Aether continued walking, waving off Zahra's sudden appearance as unimportant. The girl had dropped from the ceiling, startling pedestrians near the roadside. A few muttered complaints, but most hurried along, unnerved by her abrupt descent.
She stared at him, her chest heaving as sweat gleamed on her forehead. Gathering her courage, she inhaled deeply and managed, "Hey."
Aether turned slightly, releasing Mirakos's hand. "Yeah?" he said, his tone slow and indifferent.
Zahra flinched under his gaze, her hands twitching nervously as she tried to string her words together. "Are you… from the Stem?" she asked, her voice faltering, the question barely making sense even to her.
Mirakos tilted his head, visibly puzzled. "Isn't that obvious?" he asked, frowning.
"I-I…" Zahra stammered, her mind a whirlwind. Why did Ondor leave me? Not that I planned to go with him anyway, she thought, her inner turmoil reflected in her distracted expression.
