"He's staring at you again," Elowen murmured as I set a crate of tinkling vials onto my display.
I sighed and followed her gaze across the street.
Sure enough, Fen was glaring at me like I was personally responsible for every miserable thing that had ever happened to him.
"Yup," I grumbled, narrowing my eyes at the annoyance.
Elowen leaned in, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "You heard about the little water mage five stalls down, didn't you?"
I frowned, shaking my head. I met too many people to remember them all. Honestly, Elowen was one of the few I spoke to regularly.
"The Wardens came and forced her to test her magic against a farmer," she said, cradling her hands under her chin, her soft sea-green eyes going all moony. "Boom—instant soul match."
"That isn't romantic, El." I crossed my arms, unimpressed.
"Sure it is! They were meant to be together. Fate stepped in and—"
"No," I cut in. "More like the government stepped in instead of letting her set boundaries and make her own choices."
Elowen huffed, tying her long blonde hair back as the sun rose high enough to pink her fair cheeks.
"One second," I said, bending to grab a jar of balm.
I pricked my finger on the needle tucked in my skirt, letting a single drop fall into the mixture.
Protect one hundred percent, I willed silently.
My lips moved with the thought, but the magic itself was quiet—obedient. The balm shimmered faintly as the spell bound itself to my blood. I straightened and handed it to her.
She brightened instantly, smearing the balm across her cheeks with a blissful sigh.
"I swear, Veyra, nothing works as well as your balm does. I don't know what I'll do when you move on. I wish I had a useful skill like yours."
No, you don't, I thought, forcing a smile instead.
"Don't be silly. Your food buffs are amazing, and they taste good. Do you know how rare that is for enchanted food?"
She rubbed her neck, glancing nervously across the street.
"Uh oh."
I followed her gaze again and grimaced. Fen's mother, Ilvera, stood rigid beside her son, arms crossed, glaring at me with all the subtlety of a drawn knife.
Looked like I'd overstayed my welcome.
"You still planning to head to Stormsreach?" I asked.
"I think so. Momma and Pops want to get there before the nobles go on holiday. We did amazing business last year."
"Sounds good. Save me some Travel Bread, will you? I should probably get out of here." I flipped my sign from CLOSED to OPEN.
"I don't blame you. Who'd want that woman for a mother-in-law?" Elowen winced, handing me my usual breakfast roll.
I picked at it, appetite gone. I'd grown used to talking to Elowen all day and bunking near her parents' wagon at night. Traveling alone was… lonely.
"It'll only be a week at most," she said, squeezing my arm reassuringly. "Then we'll go to the beach every day. Maybe flirt with a sailor or five."
I snorted. "Exactly."
My first customer wandered up soon after, and then another, and another. Before long, I was running end to end across my stall. Word traveled fast when your potions were the cheapest and the best.
It was easy to be cheap when my "potions" were nothing but fruit juice and blood.
Sure, I pretended to forage for herbs, but truthfully, I couldn't tell mint from poison ivy.
I was a fraud, a sham, a near-con artist…
But it was better than anyone discovering what I really was.
One drop of my blood, and I could force the world to obey.
Anything I demanded, anything I willed—happened. I had to be very specific and fast for it to work. Sadly, it also didn't work on me.
If I could have changed my blood magic into anything else, I would have done it long ago.
It was taboo, dangerous, and—if the wrong people caught wind of it—fatal.
Avoiding suspicion had become my lifelong mission.
It was shaping up to be a decent enough morning when Fen apparently decided glaring from across the street was no longer satisfying. He stomped over, shoving a customer aside on his way.
I raised an eyebrow as he grabbed one of the clay bottles, uncorked it, and sniffed loudly.
"What in the hell is this?" he demanded, nose wrinkling.
I plucked it out of his hands and recorked it with a snap.
"No touching without buying."
"Fine. How much?"
"Five silver," I said, giving him my coldest, most hostile please evaporate look.
He slammed his fist onto my counter, rattling the vials.
"That's more than three times what it usually costs!"
"Consider it an idiot tax."
His jaw clenched. "You think you're so much better than me—better than everyone."
His chest rose and fell too fast, his fists balled as he pounded the edge of my display. A few bottles quivered dangerously.
"We both know you're only over here because Mommy told you to," I said flatly, turning away to help an actual customer.
"One of these days, Veyra, you're going to get what's coming to you," he snarled.
Then he snatched the bottle, threw five silver coins down, and stormed off in a cloud of wounded ego.
"Well, that line about his mother was definitely true," Elowen chuckled, poking her head back around the corner. "I saw her telling him to."
I smirked as I watched Fen take a sip of the potion.
It was just juice. I hadn't put any power into that batch.
He'd paid me half a day's wage for a mouthful of nothing.
The crowds thinned as the sun dipped lower, heat rising off the sand in shimmering waves.
A palanquin carried by four men slowed beside my stall. A noble in red silk stepped down with all the grace of a bored peacock, pretending to browse as he picked up bottles—though his eyes never left me.
This was my other major problem.
I was a magnet for assholes.
Especially the kind of men who thought they were a gift from the gods to womankind.
Being born looking like me was a liability when you were trying to blend in as a harmless civilian.
"Don't suppose you have anything more… exotic," he purred, running a jeweled finger along the back of my hand.
I forced my shudder down and kept my expression neutral.
"That depends," I said sweetly. "What sort of potion do you have in mind?"
I leaned over the counter, letting him get a better look.
Shady? Maybe.
But nobles like him were easy marks—and if anyone deserved to be relieved of their overflowing coin purse, it was men who touched women without asking.
"Maybe an aphrodisiac?" he asked, licking his lips as his gaze traveled down my body.
"Why, of course," I purred. "I have something perfect for you. One moment."
I knelt behind the counter, grabbing an empty bottle.
A quick prick of my finger.
A single drop of blood.
Impotent for seventy-two hours, I willed, and the magic curled obediently around the liquid.
I straightened, corked it, and pressed the bottle into his palm, fluttering my dark lashes for good measure.
"Drink this once you're alone with your intended partner," I said, letting my fingers trail along his hand before withdrawing. "They will be amazed by your… ah… stamina. For you, only two gold coins."
He didn't hesitate. He pulled out the gold and pressed it into my hand eagerly.
"Why don't you come up to the inn," he said, leaning closer, "and we can test it together?"
"I'm far too lowly for you to waste such a gift on," I replied sweetly.
He smirked, thoroughly pleased with himself, and winked before sauntering away with his very unfortunate future.
Elowen leaned over my shoulder, watching him disappear into the crowd. "Did you just do it again?"
"Yup." I gave her a feral grin.
She giggled behind her hand. "Good thing you're leaving today. One of these days, you're going to upset the wrong person."
"What can I say? Pissing people off is a talent."
I laughed and began packing up my stall.
We finished just as the sun dipped below the horizon. Elowen helped in quiet, sad silence.
"You know," Elowen said softly, "you could just join us. Momma and Pops would love to have you. Everyone else in the caravan would too."
I sighed.
It was too dangerous.
I wouldn't put anyone else at risk—not after…
I cut the memory off before it could sink its claws into me.
"I like my solitude," I lied, keeping my gaze on the horses instead of her eyes.
Climbing up into the driver's seat, I forced a smile and gave her a small wave.
"See you at Stormsreach," I called as my wagon rattled forward.
I passed Fen on the way out of town and offered him a rude gesture without slowing.
If I had known what waited for me on the road that night…
I'm not sure I would have gone.
Maybe I would've taken my chances with the crazed mother-in-law.