forward, decreasing the space between us. His eyes danced with amusement.
“As you’re aware, I’m Evelyn Hawke; I believe you dealt with my twin, Quin. A creature ran at me earlier. It was unlike anything I’ve seen before. It may be linked to Quin’s disappearance.”
His face darkened at the mention of Quin’s disappearance; he pushed himself off the workbench and approached me. I was aware of him standing a head taller than me, although I was a little distracted by the scent of cherry blossom that surrounded him. Somehow it suited him.
“I’m curious to see what you have for me, but I’ll require a sacrifice.”
His mouth quirked into a dark smile as his eyes wandered down my throat and paused on my chest. I felt naked under his gaze; that both terrified and thrilled me. I had to think quickly. Elves always demanded a sacrifice, I knew that; I should have prepared better.
I mentally kicked myself before I said, “I’ll sacrifice my time and energy. I usually charge a rather large sum for my time…”
He took another step closer to me, within arm’s reach. I refused to back down.
He leaned a little closer to me; I felt like a mouse that he was toying with.
“I have a little errand for you, Ms. Hawke. Retrieve a recipe for me and I’ll look at your blood.”
He held out his hand for me to give him the vial. I saw no other choice; it was the only potential lead I had for Quin. What if that thing was Quin? He hadn’t looked like him but… My mind began to whir, but the scent of cherry blossom snapped me out of it. His elegant fingers brushed over mine; I refused to look into his face. He was just another supernal, yet I felt like a foolish girl.
I handed him the vial and crossed my arms. “I’ll need some details.”
He pursed his lips and growled, “You’ll need some manners.”
He turned and scribbled something down on a scrap of paper before he handed me a small pale blue bottle with a copper stopper, and the note. I looked down at the paper to see an address and what appeared to be instructions.
“I don’t have all day, Ms. Hawke, kindly stop cluttering my workshop.”
I shot him a glare and muttered about it being a simple errand; I had more important things to be doing. I slipped back out into the lékárna, where the shy guy watched me from behind the counter. I offered him a small smile while I tried to translate the elf’s scrawl.
“Can I help?”
The guy was standing next to me with red cheeks; he was so softly spoken I barely caught what he said. I frowned, glad that he’d taken pity on me.
I showed him the note. “Can you read this?”
His eyebrows furrowed for a moment before he smiled broadly. “That’s his cousin’s house. It’s out near the botanical gardens. You’ll need the elf’s breath and the thief’s blood to unlock the magical seal around the recipe.”
That didn’t sound too difficult. I didn’t see why I had to get a stolen recipe. Surely he could write it down again or look on the internet. I bit back my comments; it was clearly important to the alchemist, and it could help me get Quin back. I thanked the guy and left. It was a fifty-minute trip out to the botanical gardens; the concept of a motorbike was growing on me.
The city had so many different faces. No matter how many times I saw it, I remained fascinated by the architectural choices, the melee of old and new. The bus ride had been interesting; I hung onto the bar for dear life, trying to keep my balance. I swore that the bus service could make extra money by advertising them as rollercoasters and thrill rides. The bus pulled into a small layby at the side of the road with a tall cream wall on my right and a beautifully simple cream building on the opposite side of the narrow road. The bus was soon vanishing into the distance, leaving me to look down at the scrap of paper to try and figure out what I was doing next.
I was feeling woefully unprepared and
“As you’re aware, I’m Evelyn Hawke; I believe you dealt with my twin, Quin. A creature ran at me earlier. It was unlike anything I’ve seen before. It may be linked to Quin’s disappearance.”
His face darkened at the mention of Quin’s disappearance; he pushed himself off the workbench and approached me. I was aware of him standing a head taller than me, although I was a little distracted by the scent of cherry blossom that surrounded him. Somehow it suited him.
“I’m curious to see what you have for me, but I’ll require a sacrifice.”
His mouth quirked into a dark smile as his eyes wandered down my throat and paused on my chest. I felt naked under his gaze; that both terrified and thrilled me. I had to think quickly. Elves always demanded a sacrifice, I knew that; I should have prepared better.
I mentally kicked myself before I said, “I’ll sacrifice my time and energy. I usually charge a rather large sum for my time…”
He took another step closer to me, within arm’s reach. I refused to back down.
He leaned a little closer to me; I felt like a mouse that he was toying with.
“I have a little errand for you, Ms. Hawke. Retrieve a recipe for me and I’ll look at your blood.”
He held out his hand for me to give him the vial. I saw no other choice; it was the only potential lead I had for Quin. What if that thing was Quin? He hadn’t looked like him but… My mind began to whir, but the scent of cherry blossom snapped me out of it. His elegant fingers brushed over mine; I refused to look into his face. He was just another supernal, yet I felt like a foolish girl.
I handed him the vial and crossed my arms. “I’ll need some details.”
He pursed his lips and growled, “You’ll need some manners.”
He turned and scribbled something down on a scrap of paper before he handed me a small pale blue bottle with a copper stopper, and the note. I looked down at the paper to see an address and what appeared to be instructions.
“I don’t have all day, Ms. Hawke, kindly stop cluttering my workshop.”
I shot him a glare and muttered about it being a simple errand; I had more important things to be doing. I slipped back out into the lékárna, where the shy guy watched me from behind the counter. I offered him a small smile while I tried to translate the elf’s scrawl.
“Can I help?”
The guy was standing next to me with red cheeks; he was so softly spoken I barely caught what he said. I frowned, glad that he’d taken pity on me.
I showed him the note. “Can you read this?”
His eyebrows furrowed for a moment before he smiled broadly. “That’s his cousin’s house. It’s out near the botanical gardens. You’ll need the elf’s breath and the thief’s blood to unlock the magical seal around the recipe.”
That didn’t sound too difficult. I didn’t see why I had to get a stolen recipe. Surely he could write it down again or look on the internet. I bit back my comments; it was clearly important to the alchemist, and it could help me get Quin back. I thanked the guy and left. It was a fifty-minute trip out to the botanical gardens; the concept of a motorbike was growing on me.
The city had so many different faces. No matter how many times I saw it, I remained fascinated by the architectural choices, the melee of old and new. The bus ride had been interesting; I hung onto the bar for dear life, trying to keep my balance. I swore that the bus service could make extra money by advertising them as rollercoasters and thrill rides. The bus pulled into a small layby at the side of the road with a tall cream wall on my right and a beautifully simple cream building on the opposite side of the narrow road. The bus was soon vanishing into the distance, leaving me to look down at the scrap of paper to try and figure out what I was doing next.
I was feeling woefully unprepared and
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