Unable to believe her cursed luck, she looked down, then her gaze was drawn to the fragrant red…something in Candara’s cauldron. “What’s that? A love potion?”
Candara laughed. “It’s lunch. Would you care for some?” Snapping her fingers, a bowl appeared in her hand filled with the cauldron’s contents. She held it toward Gisela.
It smelled wonderful, but she wasn’t dumb enough to even try to eat something from a witch’s cauldron. “No, thank you.”
“Suit yourself.” She sipped from the bowl as she turned toward Xaydin. “Pick your potion, brat. The trackers and warnings are behind you.”
“Easier said than done.” Xaydin skimmed the bottles she’d mentioned while Masakage ladled a bowl of red stew for himself.
Candara moved to sit on an old wooden stool to wait. “You may pick a potion as well, princess. But be warned. My work calls out to you for two reasons. Either you need it or it needs you. Choose wisely.”
Those words confused her. “What?”
Before Candara could respond, Xaydin picked up a gray swirling mist held in a large teardrop-shaped bottle. “Angel’s Envy? How did you get this?”
Candara shrugged. “Envy exists everywhere. Even the divine.”
“I understand, but how did you come by this?”
She swallowed her bite of food. “I don’t ask you about your skills. Why would you ask me about mine?”
“Point taken.”
But Gisela definitely wanted to ask, especially as she saw the one marked Unicorn Blood. “How many potions are here?”
“No idea. I make them when I know they’re needed.” She took another sip of her stew, then jerked her chin toward the shelf behind Gisela. “You might want to browse in that area. I have a feeling you’ll find what you need there.”
Masakage moved to sit beside his sister on another stool.
Gisela glanced over the bottles until she saw the vibrant red, heart-shaped bottle marked with a single word.Love. “I didn’t think you could make someone fall in love with you.”
Candara laughed. “Creatures do it every day. They fall in and out of love at whim. Therefore, love potions are easy to enact. However, that is not what you think. It’s made from the tears of a lost love to strengthen a heart so that it can withstand heartache.”
“Then why does it sayLove?”
“Look at the label.”
It now readTears of Love Lost.
How? She could have sworn the other words weren’t there when she’d first picked it up. And now that she looked closer, she realized there were all kinds of tears on the shelf.“Tears of a Writer?”
She nodded. “A very special and powerful concoction. Creates all manner of chaos.”
“How so?” Gisela asked.
“Creativity and pain. Potent mixture. Also, very unpredictable. Not something I recommend for a novice user or anyone who’s unable to magically defend themselves, as it is averycreative potion.”
That was terrifying so she went to the next yellow bottle. “Tears of Enemies?”
“Also very potent, but not nearly as much as theBlood of Enemies. Those come with all manner of warnings.”
Gisela had no response to that. Only one question. “How do you get all these ingredients?”
An insidious smile curved her lips. “I have my ways.”
Xaydin took a purple swirling bottle. “I’ll take this one.”
Candara glanced at it. “You might also wantDead Speak.”
