“That’s okay, we can do it alone,” I said.
Cassian turned to me with wide eyes, and then he turned his pretty face away. “You can stay inside, Sterling. I’d just have to show you what a cateye is, and it’s dangerous to wade through a freezing river if you’re not a mage.”
I didn’t like how distant he had become since speaking to Willorunia, but maybe it was for the best. I shouldn’t have flirted with him at all. He was a citizen in need, and I was there to figure out who cursed his inn. Nothing more.
“Let me guess, cateyes look like cat eyes?” I asked. I didn’t need to go with him, but I wanted to. “And you already said you could cast a spell to keep me warm. You shouldn’t be out in the freezing cold by yourself, anyway.”
Cassian sighed, tilting his head back, eyes closed. Despite the conclusion that my attraction was a problem, I shamelessly took in the sight of his exposed neck and his sharp jawline. “You’re right,” he said.
I think we both knew he would have been fine.
It was still snowing when Cassian brought me around the inn, past the stables, and toward the very rear of the property. Our boots left fresh prints in the snow as we headed toward the river. I saw the arched wooden bridge over the river before I saw the river itself.
Despite the freezing weather, the river was still running. Ice slushed by, telling me this would not be a fun afternoon.
To my utter surprise, Cassian pulled off his shirt and flung it over a nearby tree branch.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I don’t want to get my clothes wet.”
“You’re gettinginthe water?”
He shot a funny look at me. “How else are we going to collect stones?”
“By fishing them out?”
“That takes too long.” Cassian closed his eyes and traced a pattern over his chest, muttering something to himself. A warm glow shimmered from the top of his head to his feet. “Much better,” he said with a grin. “Come here; let me cast a warmth spell on you.”
“Do I have to take off my shirt?” I asked.
“You don’t have to do anything, but wouldn’t you rather have something dry to put on when the spell wears off?” he asked.
I couldn’t imagine taking my shirt off in that moment, but maybe the spell would change my mind. “All right. Go ahead.”
Cassian gave a curt nod before tracing the same shape and muttering the same words he had used on himself. My body relaxed as comfortable warmth chased away the unbearable cold. I was already sweating under my coat and shirt, and I understood why Cassian had taken his off.
I pulled my shirt off, draping it beside Cassian’s on the branch. Cassian’s eyes lingered on me before he cleared his throat and averted his gaze. “Let’s get to work,” he said, removing his boots and rolling up his trousers before wading into the water with a glass jar under his arm. “Hurry, this spell only lasts an hour!” he shouted back.
I kicked off my boots and rolled up my trousers too. As I stepped into the water, I expected the painful burn of winter water, but it felt like a cool river on a summer day.
“This spell is amazing,” I said.
“Thanks! I don’t get why so many people hate magic when we mainly use it for things like this,” he answered, wedging the glass jar into the snowy bank. “And we’re willing to share!”
“Maybe they’re jealous,” I said, eyeing the water rushing over my legs. A chunk of ice bumped into me and drifted on, but it was as harmless as a clump of moss.
Cassian smiled at me. He really needed to stop doing that, or we would have a big problem soon. He seemed to read my mind, because it disappeared quickly, and he returned his attention to the water. “This shouldn’t take too long. Willo asked me to do this because this river is full of cateyes.” His brow furrowed over darting eyes, and then he plunged his hand beneath the surface. When he came up, he held a flat blue stone with a streak of black through the middle. “This is a cateye.”
“Was that so hard?” I joked.
Cassian eyed the stone again, smiling. “Yeah, I suppose it is pretty intuitive,” he said, dropping it in the jar with a clink.
It didn’t take me long to find one myself, but in that time, Cassian had already found three more. “What does she use these for?” I asked.
Cassian shrugged. “Don’t know.”
I waded over to the jar while I tried to figure out if he really didn’t know, or if he didn’t want to tell me.
