Excerpt: Fate's Tapestry

Aria calmly surveyed the rose-gold walls of Qur’tan, fabled City of Music. If Orn Taq could be trusted, this was where she would find at least some of the answers to her existence. Beside her, Talyn halted his horse and looked at her questioningly. “Aria?” he asked, softer than normal. “Do you not wish to continue in tonight?”

She shook her head, trying to dislodge the dark thoughts that stirred every time she thought of Orn. The man had given her and Talyn aid at times, true enough, but he also had a tendency to show up when they were having troubles. Often, she suspected him of exacerbating the issues, but she had no proof, and so rarely mentioned the man to her companion. “We continue in,” she said in answer to her friend’s query. “Let’s try and find a quiet inn for now, and we can begin the search tomorrow morning.”

“Of course,” Talyn replied, deferring to her. It was odd, but she knew that it was his way of thanking her for deferring to him when they had sought out his heritage. He was merely returning the favor, but it was hard to not read more into it.