Page 47 of Wizards & Weavers (Cozy Questing #1)

“I can see that you’ve already found ways to keep yourselves busy up here on the surface,” the demon said, grinning as he gestured at the shop, at all the colorful bottles.

“But you might consider a visit to the dungeon sooner rather than later. Who knows what other wonders and dangers await within its fiery depths?”

Fire , Braiden thought. Why did it have to be fire ?

“Wait,” Augustin said, holding up his hand. “Before you go. What is your name, stranger?”

The horned warrior turned over his shoulder, his helmet grasped in both hands. A wicked smile curved the corner of his mouth.

“Come deeper down the dungeon, and perhaps you’ll find out.”

The red man vanished in a puff of cinders and smoke.

Elyssandra looked from the empty doorway and back into Braiden’s face. “That’s your friend, Braid. The one who attacked us.”

“Only that one time,” Braiden said, “and he’s not my friend. Besides, look at Craghammer and the twins. They were only doing what they were paid to do, but now we’re all good. Right, Craghammer?”

“I don’t like this,” the orc growled. “I don’t like him . I’ll follow your lead if you wish to explore the dungeon again, but I wouldn’t recommend it. There’s something sinister about that man. You remember his blade, don’t you? As black as midnight.”

The horned warrior had reason to come to Beadle’s Needles on that first day. But why? To lure Braiden into the dungeon depths? He never even hinted at going adventuring together.

Besides, he looked strong enough to lift Braiden under one arm. If he really wanted to, the warrior could have thrown him in a sack and dragged him all the way down the dungeon.

Yet for all of Braiden’s unanswered questions about the mysterious dungeon demon, his greater concern was the look of burning curiosity on Augustin Arcosa’s face.

Hours later, when the elixirs were gone, the snacks all eaten, and their friends retired for the night, Augustin had kindly offered to stay behind and help Braiden clean up.

It wasn’t a lot to do, really, but Braiden wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to spend some more time with his favorite wizard.

It was a short while after Braiden had locked the front door that he’d noticed the light in the storage room. They must have left the door ajar after the rush to transport the sweaters to the Underborough. Augustin was picking at the ground, rolling stray bits of yarn between his fingers.

“That was awfully nice of you to throw a little party for our party,” Braiden said. “Even if it was only an excuse to feed your elixirs to a roomful of willing test subjects.”

Augustin stood up and laughed.

“My finances could be in a better state. I can’t exactly afford to splurge on parties and accommodations, not if I’m planning to live in Weathervale long term.”

Braiden had never thought to ask about the rest of the Arcosa family. “Where are your parents? Not that I’m suggesting living with them, only — maybe they know someone who can help?”

A sad smile spread across the wizard’s mouth. Braiden knew it all too well. He’d seen that smile in the mirror himself.

“They passed some time ago. Might have been part of the reason I left Weathervale to seek out adventure in Aidun. You know the funny part? Morbidly funny, I suppose. They were adventurers, too. It was probably how they died, eaten by some monstrous creature out on the road. It runs in the blood, I think, the wanderlust, whether by land or by sea.”

Augustin’s familiar smile of fondness at the thought of his family made an appearance on Braiden’s face, too. He clasped Augustin by the shoulder.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“And I say the same to you.” Augustin chuckled. “I suppose that makes two of us, unburdened by the love of mothers and fathers. But let’s not talk about such sad things. It’s sad enough that I’m so desperate to seek out a spare room in Weathervale.”

No free room in Elyssandra’s cottage, either.

Its bedrooms were mostly unchanged: one for Elyssandra, another for Warren, and the last for Bones, converted into a personal graveyard, complete with a plot of dirt.

For whatever reason, the cottage refused to grow additional space for Augustin. Very strange.

Augustin rubbed the base of his skull, massaging his brand new pain in the neck. Braiden looked around the empty room, watching dust motes travel lazily through streams of sunlight, traces of fiber and fluff still buried between the floorboards.

The Wizard of Weathervale had told him, once, that he hadn’t had a place to call home in too long a time. But what if?

“This just happens to be a spare room in Weathervale,” Braiden said, disbelieving the words even as they left his mouth, excited and terrified and hopeful, all at once.

Augustin quirked an eyebrow. “I’m sorry?”

“There’s room for a bed,” Braiden said, thrusting his arms out, drawing invisible lines to mark space for nonexistent pieces of furniture.

“And you’ll have to do some shopping, but you can even fit a chest of drawers, and some bookshelves, and a desk, and a vanity, of course, because I know how vain you are, and — ”

Strong hands stopped Braiden from spinning into an unchecked whirlwind of activity. One held him by the shoulder, the other by the waist.

“Are you sure about this?” Augustin asked, fixing him with his gaze. Maybe it was only Braiden’s imagination, but Augustin Arcosa seemed excited and terrified and hopeful, all at once.

“For the right amount, of course,” Braiden said, playing up the joke to break the wizard’s smoldering stare. It wasn’t fair, being so lovely to look at. “I’ll expect you to pay a handsome price. Promptly. Every month.”

Augustin pulled him closer, a wry grin in the corner of his lips, his eyes dark and electric. “I think I can afford your handsome price.”

Braiden Beadle never was very good at bargaining, especially now that he was trapped in the arms of Weathervale’s handsomest, most eligible wizard. Someday, he would become a better businessman. Possibly. Someday.

For now, all that mattered was that he’d saved Beadle’s Needles, and Weathervale, and the Underborough. He’d made a handful of steadfast friends. And there was this wizard who was going to start living in the storage room, too.

Braiden Beadle never was very good at bargaining. When Augustin Arcosa suggested a starting price, Braiden did not haggle.

When Augustin Arcosa kissed him full on the lips, Braiden did not resist.

The journey continues.