Page 10

I peered up to see his reaction, my shoulder brushing against his. He gave her a stern look. My savior was blond like the sun itself loved him, with bright brown eyes that twinkled with mischief, and a mouth that even at its sternest with the dealer wanted to smile.

“I can’t have you taking advantage of a pretty girl like this, now can I?”

Darlene glared at me, like this was my fault. “Twelve.”

The boy put a hand on my shoulder, leaning in conspiratorially, “Honestly, it’s probably only worth seven. She doesn’t even carry the good stuff anymore.”

I flushed at the easy contact, and the impish tone he had, whispering even though it was obviously said for Darlene’s benefit. How long had it been since someone had just… touched me? Not to hurt me, not to threaten me. Touched me like I was just a village girl.

“Ten. Take it or get out.”

I slid out a handful of coins and placed them on the counter before the boy could continue to argue on my behalf. “I’ll take it.”

I scooped the cards up and slid them into the pouch. I should get a proper deck holder for my belt; most people wore one. But that was an expense for another day. Still, I hesitated. “Do you have anything specifically for vampires?”

Darlene scowled. “Case to the left of the door. Back row.”

I went to look while the boy spoke to Darlene. The back row had several cards that wouldn’t fit my needs. Only one card could’ve been the one she meant. It wasn’t one I’d ever seen before. The glass was enchanted so I couldn’t actually take the card from it, so I went back to Darlene.

“Interested or not?”

“What does it do?”

She rolled her eyes, mumbling to herself. “The chit is asking for cards and doesn’t even know what they do.” Theatrics done, she fixed her frown on me. “It’ll hold off a vampire’s thrall for up to a week. Rare. Three gold pieces. No haggling .”

The last part was directed at the boy.

Thrall. The guard at Greymere had used the term. “What does that mean?”

“If you don’t even know what thrall is, you probably don’t need the damn card,” she huffed.

“It’s how the bloodsuckers get you. One look in their red eyes and they can make you do anything.

They can enthrall any person, void or witch, with just a single glance unless you have an enchantment.

They’re rare too. Three pieces ,” she repeated.

Did Raphael have that ability? The first night… he’d told me to look at him and ordered me to untie him. But I hadn’t felt compelled. Then again, Greymere blocked all witch magic. Perhaps it blocked the vampire’s powers too.

I handed over the gold and added the card to my stash, then headed out.

The bells chimed behind me.

“Say, why’s a pretty girl like you worried about vampires?”

The boy had followed me out.

I shrugged. “Um. Just paranoid.”

“And after all that work I did to save your gold.” He shook his head at me, but his smile said he was just teasing. “Name’s Thomas, by the way. Go by Tom to my friends and pretty ladies Darlene tries to take advantage of.”

Pretty. He’d called me that twice now.

He held his hand out to me, and I shook it, all the while my cheeks burned. His skin was warm, slightly callused but soft.

“I’m Sam,” I blurted, before I remembered to give him the same fake name I’d given the others. “Short for Samantha,” I added, trying to salvage it.

He eased in a bit closer. Not quite so close I felt like I needed to back up, but almost. “Sam. You blush real cute, Sam.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I stammered something that approximated words but meant nothing.

He grinned, like I hadn’t just made a fool of myself. “Will I see you around here much in the future, Sam? I’m hoping you say yes.”

For a moment, I let myself enjoy the conversation. Imagine a life where I could just meet a boy, flirt, and learn what kissing felt like.

A life where I wasn’t on the run after betraying my kingdom and conspiring with one of our deadliest enemies to infiltrate the City of Answers.

“Probably not, Tom.”

He reached for my hand. By reflex, I jerked back, but I was a bit too slow, and he caught my wrist.

“You and I could head out into the woods and have a little fun before you continue on your errands, then.” A dimple appeared in his cheek as he beamed down at me.

I blinked up at him, surprised by his forwardness. “Oh. Um. That’s okay.”

He flashed me another smile, though it was a little disappointed, then fished out a card from his own deck. Some kind of fast travel spell—likely not for big distances, though, because those were pricy.

“See you around then, Sam.”

The writing on the card faded as he activated it, the magic emerging, eager to complete its task.

It engulfed him in a small tornado, lifting him high as the sudden wind slammed against me.

Once there was no sign of him, I went off to the tavern to find Raphael.

Sunset had settled over the town, darkness looming at the edges.

I drew my cloak tighter around me. There might not be any ogres in town, but I was a scrawny woman who didn’t live around here, walking around in the dark.

With no small amount of self-loathing, I realized I actually missed having the vampire around. At least when he was nearby, he was the only thing I had to worry about.

Rowdy noises signaled the location of the tavern, light trickling from the frosted windows. I pushed the doors open, scanning for the vampire as I unhooked my cloak.

But it was Raphael who found me first. No sooner had I taken a few steps into the warm tavern than the vampire was at my side. His hood had fallen back just slightly so I could see his red eyes, blazing, even though they were hidden from onlookers.

“Why do you smell like a male?”