Rian took it as I slipped off my cloak. Then I turned around and lifted my hair. The metal was cool against my skin, but only for a second when it brushed up against my neck. Thenit lay on my shirt, and the weight of the pendant felt good. I didn't experience instant clarity, but when I turned around, Rian's smile brightened, and that was all the clarity I needed.
“Here you are.” The woman offered me a hand mirror.
I lifted the mirror and stared at the gleaming eye on my chest. It hung low, below my collar. Perfect. It would still be visible if I wore a cravat. “It's wonderful,” I said. “Beautiful and unusual.”
“Perfect for you,” Rian said. To the woman, he said, “Let's complete the purchase.”
They walked over to a desk, where she wrote out a receipt, then noted the sale in a ledger. I followed, absently watching her write. It occurred to me that she'd do well with my coin counter, but I didn't like pushing my inventions on people, and this may not even be her shop. She was probably just a saleswoman. Before I could withdraw, something compelled me to speak.
“I'm an inventor,” I said. “My shop is on Citrine Lane. I think you'd like one of my inventions. Or whoever owns this shop would. It's a coin counter.”
“I own this shop. Do you mean a coin counter like this?” She pointed at a Hulfrin device that was used for multiplying numbers.
“No, it's for sales. A reckoner used to facilitate computation,” I explained. “It keeps track of how much money you have, the amount of each type of coin, and keeps them contained in a locked box. When you make a sale, you input the charge, then the amount your customer pays, and it tells you how much change to offer, then gives you the new total of coins in the box. I call it a reckoiner.”
“That's ingenious.” She straightened, then grinned. “And a clever name too.”
“Thank you.” I beamed at her. “My shop is called Galin's Emporium. Come by sometime, and I'll show you how it works.”
“I will. Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
“Here you are.” Rian handed over some coins, but did so discreetly, so I couldn't see how many or the type of metal.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” She inclined her head. “Let me fetch its storage case.” She went to a shelf and drew forth a blue velvet box, then wrapped it in thin paper and put that in a cloth bag. “Here you are. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you for your help.” Rian tucked the bag into his cloak, then helped me resettle my cloak around my shoulders. “Good day to you.”
“And to you both. Enjoy the necklace, Galin.”
I grinned at her over my shoulder. “I'm feeling more clear-minded already.”
Chapter Thirty
“Thank you,” I said to Rian, my fingers playing with the pendant. “I love it.”
“You're welcome.” He settled back against the carriage bench with me. “That was fun.”
“Buying me jewelry is fun?”
“It would have been more fun if you'd let me buy you wing bands, but yes.”
I sighed.
“There you go.” He shook his head. “You don't even need to speak to reject me.”
“Rian,” I said in a soft, chiding tone. “I'm not rejecting you. I just can't marry you unless I'm your mate. It would hurt even more to find out I wasn't your mate if we were married. Then I'd have to live in constant fear of your mate showing up.”
Rian nodded. “I understand.”
I grimaced at him.
“I do,” he said with a laugh. “And I'm confident enough in us that I can wait. One day soon, you will wear a pair of wingbands for me and hold a piece of my soul, Galin. That's the vow I'll make to you today since you allow me no others.”
I shivered in delight and excitement, a little of his confidence seeping into me. To wear Rian's bands would be . . . it would be wondrous. To feel that weight on my bones, the constant assurance that he was mine, and I was his. I'd like that. I'd love it. It would be so much better than a collar.
“Ah, now there's a better reaction,” Rian said, even though I hadn't spoken.
