“Well, Levi. Are you hungry?”
Doran himself was starving, and he doubted Levi had eaten well for a while. It was the only thing he could think to do in that moment.
Ginger nodded. Doran would have to stop calling him that now he knew Levi’s name, but he’d got so used to saying it. There was no harm in keeping a nickname.
“Then come with me.” He offered Levi the door. “I know just the place.”
I had no choice. When humans say this, it's often an excuse, but just this once it's true.
But then again, I'm not human.
Chapter 27
Levi
Levi was glad he wasn’t on his own anymore. The market had been overwhelming, but Doran navigated it with ease. He fit in, unlike Levi, and looked at home in the crowd.
The streets here boasted so many things to absorb, but his eyes kept finding their way back to the same two wares—knives, and a sweet-smelling cake that made his mouth water every time they walked past. Fighting with two daggers was the only skill he possessed, and the cooks in the village hadn’t served many sweet dishes. Now he wanted both, but he had no money for either.
Levi wanted to defend himself so Doran wouldn’t have to save him again. He knew he was dangerous with one dagger, but with two he was lethal. His talent for knives had been the only reason the Elders had continued to train him. He hadn’t thought he would ever want to see another weapon again, but he owed Doran his life and this chance. Trailing behind Doran and hoping for the danger to pass wasn’t good enough anymore.
“Are you all right?” Doran asked, and Levi blushed. Would it ever cease to amaze him that Doran genuinely cared?
He pried his eyes away from the weapons and sweet food. “Just a little hungry, I guess.”
Doran grinned. “Do you like cakes, Levi?”
He wasn’t used to hearing his name, least of all from Doran. He liked the name Ginger, but hearing his real name from Doran was even nicer. It had been so long since anyone had known it. His mind was numb, his heart raced, and hearing it dizzied him too, but the blocks his teachers had put in place would have to get used to it.
He wanted to be Levi.
“I don’t know,” Levi said. Doran must have seen him eyeing the cakes. “We didn’t get any cakes in the village, but my mother used to make this apple pie I liked…” The world swayed beneath his feet, but he was stronger than this. He wanted to remember.
For so long the only thing anyone had been interested in was how long he could stand without fainting under the pain, or how deadly he’d become with his blades. He wanted—needed—Doran to know there was something more to him. He needed himself to know.
Doran smiled, and the ground beneath Levi’s feet trembled all the more. He wouldn’t go down. He would be strong.
“I’m sure we can find someone who sells it.”
“No!” Remembering that he used to love apple pie and tasting it were two different things. He wasn’t sure he was ready for it, and he didn’t want Doran to see him weak again. He nodded to the cakes he’d seen before. “What are these?”
Doran winked. “The specialty of Alt Võina.” Doran emptied a few coins into his palm and counted the money. “Two, please,” he said to the woman behind the table.
She poured uncooked dough onto a hot surface. It sizzled. The sweet smell from before filled the air. The cook flipped both over with one fast, fluid motion, and drizzled a different sauce on each.
Doran handed him both, that infectious grin on his lips. “You’ll love these. They are called pancakes.”
“Are you not having one?”
“No, they are both yours. Don’t worry about it, they aren’t expensive.”
Levi bit into the first one, spread thick with honey, and sighed. He hadn’t realised how hungry he’d been.
Doran laughed. “Can you eat and walk at the same time?” Levi nodded. “Good, we’ve got more shopping to do. Come on.”
Levi followed Doran through the busy crowd, the masses no longer oppressive. The delicious treats made him feel better, and even the spinning had stopped.
They stopped in front of an armorer’s stall. “These are weapons from Ceidir,” Doran said. “Their warriors are proud people, and their weapons show it. Blacksmiths from Ceidir take a lot of pride in their work.”
Levi cast a glance over the intricately designed and adorned knife hilts, swords, and sheaths, and wished he’d taken one with him when they’d left the village. He had no other means of defending himself. He had never been tried in a real fight, but he was faster than others and weapons felt right in his hands. He knew what he could do with them, and he couldn’t do it with any other weapon.
Levi gave the knife at Doran’s waist a quick glance. “Is your own knife from here?”
Doran shook his head. “No. I bought mine in Dìrlein in Ceidir, but we can’t get there right now. Perhaps one day, if we find ourselves there, I’ll buy you another.” He grinned. “We could be blade twins!”
His grin was too much, and Levi smiled. “Another?”
“Can you fight? The road can be dangerous, you need to be able to protect yourself.”
Levi shook his head and backed away a step. “I can’t accept this. These are expensive.” He looked at the price tags to make his point, and realised he knew nothing about weapon prices. “Aren’t they?”
When Doran tugged him back, he didn’t resist.
Doran shrugged. “They are good weapons. Ceidir blacksmiths know their craft. If you don’t know how to fight, I’ll get you a small knife and I’ll teach you, but it’s probably better if you got something you already know how to use.”
Doran was right. Hadn’t he just thought the same thing himself? “I’m no good with a sword or an axe, but I’m good with two knives.”
Doran nodded and pointed at the table. “I know nothing about Hjevan traditions, but in Ceidir the weapon is an extension of the warrior. Trust your gut feeling when you choose one.”
Levi ran his hands over the hilts, the cool steel, and let his fingers glide over the blades. All of them were sharpened to perfection. The weapons in the village were dull by comparison.
He spotted two knives at the end of the table. Their hilts were black, adorned with silver lines, and they were beautiful. Levi picked up both and twirled them between his fingers.
Doran’s eyes widened. “Where did you learn to do that?”
“I didn’t. It’s something I always knew how to do.”
“They look good,” Doran said. “They suit you.”
Levi blushed, and Doran laughed.
“I’ll pay you back when I can.”
Doran emptied his coins into his palm, and handed the scruffy man behind the table the money. “You can pay me by watching my back on the road.”
Levi smiled. It felt good to hold two knives again. From now on, he wouldn’t use them to kill innocent people who’d spilled a bit of soup or who’d wandered too close to the village. He would only use them in self-defence, and to defend Doran.
He held the knives to his lips and kissed each blade once. Then he sliced into each palm, pressing the cut into the blade.