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"Trust me, I'm English. I know how to make tea. It will let you know how it feels to be on the other side of the bar for once."
Augustus reached for a pot, settling on one that was bone china and painted with blue flowers. He took off the lid with a flourish and said in a grave voice, "Saint Mara, tell me your heartache."
She burst out laughing. "I donotsound like that."
"This is my most serious face. You aren't allowed to laugh at it," he complained indignantly, trying to control his own smile.
"You're a clown, but I'll indulge you because I could actually do with a cup," Mara replied. "And it's your fault that I went snooping through my mother's things in the first place."
"Me? What did I do now?"
"You kept turning up. I went looking for more information on why my family hates sorcerers," Mara said.
Because I like you, and I'm scared I'm not allowed to for a very good reason, and I don't like wanting things I can't have or not knowing what this new miracle is doing inside of me.
Augustus started randomly taking sprinkles of tea leaves from jars and adding them to the pot as Mara told him about Sophia's wooden chest and what she found hidden there.
The frustration towards Sophia returned, and she tried not to notice the understanding in his eyes.
"I started with Anea's book because I thought it might calm me down," Mara said.
"And did it?" Augustus asked as he poured her a cup of strangely smelling tea.
"Not really. She doesn't say which sorcerer earned her spite either. There might have been more than one because legend has it that she was over one hundred and fifty years old when she died."
"I have a question," Augustus said, folding his arms. "If you find out all of the gripes that your family has against sorcerers, will you stop helping me with Melbourne's magic on principal? Do you care what a bunch of old saints thought?"
"Not really. I only want to know what nefarious characteristics I need to watch out for in sorcerer acquaintances," Mara said, refusing to mention her search for potential curses.
She didn't like the way he was staring at her like he could see she was withholding information, so she took a large mouthful of her tea.
She gagged violently and only just managed to swallow it and not spit it out all over him.
"Oh God, this is terrible."
Augustus started laughing, a big full laugh she had never heard, making him go from surly sorcerer to ridiculously attractive so quickly, Mara didn't have time to prepare for the intensity of it.
"I honestly didn't think you would drink it," he said, trying to catch his breath.
"And you wonder why everyone hates sorcerers," Mara said, unable to stop herself from laughing with him.
"I can't make fancy, heart-healing tea, but I can do the next best thing," Augustus replied in a tone that made her lift her eyebrow. His smile turned devious. "Not that, unless you ask me very nicely. I meant to take you out for a coffee and an errand."
"I suppose I can consider it. Depends on what's the errand?" Mara said.
"Apparently, there's a suicidal ghost haunting Flagstaff Train Station that I need to check out. Want to come?" There was something chaotically fun and dangerous in his expression, so Mara hopped off her barstool.
"I'll get my coat."
When she got back, Augustus was reading a page of Anea's book. "So you found sorcerers in here, did you? What else?"
"All the reasons why I shouldn't be going with you," Mara replied.
"But you're not going to heed the wise saint's warning?" he asked with a teasing grin.
Mara's chest heated, and she locked the red door of the store. "Not today."
Thirteen
