A Canceled Journey

**Angro's POV**

As I left the Tahuri, I found the last person I expected to see there.

"Amari," I exclaimed, completely surprised.

"Angro, what is all this about?" she asked, her face shadowed by a doubt she seemed afraid to confirm. "Why did you come here so late at night?"

How long had she been there?

Had she heard everything, including Shaira's fake marriage to that smuggler?

Did she know about my confrontation with Omawit, her brother, and what he had tried to do that night?

"I had to make sure the girl was okay, that's all," I replied, not daring to go beyond the recent events.

"Why, Angro? Why did you have to do that?" I was about to answer when she continued, "My father has already given his verdict on this case and freed that girl, just as you wanted. I don’t see why you still care about what happens to her, especially since she has her husband, who is also with her."

I knew what Amari was getting at. I had to be cautious with my response.

"Even so, I felt responsible for her. I was the one who found her, and it was because of me, because I left her, that she almost became your brother's slave, and you know very well that’s a fate no young woman should face."

Amari's face flushed with anger, and despite the cold of the early morning, her cheeks and forehead were hot.

"It's not your responsibility, Angro," she said with frustration. "You already did what you had to do for her, you even risked your life and honor to free her from my brother. You've done more than enough and managed to get her freedom back, you have no reason to stay here, and that’s what worries me most, Angro, that you..." Amari covered her face with her hands so I wouldn’t see her tears. "I’m worried that she’s coming between us, Angro."

I hurried to wrap my arms around Amari's shoulders, but she rejected my gesture as soon as she felt it.

"No, Angro, I don’t want your embrace; I want you to stop this, once and for all."

"Stop what, love, when there’s nothing here that you’re imagining," I said.

"I heard you, Angro, I know you asked her and her husband if you could accompany them to Sagoria and that you wanted to travel back with her alone. Why, Angro?"

My heart leaped into my throat.

There was no doubt now. Amari had heard everything. If she knew about my travel plans, she likely also knew about Shaira's fake marriage. Amari knew the girl was an eteri and that her whole story was a lie, but before I could respond to my fiancée, she added something that surprised me.

"Why would she want to return to Zuwua if she’s a Sagori, Angro? Is there already something between you two?"

Amari's questions, though unknowingly, had been quite timely because I had started to think she did know about Shaira's fake marriage to the smuggler, but no, she had only heard what we talked about afterward.

“There’s nothing you’re imagining, love,” I insisted, now sure and convinced that I could still fix what was happening. “If I offered to accompany the couple, it’s because there are dangers on the way. You know very well that the areas around Sagoria aren’t safe due to the eteri patrols near the fortress the star travelers have there, and the girl has to return here afterward because business requires it.”

It was the best I could come up with under the circumstances, but it seemed to work. Amari didn’t care about Shaira's story, not in the least, nor the reasons I had for accompanying her and her husband on their journey and then back. No, none of that mattered to her. What she really wanted was me, and to see me far away from Shaira. She made that clear next.

"You won’t do it, Angro, you won’t make that journey. If you really care about me and our engagement, you won’t go to Sagoria, do you hear me?"

Amari's warning was clear; it wasn’t up for negotiation, and the brightness in her eyes and the way her arms were tightly crossed over her chest made that evident.

"Very well, then so be it," I said, with a heaviness in my heart because, for whatever reason, one I couldn’t decipher, I knew it would torment me to know Shaira would travel alone with the smuggler, who would undoubtedly not dissolve the marriage and would claim the girl as his once they were in Sagoria. "I won’t make that journey if it convinces you that there’s nothing between that unknown girl and me."

"Will you swear to me, Angro, that you won’t leave to find that girl or travel to Sagoria until we’re married?"

With my heart heavy with anxiety, I swore what Amari asked of me.

"Good, Angro, now let’s go home. There’s nothing more for you here."

Hand in hand, we walked through the village streets. The sun was almost rising, and there was no way I could fulfill my promise. Shaira and the smuggler would leave without me in a very short time. When we reached the entrance to my house, Zania caught up with us. I saw that she looked a bit concerned at Amari, likely because she hadn’t expected to find her with me, especially not at that early hour, but after a slight bow, she approached me and whispered in my ear.

"I have bad news, Angro," she said.

I asked Amari to go inside, telling her I would follow shortly.

Although she looked at me with suspicion, Amari pretended everything was fine in front of Zania and did as I asked.

“What’s going on? What’s the bad news you bring so early?”

Zania didn’t speak until she had ensured Amari had entered the house, and even then, she took my arm and moved a few steps away from the entrance.

"It’s about Omawit," she said, still whispering. "He was at my house, sleeping, when I was awakened by the sound of someone running down the street as if being chased by demons." It must have been when Omawit fled the Tahuri, I thought. "I got up and saw it was him, muttering, cursing, so I followed him because it didn’t bode well, and indeed, I saw him gathering a group of his followers. It took the rest of the night, and I followed without him noticing because I needed to know what he was planning. I just found out a moment ago, Angro, and came straight to your house."

“And what is it?” I asked.

Zania's eyes met mine with seriousness.

"They’re going to search for the bird, Angro. Omawit insists Shaira's story is a lie and knows that finding the bird she fell from will give him the proof he needs to reclaim her."

There was no time to waste.

I would fulfill the oath I made to Amari not to travel to Sagoria, but I would have to leave for another place—the jungle—and find the fallen bird before Omawit and his followers did.