My teeth clenched at the obvious question. “Witch, fairy godmother, take your pick. We’re still closed.”
“I need your help. I realize it’s late, but you’re the only shop open.”
“Except, as I mentioned, I’m not.” Crossing both arms over my chest, I hoped she’d take the hint and leave.
The woman ignored my remark and sank to her knees. She rummaged through a bag slung over her shoulder.
“I can pay you.”
Apparently, she knew a few magical words of her own. “I’m listening.”
The front of the woman’s cloak gaped open, revealing a filthy smock covered in ash. It spotted her skin too, leaving a gray smudge along her temple. She was most likely a maid, some unfortunate girl saddled with a miserable employer. She wasn’t rich. In fact, she looked dirt-poor. Emphasis on the dirt.
“What’s your name?” I asked, warming to the idea of turning a profit.
“Ella Lockwood.” Pausing in her search, she stuck out a hand.
“Tessa Daniels.” I felt the rough calluses covering her palm as we shook. Workers’ hands, the kind used to scrubbing floors and washing laundry.
Ella pulled away and resumed her search. “Here it is.” She withdrew a small object and held it up to the light. “The ring was my mother’s.”
The simple gold ring with an ornate design carved into its surface wouldn’t sell for much at the pawnshop, but it might bring in enough to cover my missed payment. I considered the trade, even as guilt warred with self-preservation and the little voice masquerading as my conscience urged me to think twice. The ring was a family heirloom, and I’d sold enough of my mother’s belongings to know the toll that took. I’d received temporary funds in exchange for a permanent void. Each item was a piece of her slipping away.
“I can’t take it. Sorry.” I brushed Ella’s hand aside and walked over to the door, cursing my morals with each step. Refusing money to save someone else future heartbreak defied logic. Argus would have no trouble breaking something of mine, though I was sure he wasn’t about to break my heart. My knees, most likely.
“Wait! I know it’s not much, but I’m desperate. I’ll do anything.”
Anything.The word made me pause. I’d been willing to do anything to save the shop, and look where that had gotten me. This kind of desperation rarely worked out in the victim’s favor. Still, I’d do it again, and it wasn’t like I was taking advantage of her. I needed money, and she needed a spell. I might not be the best witch—or much of a witch at all—but I had a duty. A family creed. My mother would have helped, no questions asked. She’d have done it for free.
I wasn’t that foolish.
“If I accept, what do you want?”
A glimmer of hope flashed across Ella’s eager face. “The king is throwing a ball for his son tonight, and I have to be there.”
My gaze took a second journey over Ella’s rumpled uniform and soot-covered shoes. She wasn’t exactly ball material, not by a long shot. I should have guessed though. The prince’s ball had been the talk of the kingdom since the invitations went out. Prince Marcus of Ever was searching for a wife and every eligible woman in the kingdom was invited, myself included. The idea of trying to snare a prince to solve my money problems had lasted all of three seconds. While my looks had no trouble attracting a man, my spells and reputation usually put them off before I could secure a proposal. You turn a suitor into a mouse one time, and suddenly, everyone’s hesitant to kiss you. Honestly, it was an accident, and I changed him back the second I figured out how.
“You need a gown, don’t you?”
“Shoes too, and a carriage.”
“Is that all?” I laughed. Potions and creams I had, but Ella needed an illusion spell, the least stable type of magic. If I cast it wrong, the illusion might fade and Ella could wind up in rags on the dance floor—or worse, naked. I cringed. There weren’t enough smelling salts in the kingdom to manage that scene, and if anyone found out she’d been to see me? Goodbye, magic shop.
Ella grasped my arm, and her voice took on a pleading note. “Will you help? I have nowhere else to go.”
“Fine,” I mumbled, regretting the words as soon as they left my mouth. Then again, who was I to dash a young girl’s dream of marrying a prince? Joy blossomed on Ella’s face and her cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink. In the right light and minus all the dirt, Ella was quite attractive. Who knew, maybe the spell would work, and she’d land herself the prince? In thanks, they’d shower me with gold, and it would solve all my problems. That kind of optimism was usually reserved for suckers, but at my rate, things needed to turn around.
Ella’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “How do we start? I’ve never seen magic in action before.”
The last time I performed an illusion, things had gotten dicey. I considered the fragile jars of potions lining the shelves. We were surrounded by way too much glass to cast a spell indoors. I couldn’t afford to trash the shop if something went wrong. The ring was supposed to pay for my debt, not damages.
“Let’s go into the back yard. Magic works best in the open air.”
Ella nodded. “Makes sense. Magic seems so volatile.”
She had no idea.
I opened the back door and ushered her outside. “Stand over there,” I instructed, waving her away from the house.
