Her steps slowed near a flower stand, where bunches of violets and yellow sunbursts were tied neatly with ribbon.
"I don't usually get to walk like this," she said at last, her tone carrying both wonder and faint disbelief. She didn't look at him as she spoke, her eyes still on the flowers.
"And this is only the second time I've gone out with you. When I'm in the city, it's always with an escort. We don't stop at stalls. There's always a carriage waiting."
Kael glanced at her sidelong, a small quirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Guess it's different when you're… well, you."
Cecelia's lips curved into a soft laugh, warm enough to brush the edge off the bustling air around them.
"That's one way to put it. The Lia family name tends to attract attention—good and bad. I think my brother would faint if he knew I was just strolling down the street without guards."
Kael shifted his gaze to the street ahead, watching a wagon piled high with sacks of grain trundle past.
