and down the aisles while artists offered to capture each passerby's likeness on canvas. Sam worried some of the older merchants might recognize him, but they only viewed him as a potential buyer.
“Lady! Come touch! My silks are the best in Aurelia! Come see!” a Drago with heavily scaled eyelids called to Selene from her wooden cart.
Selene shook her head, but Sam led her over to the assortment of silk scarves. “You can look,” he said.
He watched Selene run swathes of fabric between her fingers. The Drago leaned over to drape several scarves across Selene’s shoulders, praising her fairness. She laughed off the compliment, and Sam wondered with a flash of anger who had taught her to deny her beauty.
On impulse, he decided he would buy her a gift. Anything shewanted. Perhaps she would look at him the way she did when that Nereid gave her a shell. It was a foolish notion, but he didn’t care. Those in the market probably assumed he and Selene were mates, traveling together as they were. There was nothing unusual about a mate buying his treasured one something she desired.
The sky blue silk seemed to be the one she liked best, but when Sam offered to buy it, Selene refused, indicating she was ready to move on.
Next, they came upon a flower cart, bursting with fragrant blooms. He watched Selene linger over each blossom and briefly considered buying her a floral crown or garland. Yet he held back. He wanted his gift to be something more substantial.
He thought he had found such a gift when they approached a group of jewelers. It was crowded with Aurelians of wealth, judging by their clothes and grooming. Sam watched Selene’s face while she looked over the bracelets, earrings, and rings. When she touched a pearled necklace, Sam asked, a little too eagerly, “Do you like that? Why don’t you try it on?”
“Nah, it’s a bit too elegant for me. I’d probably lose it or break it,” Selene said.
Sam was about to protest that she deservedonlythe most elegant of adornments when something to their left caught her attention. “Oooo—soap!” she cried.
He followed Selene away from the jewelry toward a cart full of scented soaps. She held each bar to her nose.
“Mmm, this is nice—smells like leather and rose. What’s this one?” She read the label on each basket. “This one smells like… coffee and old books. How do you bottle that?”
“My own recipe,” the Malkina female behind the table murmured.
“They’re beautiful. Oh, this one is like fresh pumpkin. And this one smells like tea with milk!” Selene closed her eyes to inhale. When she opened them to find Sam watching her, she asked, “Why are you lookingat me like that?”
“I’ve never seen anyone so excited about soap.” He took a step closer. “Tell me which ones you want. I’ll buy them.”
“No, I already have a big bar Hollen packed for me.”
“I want to,” Sam said in a voice that came out more husky than he intended. He held her gaze before she looked away.
“All right,” she said. “Thank you.”
“Pick out a bar for me too. I’m running low.”
She continued to sniff bars, until Sam had to turn his head away to hide his amusement.Most females covet jewels, but mine yearns for soap.His smile quickly fell.Stop this. She is not yours.
“Okay,” Selene tested each scent, until finally, she said, “Here. This one smells like you.”
He took the green bar she offered and held it his nose. The pine scent was easily detected, but he also caught woodsmoke, along with a hint of elder bark and black ironwood. It was a very agreeable scent, but with a pleasing breath of darkness lurking below. The idea that he would be immersing himself in a scent that she preferred, one that she had chosen just for him, was intoxicating. Provocative.
“I’ll take all of them,” Sam said, gesturing to the nearly ten bars in the basket Selene had pulled from. “And as many as the lady would like too.”
“Whoa, I don’t need that many!” Selene protested. “I can’t even decide which one is my favorite.”
He was about to tell her to get one of each, then he paused. He became beset with the desire to choose for her. To know that she would be bathed in a scent thathepreferred—one that would touch every inch of her skin. Perhaps it would make her think of him when she smelled it.
He held each bar to his nose. They all seemed cloyingly floral, until he sniffed a creamy dark pink one. It was a blend of vanilla, citrus and a berry scent that reminded him of her alluring pomegranate scent.
“This one,” he said.
The soap maker only had three bars in stock, so he bought all of them too.
“Thank you, Sam,” Selene said. The usual warmth that came from hearing his name on her lips spread throughout his body. His anxiety about being back at Padu became overshadowed by an enormous sense of satisfaction.
They walked up and down more stalls, stopping at the food row to buy a few things to complement their meals. When they stepped away from a tea vendor, Sam saw a stall selling elaborate hats, hair pieces, and combs.
