Chapter 39

Phoenix was amazed at how easy it was for Basten to talk with the brothers. Both Teo and Dan had been on guard when she and Basten first appeared at the stream but now they were on their backs exchanging tales of their mischiefs as boys. Teo’s shoulders were relaxed now as his suspicion of her and Basten reduced, he even regarded her with more respect. Dan was more trusting of the two, after all, he had not shown any aggression when Teo had touched her at the King’s Seat. He was even more reserved than his brother. Once they were done sharing the fishes Dan scattered the fire pit and arranged the tools they had been using to fish.

“What do you intend to do with the rest of the fish?”

“We hope to sell them in the market this evening. Hopefully, it would fetch us some money for the rest of the week.”

Basten stood up and dusted himself free of leaves and sand. The sun was already setting behind the clouds. Somehow they had lost track of time in between bites of