7
Chapter One
T
here was a listener nearby. Kaya A’Dor could sense it, the
way it made her skin tingle ever so slightly. She knew she
wasn’t supposed to notice—and she definitely wasn’t supposed
to do anything about it if she did—but the opportunity tempted
her.
See, she’d forgotten to start the bread that morning.
It was because she had stayed up so late the night before.
The blanket she was knitting took her longer than expected, a
result of the new stitch she was trying, and when she finally
woke up the next morning, she wanted to go straight to the
market to sell it. No one was buying, though. Bored, she
decided to check out the street performers, and the jugglers,
dancers, and drummers did a good job of keeping her mind off
her empty purse. Too good a job. By the time she finally headed
home, it was late afternoon.
Kaya’s brother, Hob A’Dor, would return in less than an
hour, which didn’t leave nearly enough time for the dough to
rise.
A little magic from the listeners could fix that.
