Page 35

I growled in frustration and continued across the courtyard, under two pillars, and onto another cobblestone road that appeared to wind closer to the castle at the base of the mountain. The king and I remained quiet as we walked. More shops surrounded me, and one in particular caught my eye.

I veered to the left, away from the king, and into the bookshop without a word. When I made it through the glass doors, I turned over my shoulder to see the king settling against the wall of the shop across from where I was, chatting with someone.

I turned back to the many black shelves of books that curved around the contours of the walls.

The smell of old pages and ink nestled in and made me feel at home.

It was empty, except for a woman reading behind the counter with her feet casually strewn on top the counter and her back reclined in a cushioned chair with a book cracked open between her hands.

Her canary-yellow eyes fastened on me. She smiled, scrunching the many freckles across her cheeks.

In a quick movement, she took her boots off the counter, stood, and straightened her black, fingerless gloves, overalls, and crop top beneath.

She had some meat on her bones that deepened the cute dimples on either side of her cheeks.

I smiled back, eyeing her glorious mane of hair. Each scarlet curl fell in the same pattern to her jaw and fluffed up in many thick layers. Ribbons of sparkles streaked throughout her hair, catching the yellow lights built into the dark ceiling.

“Hello. Welcome to Pages of Wisdom Bookshop. I’m Rosaanne. Can I help you find something?”

“Hi. Yes!” I stepped up to the counter. “Do you have a copy of The Wizened Navigator ?” It was Fletcher’s favorite. I was dying to know why.

Her eyes widened, narrowed, then widened again with a giggle. “I love that book! Great choice. Let me go grab it for you.”

Then, a gruff voice chimed behind me. “That’s my favorite book. ”

I wheeled around, spotting a man leaning against the bookshelf, gazing at me with a book in his hand.

The book looked so small and dainty against such a muscular build.

Fletcher would have looked as skinny as Jarvy next to this guy.

But in the height department, Fletcher had him beat.

His head of thick, jet-black hair was messily arranged in short strands.

Long sideburns led to his pointed chin. His vibrant jade eyes shone brightly against his dark skin.

When he smiled at me, a set of pearly white teeth brightened the room.

I grinned, letting my eyes dart down his gray short-sleeved shirt and dark cotton pants.

Two leather bands wrapped around either of his wrists.

I peeked at the book in his hands, but before I could read the title, my eyes latched onto something else.

His fingers. They were curved and slightly unmoving.

Just like the man at the market, this man’s fingers wouldn’t close all the way around the book, just his middle, ring, and thumb.

I brought my gaze back to his playful green eyes and grinned before turning back to the counter to wait for the woman.

The man sidled up to me, coming to just slightly taller than my height.

The fragrance of strong cologne was so intense that it made me cough.

I couldn’t even figure out what exactly it was supposed to smell like.

It just assaulted my nose as intense chemicals.

It might actually have smelled good had there been less of it.

“Hi. My name is Decksin.”

I grinned, turning back around. “Hello.”

“What is your name?”

I kept my lips sealed, mainly because I could practically taste his powerful scent.

He chuckled and leaned an elbow on the counter so his head was more in my view. “I like a rude girl.”

The shopkeeper returned, eyes landing on Decksin then letting her shoulders go slack. Her face scrunched as she said, “Decksin! You know I’m allergic to your sheer amount of scent.” She slid the book across the counter to me.

“I don’t make fun of the effect ocaberries have on you, miss sparkles,” he sneered, nodding to the streaks of glitter shining in the shopkeeper’s hair.

She rolled her eyes, “For the last time, ocaberries don’t have a physical effect on me. I was born this way!” She let loose a growl.

When her fingers released The Wizened Navigator , I couldn’t contain a squeal as my eyes scanned over the deep mauve book cover, a golden embossed image of a pirate ship marooned in the soil of a forest.

“It’ll be two coins.”

My heart sank. Fletcher’s book was right in front of me and I didn’t have money. I could practically smell the adventure. But my coins were with Aldris. “Darn. I don’t have anything with me right now.”

“Allow me to pay?” Decksin’s brows raised suggestively. His hand went into his pocket, jingling coins.

I could pay him back. But, I also did not want to have to see—or smell—him again. I let out a grunt of annoyance and looked back at the woman. “Will you put it on hold for me?”

