Thorat spent his days in the East Market with Pannen and his gang, but returned to the bridge by full dark every day. He was the only person who could turn Iola’s attention away from the dragons for more than a moment.
One morning at the breadlines, Thorat waved to the girls from across the courtyard. They waved back and started to walk over to join him, but Pannen and Nira were there, too. Nira had her hand on Pannen’s shoulder and put her lips up to whisper some nonsense in his ear. He blushed.
“Let’s get going,” Darna said, tugging Myril away.
Iola started to protest, but Darna and Myril whisked her away. Still, Darna felt restless. She sat down behind her begging basket, but soon gave up and went looking for the Cerean sailors. She went around to all the taverns, walking the harbor
