Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
“Azul, Safia. Azul, Amara. You seem to have had a brisk business today,” Aabis greeted.
“Azul, Aabis,” Safia responded. She looked past him to his parents and gave them a friendly welcome. “I hope you have been well.”
Aabis nodded as his parents indicated that they were going to move on to the produce section of the market. He took his time before answering, his gaze moving over her the way it often did when he encountered her. There was always a slight hint of disapproval. She knew he didn’t like her modern clothes. He would have preferred she dress in the traditional robes his mother wore, and if Amastan accepted his offer for her, she would have to embrace his beliefs and his practices. The women in her family had been accepted and loved for who they were, but it seemed that she didn’t quite come up to the standards of the men interested in making her their life partner.
“My family has been well, and business is very good.”
There was a but in his voice. Safia waited to see if he would disclose whatever worried him. Aabis was a man who believed men handled business. It would be rare for him to share anything with a woman, but she knew he was doing his best to entice her to accept his proposal, maybe enough to talk to her about things he might not normally discuss with her.
“Have you heard the news of the ships in the harbor? I thought it might be the talk here in the marketplace.”
Safia shook her head, a sudden chill creeping down her spine. Inside her body, every cell, every fiber, tuned to Aabis and his every gesture, every expression. She listened to the tone of his voice, took in the exact way he worded his sentences.
“Three days ago, right before my fishing boats set out to sea, my captain discovered someone had sabotaged our vessel by drilling holes in it, a hundred of them, very small. If they hadn’t been found before they put out to sea, the boat would have gone down, and we could have lost lives. I had them examine our other vessel, and it also had been tampered with. The holes were so well placed it was nearly impossible to see them. According to my men, it looked as if someone had come from under the water and done the damage.”
Alarm spread through Safia. A hundred holes in each of Aabis’ fishing boats? His rivals wouldn’t do such a thing. They might be rivals, but they were still friends. This was the beginning of spreading dissent.
“I bought fish from my competitor, thinking it was possible they had been the one to sabotage my fishing boats.”
Safia frowned and shook her head.
Aabis nodded. “I am afraid it did cross my mind. I talked it over with my father. He didn’t agree. He thought it unlikely. Why now, after all this time? There has always been enough business to share.”
The chill had turned to an icy freeze. Safia forced back the need to rush down to the harbor. Information was key. She was the defender. Aura had spoken of a gate she guarded, one she had hoped she could rely on Safia to help her with. She had worried that something was happening to it, and lately, there were thinning spots close to it that demons might be able to slip through. That gate was somewhere in the ruins near the harbor.
Safia felt guilty for falling asleep instead of insisting Aura tell her about the gate and what was behind it. She should already know the location of it.
“I think it natural to worry about every possibility when the people’s lives you’re responsible for are on the line, but I’m also grateful you concluded your friends weren’t conspiring against you. We’ve been having problems at the farm,” Safia disclosed. “Little things, but damaging. Amastan checked with the neighboring farms, and some of them have been having problems as well.”
Aabis rubbed his jaw. “It is good he checked. Just today, Kadin Merabet, my friend who owns the fishing boats and sells most of the fish to the markets and other restaurants, had one of his vessels sink. Two more began to sink but in the harbor, so his crew was safe.”
“Aabis,” Amara whispered. “Was everyone rescued?”
“Two crew members drowned. Kadin blames himself. I had sent word to check his boats, and they had the day before and found nothing. They hadn’t checked them this morning. He believes he should have ordered the captains to check them every morning.”
There was a wealth of sadness in Aabis’ voice. He was really a good man. Safia had never understood why she wasn’t in the least attracted to him—and she wasn’t. Petru had been the only man she had physically responded to, and that upset her even more now. She’d known Aabis nearly all her life. Seeing him so vulnerable when he was so strong made her feel as if she had failed her people. These were demons wreaking havoc, and she was the defender. She hadn’t done her job, and two men had lost their lives. Aabis and his friend blamed themselves, when in reality, those deaths were on her.