Inspecting the flower in her hand, she made a humming noise. “Are there any mushrooms that can do the same?”
I nodded. “Reishi and cordyceps are two of them.”
Her grin widened, and suddenly five of each mushroom appeared on the ground in front of me.
I giggled, dropping to my knees and gathering the mushrooms before stuffing them inside my bag. “I love your power.”
“I do too.” She winked. “I also love that you know all the medicinal properties of mushrooms. I’ve learned a lot from you already.”
“I love that you have an interest in it!” I climbed back to my feet as we continued making our way through the forest. “Alice was never big on using mushrooms for the pharmacy, but I never understood why. I think it was just a preference thing. Mushrooms are, by far, one of the most potent ingredients in most of my salves.”
“Mushrooms are superior.” She stuck her tongue out before hopping over a few tree trunks.
“They’re good, but the last thing I need for the cream is ginseng,” I muttered, scanning the area for any sign of the herb.
I knew the herb had to be in this forest, but finding it proved to be more than difficult. Maybe I could stop by the Vinery and see if they knew where it was.
“Isn’t there any mushroom I can conjure that’ll do the same thing?” Trixie whined.
“Yes, but I’ve noticed this herb tends to merge better with my magic than anything else.” I clicked my tongue as I continued looking for it. “The herb I’m trying to find is a green leafy plant. I need the root of it.”
“Why do you need a healing cream so badly?” She stopped walking and turned to give me a pointed stare. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. Healing cream is great to keep handy, but you’re searching like your life depends on it.”
I sighed, stopping beside her. “Fine. I noticed that Damien always has cuts on him, and sometimes, they take an entire day to heal.”
She frowned, messing with the bun on top of her head. “Shadow demons tend to hurt themselves to replenish their energy. He’s probably cutting himself to do that. It’s common for them.”
My chest squeezed as I remembered how easily he’d snapped his finger back. “He does it to himself?”
“Maybe.” She scratched her arm and flicked her gaze to the side. “I’m not sure, because I haven’t seen the cuts you’re talking about, but I just want you to keep that in mind. Okay?”
“Okay.” I frowned as Damien’s face popped into my mind. “But even if he is doing it to himself, I want him to have the option to heal it quicker if he wanted to.”
“You really do care for him.”
My heartbeat sped up, and a tingle of heat trickled down my back. “Of course I do.”
Her gaze met mine for a moment before she jerked her head back toward campus. “Come on. Let’s head to the herbs shop. It’s a bit off campus, but it’s where the Vinery gets all their herbs from.”
“Are we allowed to go off campus?” The thought hadn’t even occurred to me. Nobody had ever mentioned it before, and I was never allowed out of the village back in Briesia.
“Yes.” She nodded slowly before her mouth dropped. “Don’t tell me you haven’t been off campus!”
I held my hands up in defense. “I didn’t even know we could with everything going on.”
“I don’t feel any safer on campus with everything going on,” she said as she glanced around. “Besides, we’re not in a prison. We’re free to come and go as we wish.”
Biting my lip, I glanced around. The forest was eerily quiet today. I hadn’t noticed much wildlife, but winter was coming soon. They could’ve been off preparing.
“What about money? I have a little bit saved up from when I lived in Briesia. But they didn’t pay very well.”
“If you can’t afford it, I’ll pitch in.”
Damien had said he had some stuff to do today for about an hour, so that was why I’d rushed out to find the herbs. I wanted to surprise him. We’d spent most of the hour searching and coming up empty.
Meeting Trixie’s excited gaze, I caved. “I really do need that herb.”
“Thank you for your business!” The elder witch waved us out of her shop, and I tightened my grip on the five medium-sized bags of herbs.
