It was the sight of her smile, more than her blessing, that made him grin. "Thank you, Aïda. Take care of yourself." He hesitated to release her, truly afraid that she might fade away and forget him...but, soon enough, he let go of her hand and vanished into the darkness surrounding the oasis.
And though she did not see him, he was never far.
Things returned to normal, then, with one glaring difference: Zubin had met the priestess with whom he had become so obsessed...and he had an open invitation to meet her again.
Yet, he couldn't quite bring himself to step inside the temple. He had tried it a dozen times over the past few weeks, but it always ended with him skulking back into the shadows to stare at the doorway that would not let him cross but which welcomed so many others. Different scenarios of how this second meeting might go awry flickered through his brain, each worse than the last, until he lost his nerve altogether.
But, this time, it was going to be different. It had to be different. because he had a gift for her...and it was not a gift he could simply return or hide away until he'd built up his nerve...
He took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and he took a step forward into the courtyard.