“Trouble finds me, Bowen. You know that.” She winked. “What brings you to my shop?”
“We need a supply of magic. Something rare.” Bowen crossed his arms and gave her a withering look. “Price is no object so long as you’re discreet.”
“I’m always a model of discretion.” Cora pouted and picked at the back of her manicured nails. “You can’t blame me for that time in Andovia. We were being questioned by pirates if you remember.”
Bowen frowned. “I remember one of those pirates slipping you a jeweled pendant from their stash, and you sang like a canary.”
She huffed a breath and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “We escaped, didn’t we? You always get so hung up on the details.” Her gaze flickered over me in an almost dismissive manner, yet I sensed a profound interest. “By the way, who’s your friend?”
“Don’t you worry about—”
“Liana Archer.” I stepped forward and stuck out my hand, tired of being the third wheel in their trip down memory lane. Maybe it was petty, but I didn’t like the way she eyed me as if I were a trivial bystander. I was…well, Bowen’s employee, and that should count for something!
“It’s a pleasure,” Cora murmured in a tone that told me it clearly wasn’t.
She eyed my hand, but didn’t take it. Which was fine by me. I’d known her for mere minutes, and already, the feeling was mutual. There was a distinctly selfish aura about her, and given the tidbits of their past, she was the kind of person who’d willingly sacrifice her friends if it meant saving her skin—or in her case, scoring a jeweled pendant.
“As Bowen mentioned, we’re here to purchase a supply of magic. I’ll need to test the product before we finalize the sale. Make sure it’s strong enough and not intentionally diluted. It happens more often than you think.”
Cora bristled at my insinuation. “Aren’t you a little young to be playing with magic? Bowen, she’s cute, but it’s obvious she’s trying to pull one over on you. How much are you paying her?”
“You don’t believe I can sense magic?”
At my challenge, Cora placed two objects on the counter. One was a glowing orb about the size of a peach pit, and the other was a smooth stone, the kind you’d find washed ashore by the waves.
“Pick one,” she said, a cocky smile curling her lips.
Studying both objects, I rolled up my sleeves and reached for the stone, running my fingertips over its satiny surface. My brow creased in concentration. The stone was cool to the touch. I set it aside and picked up the orb, enclosing it in my fist. The glow vanished behind my fingers, and the orb seemed to warm in my palm. My eyes drifted shut, and I exhaled long and deep. When I opened my eyes, I unfurled my fingers and held out the orb.
Cora lifted a sculpted brow. “I’ve already sold three of those orbs this week to three very gullible customers. No one ever chooses the stone. I didn’t think you would either. Bowen, she’s a charlatan.”
“I didn’t select it because it’s just a stone. There’s no magic in it.”
She laughed softly. “You’re right, but I like to use it as a test.”
“I can see that. You use the stone as a decoy knowing everyone will choose the glowing orb. But there’s no magic in either object. It’s all a ruse.” I dropped the orb back on the counter.
Her smirk faltered.
“Is she telling the truth, Cora?” Bowen’s deep voice sounded over my shoulder. Amusement lurked in his tone.
A frown pinched her mouth, and she reached beneath the counter to retrieve a box. Unclasping a chain from around her neck, she slid a brass key off the necklace and twisted it into the lock on the box. “Here—try these.” Cora flipped the lid and sprinkled a packet of tiny pebbles into my palm. They looked like seeds. I closed my fist and instantly felt a jolt of magic.
A strange sensation moved over my skin like a snake coiling around my arm. Then, at the base of my wrist, the first dark line appeared. They multiplied, creating a tattoo of twisting vines. When they reached my elbow, they stopped.
I opened my fist, and the seeds looked shrunken and withered. Releasing them from my grip, they bounced against the counter.
“What’s happening to your arm?” Bowen reached for me, but I ducked out of his grasp.
“Don’t touch me, just watch.”
“Liana…” Bowen’s tone was wary, but he kept his distance. He looked as if he wanted to call the whole thing off, willing to forgo the test the second it appeared to cause me harm.
Pacing a few steps toward a dingy window, I located a ceramic planter resting on a stone slab. Inside was a wilted fern, its leaves brown and dry. I dug my fingers into the dirt, knuckles deep, and hissed in a breath as the magic flared under my skin. The dark lines swirled slowly down my arm, receding past my wrist and over the back of my hand.
As the magic drained from my arm and into the dirt, the fern sprouted new leaves. Lush and thick, the plant grew toward the ceiling. The scent of fresh foliage filled the shop.
“Whoa… She’s the real thing,” Cora said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
