Despite their best efforts, the procuring of supplies took over an hour as the temperature dropped and the light faded. Violet and Leontios at last made their way to the front of the Shepheard hotel, where the crimson light fell in a blinding shaft.
“Ow,” she complained, shielding her eyes and squinting. “I hope our ride is ready. I’ve walked enough for one day.”
“Oh, you’re here!” Azaan’s familiar voice floated to her ears.
She turned to glare. “Just find our way back to the hotel, eh?”
His habitual, penetrating stare transformed in an instant into a look of excessive innocence. “Did you have any trouble? It’s not that hard to find your way out of the souk. You didn’t get lost, did you?”
“We did not,” Leontios said sternly, pursing his lips at the young man, “but I do not think playi
