“Stardust.”
Her brow furrowed. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“No, I imagine not. It’s quite rare.” I closed my hand, hiding the magic. “How about a demonstration? That will help you determine the worth, and then you can tell me what I’m allowed to buy. Fair?”
That distrustful glint didn’t leave her features. “I don’t know…”
“I promise you’ll be pleased. We’ll just do a tiny wish, something tangible.”
“A wish?”
“Yes. That’s how my stardust works. You wish for something as you sprinkle the powder, and the wish comes true.” Like wishing upon a star, which was popular among humans in other realms. But I wasn’t sure she would understand that here.
“A wish,” she said again. “Like, I can wish for anything and you’ll give it to me as if you’re some kind of genie?”
“Not me, but the stars. And there are limits to what a wish can become.” Mostly because I controlled how much stardust I shared. “Here.” I held my hand out toward her. “Wish for something tangible. Something you want to appear in the store. That’ll help you see how this works.”
She still didn’t appear very believing, her arms remaining crossed as she stared at my hand. “And you’ll, what, sprinkle that over me?”
“No, I’ll place it in your hand for you to sprinkle on the ground in front of you while you make your wish.”
“Out loud?” she asked.
“In your mind is fine,” I murmured. “Just make sure it starts with the words ‘I wish.’ Then the stardust will do the rest.”
She studied me for a long moment before finally shrugging. “All right, then. Something tangible? Like a thing I want right now to appear before me?”
I nodded in encouragement. “Yes.”
She looked at my hand, her nose twitching as though to scent out the magic. When she couldn’t sense anything—because stardust had no fragrance—she held out her palm for me.
I released enough dust for her to create something special and took a step back to let her work.
Her expression told me she felt this was a waste of time, but she finally closed her eyes, and eventually she opened her hand to release the magic.
The store owner in Dublin wouldn’t have known any of this, which was why I’d left the stardust on her counter with a wish of prosperity. She would likely experience a boom in sales as a result. Maybe a little more luck. And not much else.
But this shopkeeper was in for a real treat because she’d just used the stardust to create, which was my true form of power as a creation goddess.
As evidenced by the swirling magic dancing through the air between us.
She jumped back as it reached over six feet in height, making me wonder just what she’d wished into existence.
Then my lips parted as a bare, masculine back appeared before me.
Oh. Ohhhh.She’d… she’d created…a man.
And not just any man. He appeared to be a fae with pointy ears and long blond hair.
“Oh my gods,” the shopkeeper breathed. “Is it…? Is it real?”
“Erm, yes,” I said, my lips twisting to the side as I moved around the fine male specimen to stand beside her. “Veryreal.” And well-endowed, too. “You wished for a naked fae?”
“Technically, an elf,” she whispered, her eyes wide as she stared up at the handsome male. “From… from an old movie…”
The creature before us blinked a few times. “Hello,” he greeted. “Where am I?”
“Iceland,” I replied. “Um. Hmm.” I wasn’t sure what to say. My stardust could create anything, even this. “I thought you would wish for a jacket or a necklace or something.”