“Sure. I’ll keep it aside for the next twenty-four hours.”

“Ma’am,” Decksin said, “do you know who this is? This is Princess Ripley Griever. You will give her whatever she wants,” he asserted. “She’s been through enough without you causing her any trouble.”

The woman’s eyes bulged.

My breathing hitched at the sound of my name being spoken by this stranger to another stranger.

“Are you really?” she asked .

I sent him a glower. “No,” I spat. “My name is Etta.”

The woman’s brows lifted with a knowing smile.

She was a woman of books. Of course she had heard of Invisible Etta before, the novel Fletcher had gifted me a little over two months ago.

Perhaps she had made many connections between me and the character already.

“Her name is Etta, Decksin. You’ve got to learn to listen .

” She waved a hand, shooing him. “Gosh, get the hell out of my store and stop harassing my customers. These books are far too advanced for you anyway.”

I covered my mouth and giggled.

He huffed then sent periwinkle magic down his arms.

“Ah-ah-ah,” the woman said, shaking her finger at him. “There’s no magic in this store.” She pointed to a large sign behind her. “If you try it, I’ll hurt you. Some of these books are too fragile to be subjected to magic.”

He huffed then stomped out of the store.

“Gosh, that guy drives me nuts,” she muttered.

I gave a friendly smile in acknowledgement then said, “I’ll be back tomorrow morning to pick up the book. ”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Thanks,” I whispered.

I made a move toward the door, but she called after me. “Princess Ripley?”

I turned around and saw that she was rounding the counter to stand in front of me. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Um. I’m so relieved you’ve found your way back to us.

” She bit her lip and took a hard swallow like she was suddenly nervous in my presence…

or maybe about her question. “I was just curious—if you don’t mind me asking—who found you?

” There was a beat of silence before she said, “Was it Fletcher Darkly by any chance?”

Hearing his name on another woman’s lips sent a strange spike of something nasty through me.

“Yes.” Then, I prepared for the worst. Maybe a lecture about how terrible of a person he was.

Maybe some screaming even. I could feel my magic simmering in response.

It was okay. I was prepared for this. Nothing was going to change the way I viewed him.

She blinked, tugging on the straps of her overalls. “Is he okay? ”

I lifted my brows, beyond surprised as my magic settled back in my chest like it was reserving judgment for now. “Why are you asking?”

“Oh,” she giggled, “I, um, I am just curious I guess. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him.”

A tension filled the air, my magic swirling in my gut, and Fletcher’s too. “He’s fine.”

A relief washed over her face as she smiled. She fiddled with her black choker necklace. “Oh good. Will you tell him I say hi when you bring him the book? I’m taking an educated guess that it’s for him.” Another nervous giggle spilled from her lips.

I screwed my eyes shut and shook my head. “I’m sorry, how do you two know each other?”

She leaned against the counter, picking up his favorite book and gently tracing her finger around the edges.

“ The Wizened Navigator. His favorite. He used to come in all the time and steal it from my parents when they ran this shop. I’d have to hunt him down,” she said with a nostalgic laugh, “and steal it back. It was a fun game of cat and mouse that went on for years.”

The air knocked from my lungs. As if it was hard enough staring at the caged woman who had Darkly written all over her, I had to talk with another woman who did as well.

She shook her head. “You know what? Don’t say anything to him.” She handed me the book. “Here. Just take it to him. I’m sure he’ll know it’s from me.”

But it wasn’t from her . It was from me . If I gave this to him, would he think it was from her? Would I be nurturing some sort of relationship he had with this young woman? I put my hand up. “This isn’t for Fletcher,” I lied. “It’s for me. And I will pay for it.”

“Oh,” she said in surprise as she took a quick hop back like she physically wanted out of the embarrassment. She nodded once with a blush overtaking her cheeks. “Then, I shall keep it on hold.”

“Okay.” Feeling a bit off center, a part of me wished I could brave teleporting back to Fletcher and make out with him just to remind him of… me.

I left the bookshop wishing she had just insulted him instead of gushing over him. At least I would have been prepared for that. With a bruised ego, I waited for the king to notice my presence.

He said goodbye to his friend and smiled at me. “Find any books you like?”

“Yes, but I have to return tomorrow to pay for it.”

“Would you like some coins? ”

I bared my teeth and snarled.