I frowned. “No.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“It’s a good deal,” the seller said. “That dagger took me forever.”
Cyrus sized him up. Then shook his head. “You didn’tforgethis blade”
“Yes, I did!”
“No.” Cyrus turned it over. “The smith’s mark is right here. This is not your mark. It doesn’t even match the other ones you have. They’re all different. I don’t know where this dagger came from, or how you’ve come to have it, but I have met this man. You’re not him.”
“Well, he’s a friend,” he said.
“What’s his name?”
“Fine. Eighteen,” the seller said.
Cyrus laughed. “For a stolen dagger? Hilarious. I’ve got twelve and I won’t tell this crowd about your swindling.”
“There’s no way I’m doing twelve!” he said.
“Oh, for crying out loud,” I huffed. I dug into my pouch and retrieved the eighteen copper, loudly—and accidentally— slamming it onto the peddler’s cloth.
He scooped it into a sack before Mr. Evergreen could stop him.
With pride, I took the dagger and looked it over.
Cyrus arched a brow. “You overpaid for that,” he said. He moved us on.
“You know the maker,” I said. “It’s not important to you?”
He smirked. “I don’t know the maker, love.”
“But you said-”
“I say a lot of things,” he replied. “And I would’ve gotten that for twelve had you not meddled.”
“But you were walking away?” I said.
“Was I?” he asked.
His eyes went over my back, but when I looked to see if Sam was there, he wasn’t. Mr. Evergreen replaced his hand where it had been and led me around a corner of the bazaar. It was gone as soon as we arrived at a shop.
“That, um, that feels good. I like it when you touch me,” I said.
He quirked a brow, resting his hand on the knob of the door. “As happy as I am to hear those words, do me a favor and don’t flaunt your wealth like that again.”
“Ugh. Here,”I told him, handing him the knife.
“You’regivingit to me?” he asked.
“Yes.” I scoffed.
“Why?”
“I wasn’t flaunting my wealth; I thought the blade was special to you. That’s why I bought it. It’s not like it’s forme.”
Cyrus wet his bottom lip. He took the dagger and put it into his belt near the sword, then nodded, quickly opening the doorand taking me inside. It was a quiet boutique, save for the bell above the door that chimed as we passed through.
