Kell had gloves on and held a flat little bar to pry up prongs. He had the fake gem out and in the white bag in a blink. He lifted the real gem from the gray bag it lay on, turned it around, and it fit, neatly and perfectly, in the housing. He laid the silver thorns that held the gem in place gently, making it look undisturbed.
Saeldian laid the web down over the gem. “There.”
The whole web of spells hummed along for a breath and then went quiet.
“Hells.”
“What?”
“The spells aren’t active.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know what I did. Wait. Maybe…hold on, I have an idea.”
They grabbed a bit of fleece and polished the newly replaced gem with it. “Apparent,” they said in Draconic, and cast the spell into the web. It woke up, accepting their power to activate all the little spells that had been tied together. It flared, then the center of their palm tingled, like the magic touched back. “And it’s working again.”
But Saeldian stayed crouched beside the casket, studying the spell-web. Did it feel different somehow? Saeldian sniffed. Rosemary. The sea. The delicate smell of orchids. But…
“We should go.”
“I’m double-checking.”
“Are the spells intact?”
Saeldian sniffed again. Just underneath all of that, it smelled like overripe apples.
“Sheld.”
That hadn’t been there before. Why now?
There was no time. Saeldian let the spell-web go, and it hummedalong, doing all the little illusions and enchantments it was supposed to do. But—
“Saeldian.”
Kell had sounded alarmed.
“Yes. They’re fine.”
“Then let’s go. It’s time for the blow-off.”
Still gloved, Kellpicked up the pouch that held the fake gem. He pushed it into a side pocket of his pack and fastened that buckle closed. “It’s like we never did a single thing wrong. What’s our exit game?”
But before Saeldian could answer, Kell was headed down the path back to the barge, and they had to scurry to catch up. “Dylstra saw the bolster. I don’t think she’d buy that we kissed and made up.”
“I don’t think so either. Storming out, I think. How’s your flounce these days?”
“Oh, you know me,” Saeldian said congenially. “I like to keep my skills up.”
“Aces. Dramatic exit, coming right up.”
Ahead of them, Lorzok and Jubilee studied Jubilee’s folding lanceboard. Timtim sat up on his hind legs, alerting Lorzok, who lifted a hand in greeting.
Saeldian raised theirs too. They smiled wide and passed their hand over their face, uncovering an angry grimace. Jubilee nodded once before tugging at Lorzok’s sleeve and whispering.
Saeldian stalked onto the barge and waited for Kell to start the argument that would ring across the lake.
Kell passed a hand over his smiling face and became the picture of frustration in a heartbeat. The barge disembarked, taking them to the shore, where there were hardly any crumbs of a breakfast left by now, surely. It didn’t matter, though. They weren’t stopping for morsels to take with them.
