Asphodel retraced her steps to the temple and drifted to her room. She flung herself on her bed and wept for what Vass had become. Wept for the future they had planned together. Wept because she had been unable to help him.
A knock came at her door. It was Hayen.
“I thought I heard crying. What’s wrong, Asphodel?”
Asphodel stepped back and let the girl in. “I…saw Vass—the man I ran away from. He…he was in Market Square. He ask…asked me go back to him.”
Hayen drew her brows together. “And that made you cry? I don’t understand.”
Asphodel lay on the bed. “I cry because I love him, and said no.”
Hayen gave a slight shake of her head, making her brown curls bob. “I still don’t understand. You love him, and he loves you. Why not go back?”
Asphodel sat up, her tears now dry. She clenched h
