CHAPTER 15
Ariyah's POV
Settlement - Market Day
The market is loud and bright and overwhelming.
I walk through the crowded stalls with a basket on my arm, feeling the sun warm on my face. My belly is just beginning to show, a small curve beneath my loose dress. It's strange, but I find myself touching it constantly, as if to remind myself that this is real. That the life inside me is growing.
That I'm not alone.
"Fresh herbs! Get your fresh herbs here!" a merchant calls out.
I stop at a stall and trade some of Mira's dried lavender for a bundle of carrots. The merchant, an older woman with kind eyes, smiles at me.
"You're the healer's new apprentice, aren't you?" she asks.
"Something like that."
"Well, you're doing good work. My grandson had a fever last week, and that tea Mira
