Maldenis stared at his drink. She could see him turning it over, not quite ready to accept it but not dismissing it the way he had a moment ago.
“So what do you want to do?” he said. “Go ask someone something embarrassing and see what happens?”
“Yes, actually.”
He frowned at her.
“Pick someone,” she said.
He was quiet for another beat, then slowly swiveled his stool to survey the bar. A few seats down from Liora’s, a heavysetminotaur sat alone, nursing a drink and staring at nothing in particular.
“Him,” Maldenis said.
“Go ahead then.”
He looked sideways at her. “What do I ask?”
“Something he’d never just volunteer. Something personal.”
Maldenis considered this, then called out to the minotaur over Liora’s shoulder. “Hey. Rough night?”
He grunted, then turned to face him. “You could say that.”
“Lose something?”
The minotaur’s shoulders dropped a little. “Three hundred and forty gold on baccarat. My wife’s going to skin me alive.”
“That’s rough.” Maldenis leaned an elbow on the bar, fixing his stare on the minotaur. “How much do you usually come with?”
“Four hundred. So I only got sixty left and I’m supposed to be saving for our daughter’s naming ceremony.” He rubbed a hand at his temple. “Don’t know how I’m going to explain this one.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
The minotaur nodded, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he’d just unloaded all of that on a complete stranger, then turned back to his drink as if the conversation had never happened.
Maldenis turned back to Liora.
She looked at him with both eyebrows raised, as if to ask,well?
He opened his mouth then quickly closed it.
“You didn’t even ask him anything personal,” she said. “He justtoldyou.”
“I know.”
“You made him comfortable enough that he wanted to talk to you.”
“That could just be?—”
“Maldenis.” She set her glass down. “That minotaur came here alone, losing money he didn’t have, and in under a minute you had his entire financial situation.” She tilted her head to the side. “That’s not charm. That’s something else.”
He was quiet for a long moment, staring down at the bar. The firelight moved across his face, and for once he didn’t look like he was about to make a joke.
“Huh,” he said.
“Yeah,” she said. “Huh.See. You do have magic.” She took another sip of her drink. “Oh, and your eyes kind of did this glowy thing the entire time.”
“You couldn’t have led with that?” He raked a hand through his hair. “I have…powers. Magic powers.”
