“Well. This is less than ideal,” she grumbled.
“He said it was stunning. That’s encouraging.”
Another thought occurred to him. Linden might remove the talisman to change. Would he put it back on, or would Briar finally see a hint of the man behind it?
Linden summoned him back. He looked in the mirror, smoothing his hands over the fabric of the vest, fingers tracing the filigree, the gold embroidery of the collar. Briar held his breath. Linden looked beautiful,his dark hair in a knot at his nape, loose strands framing his face. Even without taking in, the garments fit him well, the billowing white sleeves a stark contrast to the crisp lines of the vest. But as Briar got closer, no whiff of an aura greeted him. Beneath the vest, he could just make out the lump of the talisman.
Trying not to let his disappointment show, Briar said, “Hopefully this doesn’t come across as sucking my own dick, but you look incredible.”
Linden coughed a laugh. “Quite a colorful way to put it. Thank you, though. I must say, you have a unique talent for this.”
“I had a good teacher,” Briar said. At Linden’s quirked brow, he elaborated. “My mum taught me the basics. I picked up the rest from your tutorial videos. If you trust me with pins, I’d like to take the vest in a bit?”
Linden put it on inside out while Briar pinned the waist. This close, he should have drowned in Linden’s aura. Instead, he only felt the tickle of the enchantment he’d imbued the clothes with. A simple fragrance to enhance Linden’s charisma. Briar undid the zip, and the vest cracked apart like beetle wings, the thinner fabric of the white shirt beneath sheer enough to see the talisman. It should have felt intimate, but his lack of aura unsettled Briar.
He left again so Linden could change. Upon his return, Linden had crossed the room to the window and stood with a finger along the branch of Briar’s broom. It still sat in its pot, though the elixir had long since gone stale, magic drained. Linden held his own broom in hand, its bark a pearly white.
“I didn’t know you flew.”
Briar couldn’t blame him for the tone of surprise. The broom was the most valuable thing he owned. “It’s been in the family a long time.”
Linden’s delicate brow arched. “What do you say to a flight around Coill Darragh with me?”
Briar’s head ached after the enchantments used on Linden’s clothes, but the offer gave him a jolt of energy. “Yes!”
He fastened his cloak and locked up the shop, fingers shaking a little from excitement. Vatii stayed in to nap. In the street, Linden swept a leg over his broom and floated a foot above the ground. A few people stopped to stare, one girl raising her phone to take a photo. She frowned at her screen.
So the talisman did affect recordings of Linden. Though, evidently not when he recorded himself.
“Ready?” Linden said.
Briar prayed his broom behaved. He got on, and the magic in the branch wove through him in a warm, airy current. Lifting their feet, they took off. The night sky bowed to meet them, a sea of stars and twilight. Linden flew with weightless grace, as if buoyed through the air not by his broom but by magic all his own.
“I will have to think of an appropriate event to wear your piece. It will no doubt attract attention,” he said.
Briar’s heart soared with them. Linden Fairchild, wearing something of his to a public event where cameras and other celebrities would ask,Who are you wearing?
“I’m glad you like it,” Briar said. “Is work going well with your new business?”
“It is… challenging,” Linden responded delicately.
“Oh.” Briar had a litany of questions he didn’t feel familiar enough with Linden to ask. Why he’d chosen to return to magical remedies, or if his healing abilities had made any reappearance. Selfishly, part of Briar wondered about the latter because his aching head reminded him that, short of a miracle, his time was running out.
At a loss, he asked, “Is there any way I can help?”
“Kind of you to offer, but this is a challenge I must undertake on my own.”
Briar understood that at least. He’d felt the same in coming to Coill Darragh with nothing. “Can I ask, why did you return to medicine?”
Linden shot him a cool, assessing look. “I… I’ll not find anything we speak of in a gossip column?”
“Is that why you’re always wearing that talisman? To keep paparazzi at bay?”
“It protects against more than unwanted photography, but yes.”
“More?”
“Curses,” Linden said. His eyes scanned the forest, its magic slithering in the air like a heat mirage. Though their flight path remained over fields and rooftops, Briar’s broom lilted toward the wood, as though yearning to return to its brethren.
