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Astor clasped the necklace he bought for Hana around his neck and hid it beneath his shirt for safe keeping. “Fine, but after that, I want stew.”
Rush blew out a harsh breath and walked into the crowd.Bottomless fucking pit of a shifter.But by the time Astor finished looking down every alleyway, they would both be starving. Rush meandered through the market until he’d completed two full rounds without any sign of the sorceress.
This meant he was going to have to communicate.Play nicewith them so he could extract information.Torture was usually more effective, but that could cause a scene. He ran a hand over his face and made his way to the fortune teller’s shop he’d seen on the fringes of the market.
The room was dark, only a single candle lit in the center of a round table. Other than the table and candle, the room was bare. “Hello?” he called out.
“My king,” came an airy, feminine voice. “I’ve been expecting you.”
Rush tensed. He could sense the woman’s presence, but saw no one. “Come into the light.”
A rustle of skirts preceded a figure in a black, lacy dress with sleeves that flared at the wrists. Her white hair was tied back, and her face free of wrinkles. Milky blue coated her eyes, yet they seemed to stare straight into his soul.
“You are not here to have your cards read,” she said knowingly. “Nor do you want to ask of your future.”
“No.” Though, now that he was here, he couldn’t help but desire what she would tell him. Would his plan be successful? Would he get his revenge on Pax?
She cocked her head, her milky eyes latched onto his. “You seek the sorceress who was in Rusmire days ago.”
“Where is she now?” he demanded.
“Gone.” The fortune teller stepped up to the table and ran her hand over the flame. “She came to purchase a few things. Was in and out of the city within hours.”
Fuck!“Where did she—”
“She’s hidden to my sight. I only know she was here because she bought from me. A few herbs, crystals. Nothing of importance.”
“I need to find her,” he said through gritted teeth.
She smiled, her front tooth chipped. “I can’t help with that, but I can tell you that your spell is accurate.”
Rush froze. “How do you know about that?”
“How?” The woman laughed. “Do you think of me as a fraud, Your Majesty? Your spell isaccurate.”
“But it’s not—”
“Not working?” She shrugged. “I assure you that it was properly cast and will do what it was always meant to do. It will just take time. How much? That is to be determined. I have nothing else of importance for you.”
Couldn’t she be more specific? A week? A month? “I’m finished here.” Rush spun on his heel and slipped back into the market. He needed the sorceress to confirm what the fortune teller spoke was true and he’d continue searching for her. For now, he would take it as the spell was slowly doing what it was meant to. A hawk cried overhead and Rush looked up to find Astor circling, his wings beating against the wind. Then he dove into a nearby alleyway where he must’ve hidden his clothing.
Astor, fully clothed in his human form, met with Rush a few moments later at the alleyway’s entrance. “Anything?”
“Nothing that will help you,” he answered, brushing himself off.
Astor shifted between his feet. “What now?”
What elsewasthere to do? “Get some fucking stew.”
“Now that’s something I’ve been waiting to hear,” Astor said.
Rush wasn’t feeling particularly hungry, but eating was better than laying in that frilly inn bed, overthinking the entire fucking trip. The sorceress? Gone. The fortune teller? Unsettling. His dragon? Still humming with joy over his new gemstones. Astor? Lovesick, apparently. And Brix? Touching what belonged to him.Aura. His head was a spiral of vexing emotions. Ones he wished he could fuck away.
“Shall we plan an orgy soon?” Astor asked.
Rush looked over at him with a raised brow.
He shrugged. “I can read you like a book.”
