My attention was snagged when a figure drifted into my line of sight. I glanced up, and then immediately straightened, surreptitiously dusting my hands off. “Oh, hey,” I said lamely. Kizzi looked greener than usual, her usually olive toned skin more of a pale sickly shade. “Having any luck?”
She nodded her head grimly. “I found a cauldron.”
“That’s great!” I stood awkwardly. “Why don’t you look happy? This is a good thing, right?”
She lifted her hand to her neck and rubbed. Hex was sitting there, and they liquified for a moment to avoid being squashed. It really was jarring, watching the living sludge move on its own. “It is a good thing. I am happy. It was just… expensive. I need to process for a moment.”
I grimaced. “How expensive?”
She shook her head.
Sympathy pinched my brows together. “That bad?” I asked.
“That bad.”
“Over fifty silvers?”
She winced. “Ten times that.”
I puffed my cheeks before letting the air rush out. “Fuck.” That much money would keep Ginger’s Pub operating for weeks. Months, maybe.
“Fuck,” she agreed.
“And you—you paid that?”
“I sure did,” she said solemnly.
I was impressed. I glanced from her messy, curly green hair tucked back behind her shoulders all the way down to her tidy black laced boots. For such a tiny witch, she sure was a savvy businesswoman. “Atta girl. Need a drink?”
She nodded quickly. “Or five. I need to save my last silvers, though. For… the other thing.”
I gestured in front of me to where Rockward’s pub could be seen further down the street. “I’ll buy you a cider, princess. Itwon’t be as good as mine, though. You’ll have to make do with something mediocre.”
Her cheek lifted at the corner. “I think I’ll survive with mediocre. Thank you.”
After two decent ciders and a few slices of cheesy bread, Kizzi was looking more like herself. The healthy color returned to her cheeks, and she looked less haunted. Less like she was seconds away from vomiting on the rock beneath our feet.
She drifted toward a witchy shop on the corner. I followed behind her. I had scanned the shops already, buying myself a few items, but not many—my desire to shop was dying out the longer I was away from home.
I had already secured a few pumpkins from a mountain farmer. I was giddy about them—I had already loaded them into the carriage. It was going to be a tight fit on the return journey.
Now, I just wanted to follow Kizzi around and watch her eyes light up as she spotted things that piqued her interest.
Much to my dismay, she was still being standoffish—still acting strange after ourincidentlast night. And we still hadn’t talked about it. It pained me to lose the easy comfort that we built over the recent weeks. The closeness. The friendship.
Now she could hardly look me in the eye.
I couldn’t decide if it was worth it. The kiss had blown my mind, but if it was going to ruin the closeness between us… I wasn’t sure if I would take it back or not.
I missed her, even though she was standing right in front of me.
When we approached the shop, Kizzi turned, tilting her head back but not quite meeting my gaze. “You okay?” she asked.
“Of course,” I said, confused.
“Do you need to go look at anything else?”
I admired her pretty green eyes, the way they glimmered in the sunlight. “Are you trying to get rid of me, little witch?”
