Page 4 of Jeweler to the Blessed (Champions of Chaos #1)

I’d never seen the last color firsthand.

As the passage from Champions of Kavios indicated, only one could wield it: violet for fear, fueling the power of nightmares.

The wielder made those impacted see images of their greatest nightmares played out.

The power alone made me hope Champions of Kavios was more fiction than Alaric claimed.

The stranger stared at Alaric for a long time, locked in a wordless battle I didn’t understand. Alaric’s body still blocked my view of the man. With no sign of change in his ring, I tilted my head to see if the mirror would grant a glimpse of him from any angle.

A silent gasp slipped from my lips as his gaze lifted. Forest green eyes met mine in the mirror. This wasn’t a sip of whisky—it was a full glass—downed all at once. Warmth flooded my senses, and I clenched, waiting for the bite that was sure to come.

It lasted less than a second. I didn’t think Alaric realized what the man had done.

He’d known precisely where to look to check the mirror—further evidence of his familiarity with the workshop.

There was no doubt in my mind that he’d seen me.

I held my breath as my heart galloped. What would the man do with the information that someone was behind the curtain?

The man dropped his hand. “Fine.”

Alaric’s head dipped in a nod.

“Should Ava expect you tonight for the youngleaf?”

The ground shook beneath my feet. An earthshake. I glanced at the mirror to see Alaric holding the door frame for support.

The movement stopped as quickly as it started.

A brief rattle, not even enough to break one of the glass beakers on the workbench. Still, I knew what it had to be .

“The mines,” Alaric said.

The man growled something unintelligible under his breath, then turned on his heel and stormed off down the street. Alaric’s forehead rested on the doorframe with the stranger’s departure as if that conversation had cost him more than I could understand.

The earthshake should have worried me more, but their growing frequency left me numb to their impacts, and Alaric’s behavior was too unusual. Hoping no one was injured, I padded to the storage room with soft steps. I didn’t want Uncle to know how closely I’d been watching.

Alaric brushed the curtain aside, his gaze sweeping first to the workbench, like he suspected where I’d be. His brow pinched slightly, finding I wasn’t there.

“You need to go.”

I’d be offended if he wasn’t correct. That interlude had put me behind schedule.

The streets would be filling. I wasn’t guaranteed to get out of Lower Hill unscathed.

But I had so many unanswered questions. Why hadn’t he picked up the herb for Mother’s tonic?

Who was that Blessed, and how did Alaric know him?

None of what I’d heard between Alaric and the visitor made sense.

“Who was that?” I asked. I knew Alaric’s work put him in contact with the Blessed regularly, and I couldn’t understand why this apparent friendship with a Blessed bothered me.

One conversation had opened up a whole new side of Alaric, one I’d selfishly never considered.

Something ugly twisted in my gut as I wondered what else the stranger knew about my uncle that I didn’t.

“I’m sure you heard more than enough.”

“Is he a client?”

Alaric pinched the bridge of his nose. “No.”

“Well, who is he? ”

He mumbled something under his breath. I was confident he was cursing my curiosity, but he shouldn’t have instilled it in me if he didn’t want to deal with it.

“Do you need me to collect the youngleaf?” I asked. “It’s for Mother’s medicine, isn’t it?”

Alaric made a tonic for Mother that energized her and prevented her condition from worsening. He gave me a new vial twice a week. This made me exceedingly nervous because he would be solely responsible for delivering it to her after I left.

“Absolutely not. Forest’s Edge is no place for you.”

My eyes must have widened in surprise, and Alaric realized what he’d said.

Forest’s Edge Tavern was east of Uncle’s shop on Cross Street.

As the name implied, it abutted the Eastern Gate, leading to the Oldwood.

The name had always given me pause. The Oldwood was as much a forest as a cave cat was a pet, ready to rip off the arm that reached to stroke its head.

To call it such, the tavern’s owner must be fearsome or foolish.

It was one of the busiest establishments in the entertainment district.

They served drinks in spades, but the tavern held much more than that.

I’d never been, but the girls in Woodside talked about it regularly.

Private rooms, rented by the hour upstairs, were one of the places magicless citizens could experience the pleasure of the Blessed’s touch.

Gambling tables filled the back hall with stakes few could afford, although maybe Uncle could, given the amount the Glanmores paid him.

It still didn’t make sense.

“Are you in trouble?” I focused on the heart of the matter.

Yes, I was intensely curious about who the man was and why the herbs for Mother’s medicine would be collected from Forest’s Edge, but at the root of this constricting feeling in my chest was worry, bordering on fear.

Alaric was never late with Mother’s medicine.

The knot of concerns slowly untangled as I reminded myself Alaric had a day before we needed another dose.

I could almost convince myself Alaric knew what he was doing.

“I’m fine, Ember.” His eyes didn’t meet mine. They had veered back to the workshop where, in my haste to return to the storage room, I’d slightly moved one of the glass beakers on the bench. “Ha! I knew you were snooping.”

I knew he was changing the subject, but I’d learned my stubbornness from him. I certainly wasn’t going to win against him in a battle of wills.

“It wasn’t snooping when you told me to listen for him entering the shop.”

“And you had to see his face to hear him?” Alaric said.

He’d already caught me, and now he was baiting me again. “You know I didn’t see him. You were standing directly in the mirror’s line of reflection.”

A self-satisfied smile crossed his face, like a child who found his gifts hidden under his parent’s bed. Just as quickly, though, his smile turned sour. “You need to get going.”

I nodded, picking up my brown leather gloves from the table.

My white blouse had a high neck and long sleeves, so my hands were the only exposed skin.

My heavy gray skirt and thick brown boots covered my waist to the floor.

Pulling on the gloves, I was as ready as I would be to brave the Lower Hill at this hour.

He gave a final nod, and I turned toward the front door. Alaric was behind me as I parted the curtain to slip through.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning; one more session before you leave?” he asked.

“Of course.”

Alaric nodded. Resigned to my decision. “You know I won’t stand in your way. ”

I knew how he would finish. “I won’t be gone forever, Uncle.”

He attempted a smile, but the flare of his nostrils showed the emotion he restrained.

“You, Mother, Father…” I started. “You’re all in as much danger as I am until I figure this out.”

His mouth opened and closed twice, as if searching for words he couldn’t find. “I should go with you through the Oldwood, just in case.”

“You’ll be needed at the Selection Festival, Uncle. We discussed this.”

He nodded, his gaze distant, like he was deep in thought. “What if I could get someone else to escort you?”

“Someone you trust?” My mind immediately strayed to his visitor.

“Yes. Ember, it would make me feel better about this whole thing. Please.”

The trek through the Oldwood was the scariest part of my journey—more terrifying than leaving the only home I’d ever known. I had no reason to turn down the help. “Sure, Uncle. If you trust them, they can escort me through the Oldwood.”

We held each other’s gaze a beat longer than necessary. I hoped he understood everything I wasn’t saying: You’ve given me everything, and I am thankful. I’m not leaving you. I’m trying to protect us all.

Would I have said more if I’d known that was the last time I’d speak freely with Alaric—that our planned goodbye would never occur? The question would haunt my nightmares, even as nightmare and reality interwove, turning my world upside down.