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Something nagged at him.

Oleander fished through his jacket and pulled out a thin silver band with onyx gemstones, turning it between his fingers.

“I’ll need to think about a more permanent solution,” he mused, “but in the meantime—if we’re going to keep meeting under… less than favourable circumstances, whether for research or,” he glanced at her sidelong, “for other reasons, you’re going to need a disguise.”

Perine arched a brow. “And what exactly do you have in mind?”

A smug smile tugged at his lips. “This ring will give you the appearance of a sorceress for as long as you wear it. It’s invisible unless you know to look for it, so no one will recognise you or realise you’ve been enchanted.”

He placed the ring in her outstretched palm, watching as her dimples deepened into something almost dangerously joyful. “That’s… very clever.”

He scoffed. “I know.”

She rolled her eyes, though amusement sparkled in her lavender gaze. “You’ve really helped me tonight, Brightmore. I am both highly impressed and incredibly thankful.”

“Yes, well—” He hesitated. The sudden weight of her sincerity made him uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. “You’re welcome.”

Perine tilted her head, studying him, as if she were trying to decide whether or not he was being genuine. He shifted under her scrutiny, running a hand through his icy blue hair. He opened his mouth to offer a perfunctory farewell—

Only, she was already slipping the ring onto her finger.

In a shimmer of white fog, she transformed.

She wasn’t a true sorceress, obviously. But she’d clearly acquired some amount of sorcery, because when she turned to him, her now amber eyes were full of something unreadable. “Would you—do you think maybe—” She closed her eyes and he was transfixed. “Could we go to the Moonflower Market together?”

“Sure,” he said ambivalently. Mysterious. Almost, as if it were beneath him.

“Wait, no.” She brushed a few silver curls from her cheek, and tucked it behind the most beautiful ear he had ever seen. “I didn’t mean—sorry, you don’t really have to come with me.”

“No, it’s fine!” He added a shade more commitment into his reply. “I’ll come.”

“Actually?” She was grabbing her hideous satchel and pulling on a jacket. “I’ll just go alone.”

“Of course you will,” he said, taking her satchel to carry for her. “And I’ll come with you.”

She made a sound somewhere between an exasperated scoff and an incredulous laugh. “Then I guess we should be going.”

He motioned for her to lead the way.

Chapter

Twenty-Three

OLEANDER BRIGHTMORE

No part of him had actually desired to go to the Moonflower Market. Truly, he’d only agreed to come to ensure the rune’s magic held. He was being thorough. Assiduous.

It was almost against his will that he found himself strolling down the lane lined with hundreds of bobbing fairy puffs that illuminated the way, while the golden glow from the market’s shop windows glimmered prettily against the shadows of the night.

They had found him a long tunic, shoes, and pants woven from opalescent starlight, and he folded his nightclothes into an extra satchel borrowed from Perine. With the ring on her finger, she appeared to be an ordinary sorceress, her curls now shining like starlight. The rest of her was a kaleidoscope of browns—her skin a rich reddish-brown, her eyes bright amber. Her lips, the only colour on her face, were a soft pink. Her horns had vanished, but even in her mundanity, she sang to him like a dark water siren, luring him in with a glance.

It was dreadfully cheerful. They stopped at a tea shop and she tried to impress him with her knowledge of teas, convinced she could find his new favourite. She held up tin after tin until, with eyes filled with triumphant light, she told him she had absolutely found his perfect tea.

The rich aroma of dried liquorice root, kakao bits and something surprisingly spicy filled his senses and he was shocked by how truly enticing he found it.

She raised her eyebrows expectantly as if she had him all figured out. He deliberately told her that it was still too dainty for his tastes, which honestly was more than a bit obtuse because he’d never met a tea more robust.

It was only that he delighted in her trying to figure him out, and he wasn’t ready for her to be done with him quite yet.