Elias was cleaning one of the window displays and humming a tune to himself when he spotted Johan and Henrik walking down the street together. He watched them curiously. Johan smiled and laughed at whatever Henrik was saying to him, and when he saw the way they looked at each other, Elias prepared for a stab of jealousy—only it didn’t come. After the argument he’d had with Henrik the other night, he felt more reassured of what they had together than ever before.
But Elias couldn’t deny what he could see with his own eyes. Would it bother Elias if Rik also had feelings for Johan?
He was sure it should, although he wasn’t entirely convinced that it would, because he was looking at two men who clearly held affection for one another and the only feeling he could muster right then was a degree of fondness for them both. How bizarre. As with most things in Elias’ life, he chose not to question it too much. Life had given him enough reasons in the last few years to feel genuine misery; he wasn’t going to prematurely invite any unnecessary sorrow.
The two of them had barely stepped inside when Elias asked, “Notice anything different?” He flourished his arms to their surroundings.
Henrik looked predictably suspicious as he stared around the room, but Johan smiled and whispered softly, “Clean.”
Elias beamed before quickly getting distracted by the smell of warm cheese pastries. His stomach growled so loudly that he blushed.
Johan passed Elias the brown paper bag, which contained the new fine scratch awl he’d requested along with plenty of leather.
“The man in the market where we bought the supplies said he would spread word that we’re selling elf-made shoes,” Henrik explained as he led the way into the workshop with the bag of pastries.
“I’m excited to get started,” Elias replied. “I thought it might feel too similar to the work in the mills, but I feel free. Even with these.” Elias waved his bangled wrists in the air, and Johan frowned at them before silently leaving the room and returning with two handfuls of coins that he dropped onto the table. He pointed at the pile of money and then at the bangles on Elias’ wrists.
Elias tried not to be miffed that Johan had just dumped all his carefully stacked coins. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Elias said.
“You think we should use the money to get them removed?” Henrik asked, as if he could read Johan’s mind somehow.
Johan nodded emphatically.
“We would need a sorcerer, and we won’t use any of your share,” Henrik said sternly.
Johan pointed to himself and then tapped his index finger to his temple.
“You know of a sorcerer?” Elias asked, fairly sure he understood Johan that time.
Johan tilted his hand from side to side as if to say “sort of.”
“It’s worth a try, don’t you think, Rik?”
Small flames of hope lit inside Elias’ chest, but he dared not stoke them just yet.
“It would be a relief to be rid of them. Plus, if we were able to make shoes infused with magic, we could charge more than double the current fees.” Henrik was always the pragmatic thinker.
“Let’s wait until we get the rest of the money from this sale because I’ve no doubt it will be costly,” Elias said, forcing himself to be patient, and both Henrik and Johan agreed.
Elias swallowed the lump of emotion in his throat at the thought. Five years. Five years since he’d been able to speak to magic, feel her thrum through his veins with beautiful lightenergy. He ached for it like he’d never ached for anything in his life. Without it, he often felt like a guest inside his own body.
A sorcerer had created and used spells to make the bangles unbreakable. Would they even be able to find someone strong enough to undo such magic?
“I
t was our pleasure,” Elias said to a grateful Mr Von Baden a few days later when he collected his commissioned shoes—parting with a hefty sum of money in the process.
It was enough that the three of them could finally begin preparing for their trip into the Dark Forest to locate a sorcerer.
Elias and Henrik had offered to go alone, but Johan insisted that it wasn’t safe, and so the little shoe shop would be closed for nearly a week. Elias hoped that the sorcerer wouldn’t require all the coin they’d earned because he wasn’t convinced Johan could really afford to be shut for so long.
While Johan packed bags with whatever they would need for the trip, Elias and Henrik busied themselves in the kitchen preparing food for the journey. Johan had warned them that even keeping up a fast walking pace, it would probably be almost four days each way, which meant they would have to set up a camp each night. Elias felt a strange mix of excitement and trepidation about the trip because the temperatures had dropped significantly, and he and Henrik still didn’t really have the body mass to withstand any truly bitter weather.
Elias glanced at Henrik, whose tongue poked out the side of his lips while he concentrated on the sandwiches he was making.Overcome with affection, Elias smacked a big kiss to Henrik’s cheek, which startled him.
“What was that for?” he asked, a pink blush blooming across his cheeks.
Elias didn’t reply, merely shrugging with a big grin aimed at his lover. Sometimes he just wanted to squeeze Henrik until he popped.Lovingly, of course.
