The air changed, taking on a salty aroma that was new to Arine. Mestra sniffed once, and muttered something about how some things never change. For Arine, though, this was new. She kept in step with her friend, even as her eyes searched the horizon around every bend or crest of a small hill. She wanted to see the ocean. It had kept her and Ian apart for so long now. And, with luck, it would be the instrument used in reuniting them. Mestra paused at a rock, making a show of pulling off her boot as other travelers passed them by. The road had gotten busy over the last day. Merchants and noblewomen flocked to the city for the festival Domine Grace had announced to celebrate her counterpart and ally’s wedding. “When we make it around this next bend, you’ll see the city and the sea. This isn’t a vacation; it’s a job. Keep yourselves together, all of you.
