I tilted my head. Our lips were so close that I felt as if I were breathing in his exhale. It made me feel a little dizzy. “And the wyvern detection spell? How did she get past that?”
He licked his lips nervously, his eyes darting side to side, as if he expected his family to jump out of the shadows. “I don’t know. Maybe there’s a c-c-counterspell? She definitely used a spell to fight the fire beast, so maybe she had a second one?”
“Then we need spells too.”
“Okay.”
“I know a wizard.” Maximus. It was hard to remember his name when I was so close to Ryan. I’d missed his smell. It reminded me of winter nights by the fireplace, hot chocolate stirred with a cinnamon stick, and the sweet scent of pure gold….I remembered the gold talon amulet I’d found in Mom’s office. “I know how to pay him.” He wouldn’t be able to resist that much gold.
Ryan was staring at my lips. “Good. That’s good.”
Leaning forward, I kissed him. Just a light brush of my lips across his, like tasting a piece of chocolate but not biting into it.
“Sky, I hate being apart from you. I hate what my father made me do. I want—”
But I didn’t let him finish. I didn’t need any more apologies or explanations. This—the sneaking around behind his parents’ back, the lasers he’d set up, all the work he’d done—said more than any words. We kissed, and I felt something I hadn’t felt in weeks: hope.
IASKEDGABRIELA FORanother favor after school the next day, because when you only have one friend, you become very needy and annoyingly dependent. Especially if said friend has a car. I promised myself I’d buy her a tub of ice cream from Baybridge’s when this was all over.
As soon as the last school bell rang, we jumped into Gabriela’s car, and she drove me to Maximus’s and parked, neatly parallel parking her family’s car between two SUVs with ski racks. Some people have parking skills; I do not. Another reason to admire Gabriela. Maybe I should buy her two tubs of ice cream.
“Exactly what do you need me to do?” she asked.
“Just stay near the window, look like you’re browsing, and signal me if anyone is about to come into the store.” Stepping out of the car, I checked in both directions. No Ryan. No nosy brothers.
“You mean like”—she flapped her elbows—“cock-a-doodle-doo!”
“Or you could choose something subtler.” I headed for the front door. Odds were good that Maximus would assume I was here about Mom’s jewelry. Either he’d try to sell it all back to me or he’d think I was there to rob him.
Gabriela locked the car door and caught up to me. “Why do you need me to keep watch while you’re on your shopping spree? Are you not supposed to be here?”
I checked again up and down the street before pushing through the door. “Definitely not supposed to be here. Hello, Maximus.”
Holding a magnifying glass, he was perched on a stool, examining a diamond underneath a light. “Already sold your mother’s pieces. Fetched a nice price. You might want to tell your brother: if he has more, I’m willing to negotiate.”
The words felt like a punch. I hadn’t thought he’d sell them so fast. I’d planned to buy them back after my heist—ideally as a welcome-home present for Mom. Swallowing hard, I tried not to think about her jewels around the neck or on the hands of a stranger. “He shouldn’t have sold them.Youshouldn’t have sold them.”
He looked up. “You are aware this is a store? It’s what we do.”
I took a breath, tried to calm the way my pulse felt like fire. I wasn’t here about my mother’s baubles. Dredging up a smile, I said, “Yes, and I’m here to purchase from the special collection.”
“Ooh, that sounds cool,” Gabriela said in a low voice. She was standing close enough that her lips felt like feathers against my ear. “Is he going to push a button that causes the jewelry cases to flip up and display an array of weaponry?”
She hadn’t whispered softly enough.
Maximus laughed. He had a laugh that made your stomach feel warm, the kind that pulled you in and enveloped you. “Your friend watches too many movies.” He set down the magnifying glass and stepped off the stool. “Still, I doubt you could afford anything from the special collection.”
Gabriela snorted. “She’s still richer than—”
“I have this.” I pulled out the gold talon amulet.
For a moment, the shop was silent. The strange smell of rivers and forests seemed to roll through the store, making me dizzy for a moment. The talon itself seemed to glow, though I knew it was only reflecting the many lights that lit the jewelry cases.
“And now we are doing business.” Crossing the store, Maximus flipped the sign to “Closed,” locked the door, pulled the shades shut, and spun around to smile at me. Prickles walked up my spine. “Congratulations. You two have caught my attention.”
“She’s not part of the transaction,” I said quickly.
“She is now. She’s seenthis.” Holding out his hand, he asked, “May I?” Noting the gleam in his eyes, I suddenly wished I’d left the amulet in Mom’s office and taken something else, anything else, though I didn’t know where to find such a large chunk of solid gold outside our vault.
