***Cassius***
The silver bangle sat on my worktable where I'd left it after Aldrik had gone.
I'd picked it up once after he left, turned it over in my hands, felt the weight of it and everything it represented. The way the silver caught the light, how it would look against my skin.
Then I'd set it back down and tried very hard not to think about it.
When the knock came at my shop door, I knew who it would be before I opened it.
Aldrik stood there with an armful of firewood, looking slightly ridiculous and entirely too determined.
"The nights are getting colder," he said. "I noticed your supply was low."
"I can buy my own firewood," I said.
"I know," Aldrik replied. "But I was already getting some for the inn, and it seemed wasteful not to bring extra."
The lie was transparent, but before I could call him on it, he'd already started stacking the wood beside my door with efficient movements.
