Maela's heart pounded in her chest as she watched the flame-haired knight pull open the heavy wooden door of the Gilded Horns.
The sounds of the merchant quarter of Lothian City fell away, and Maela's head felt light, like it had been stuffed with cotton, as she crossed the threshold. The sounds of her footsteps on the polished wooden floors seemed muffled, or drowned out by the thudding in her chest.
They were here.
Right in front of her, standing side by side, they were both here.
Ashlynn had dressed simply for the occasion in a well-made, cream-colored blouse with billowing sleeves tied at her wrists that paired with a flowing brown skirt to give the impression that she was a successful merchant or the housewife of one rather than a mighty witch or empress. Her pale blond hair had been gathered into a simple ponytail, tied with a wide green silk ribbon that matched her emerald eyes, and every bit of her seemed comfortable as she was.
