Morning arrived with clear skies and bad ideas.
Bad idea #1: letting Bair the cheerful merchant walk anywhere near Ayisulu.
Bad idea #2: letting Arslan see that happen.
Ayisulu was busy checking the horses when Bair approached, all bright smiles and dramatic gestures.
"Good morning, Lady Ayisulu! You look radiant today—"
Arslan appeared behind Ayisulu like a summoned spirit.
"She always looks radiant," the prince said flatly. "Move."
Bair blinked. "Prince Arslan! I was simply being polite."
"You're being something," Arslan muttered.
Kanykei smirked. "Oh, this is fun."
Ayisulu sighed. She had a feeling today would be chaotic.
---
Ayisulu's Abilities Strike Again (Accidentally)
As they prepared to move, one of the horses kept acting restless—snorting, stomping, tossing its head.
Kereg tugged the reins. "It senses danger."
"No," Ayisulu said, stepping closer, "it senses pain."
She knelt, touched the horse's leg gently, and felt something shift under her fingers.
"A small stone is stuck in the hoof."
Kereg stared. "How did you know?"
Ayisulu shrugged. "The way it leaned… the tension… the sound of the stomp."
Arslan watched her carefully.
Not surprised—impressed.
She removed the stone with a precise movement.
The horse instantly calmed.
Kereg bowed his head slightly. "You have talent."
Temir whispered loudly, "She has ALL the talents."
Arslan whispered even more quietly, "Yes… she does."
Ayisulu pretended not to hear that.
---
A Moment Arslan Didn't Mean to Create
They started riding again.
Ayisulu rode beside Arslan, Kanykei behind them, and Bair slightly too close for Arslan's liking.
The prince leaned toward Ayisulu just a bit and asked:
"Can you sense people as well as horses?"
Ayisulu stiffened. "Why?"
"You always seem to read the mood before anyone else," Arslan said. "Even mine."
"That's just observation," Ayisulu insisted.
Arslan gave her a sideways glance.
"Observation doesn't explain how you knew I wasn't sleeping last night. Or how you knew the storm was coming. Or how you knew the road left was safer."
Ayisulu's pulse quickened.
She hated how sharp he was.
He lowered his voice.
"Ayisulu… is there something you're not telling me?"
Her breath caught.
She opened her mouth—
A scream interrupted her.
---
A New Problem, Courtesy of Bair
Bair ran toward them waving his arms like a man trying to swat invisible bees.
"Help! Someone stole my pack!"
Temir gasped. "Your pack of secrets? And spices? And… probably stolen jewelry?"
Bair pointed dramatically toward a group of rocks.
"They ran that way! Three of them!"
Kanykei rolled her eyes. "Why do thieves always appear when he does?"
Arslan turned to Ayisulu.
"Ayisulu," he said softly, "which direction?"
Ayisulu closed her eyes.
She felt the wind.
The shifting dust.
The faintest echo of movement.
She pointed right.
Arslan didn't question her for a second.
"After them!"
---
Ayisulu's People-Sensing Ability (Upgraded)
They reached a small ravine.
Tracks split three ways.
Kanykei groaned. "Great. We'll never find them now."
Ayisulu knelt again.
She touched the earth lightly.
Closed her eyes.
Listened.
"There," she said, pointing to the left path. "One is limping. He stepped on a thorn recently. He's heavier. He sank deeper into the ground."
Arslan stared at her with open fascination.
"You read all of that… from this dirt?"
Ayisulu flushed.
"Anyone could."
"No," Arslan said. "Not anyone."
Kereg nodded. "Impressive."
Kanykei grudgingly admitted, "Useful."
Temir shouted, "She's a tracking genius!"
Bair clasped his hands dramatically. "Angel of the steppe!"
Arslan glared at him.
"Please stop speaking."
---
The Chase and the Emotional Collision
They followed Ayisulu's chosen trail and quickly caught up to the thieves.
Arslan jumped off his horse with a smoothness that made Ayisulu's heart misbehave again.
He subdued one thief.
Kereg grabbed the second.
Temir somehow tripped the third with a stick (he immediately bragged about it).
While Bair reclaimed his belongings, Arslan walked back to Ayisulu.
"You keep doing this," he said.
"Doing what?"
"Seeing things," Arslan said quietly. "Understanding things. Before everyone else."
Ayisulu looked away. "It's just instinct."
Arslan stepped closer.
"Ayisulu… you don't have to hide from me."
Her heart pounded so hard she thought the thieves could hear.
"I'm not hiding," she whispered.
Arslan's gaze softened dangerously.
"You are," he said. "And I'm trying very hard to let you do it. But it's becoming increasingly impossible."
Ayisulu's breath caught.
Kanykei loudly cleared her throat. "Prince! Stop flirting during an arrest!"
Arslan straightened immediately.
"It's not flirting," he said.
Ayisulu: "…"
Temir: "…"
Kanykei: "…"
Kereg: "…"
Bair: "It was absolutely flirting."
Arslan looked mortified.
Ayisulu tried not to laugh—and failed.
Just a little.
---
That evening, the group camped near a shallow stream.
Ayisulu felt the weight of the day, of her abilities slipping through the cracks, of Arslan watching her more openly than before.
She sat by the water, dipping her fingers into the cool flow.
Arslan approached again.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like someone approaching a wild animal who might run.
"Are you avoiding me?" he asked.
Ayisulu didn't turn. "No."
"Yes," he said gently.
Ayisulu sighed.
He sat beside her.
Not too close.
But close enough that she felt the warmth of him.
"People see your abilities," Arslan said. "They admire them. They trust you. Bair, Kereg, Kanykei… even the horses."
Ayisulu snorted. "The horses?"
Arslan smiled. "Especially the horses."
Ayisulu looked down at the water.
"I don't want attention," she said softly. "I don't want… expectations."
Arslan was quiet for a moment.
Then he said:
"I don't want to pressure you. I want to understand you."
She swallowed.
Dangerous words.
Words that made something flutter inside her.
"And I want…" Arslan hesitated—rare for him. "I want you to trust me."
Ayisulu looked up.
For once, his gaze wasn't sharp or analytical.
It was open.
Too open.
She panicked.
"I trust you," she said quickly.
Arslan's eyebrow lifted. "No. You don't."
Ayisulu nearly fell face-first into the stream.
She stood abruptly. "We should sleep."
Arslan rose with her.
He didn't touch her.
But his presence wrapped around her like a second cloak.
"Ayisulu," he said quietly, "whatever secret you're carrying… you don't have to carry it alone."
Her breath trembled.
She walked away before she could answer.
Arslan watched her go, hands clenched at his sides.
Bair watched too.
But unlike Arslan, Bair was smiling thoughtfully.
Because he had begun to suspect something.
And he was not wrong.