When I reached the boulder by the stairs, I realized no one was there. Standing there, listening to the water as it flowed over a series of stepping stones, I wondered if I had even seen the words on Mina’s lips, asking me to come. It made more sense that I had invented the invitation.
Nevertheless, I settled on the large boulder near the stairs and waited.
I thought I was imagining it when I spotted a fine leather boot stepping onto the first stair. I lifted my head and stared at Mina. Under Powell’s watchful gaze, I hadn’t dared to look too closely, but now I indulged.
She was slender, with a gamine figure. Except with her rosy lips and wide eyes, not to mention her hair, she was femininity itself. That hair reached the middle of her back in a curtain of fine silvery-blonde strands held back solely by a dark pink kerchief.
I realized I was staring as if she were a mirage that would disappear when I blinked. But she was flesh and blood. And already at the bottom of the steps.
I stood up.
“You broke your knife on purpose.” I had considered the possibility earlier, but dismissed it. It didn’t make sense. Yet, looking at her, seeing the determination in the set of her shoulders, I knew it was the truth.
She tossed a bit of hair that had fallen over her shoulder back. “I did. I wanted to see how different the smithy was when Master Powell was around.”
“Why?” I watched her run her thumb over the rose ring. She had worn it that morning, too. If anyone else had started wearing such a piece, people would have assumed that it was a betrothal gift. There would’ve been questions. I wondered if Mina’s life back in Haiwella was so different that such a ring meant nothing to her. Given thenecklace she had handed me without hesitation, her life was very different from what I knew.
She noticed me staring at her hand. “It helps.”
“What?”
“When I start thinking that you don’t deserve recognition, the ring reminds me of what an incredible smith you are.”
My breath caught. “You know what’s going on.”
She shook her head. “No, that’s the problem. I don’t understand what is going on. I know you are a talented smith, but everyone insists you are a disappointment. Even I have trouble remembering, for which I apologize.”
“You’re the first person to notice the oddity in years, so I hardly think you owe me an apology. Unfortunately, I can’t explain it, either. I don’t know how he does it.”
“So, it is Powell who is responsible?”
I grabbed a pebble from the ground, tossing it in the air and letting it smack back into my palm. “It has to be him.”
“When did it start? When he first moved to Skorsa?”
I shook my head. “No. It wasn’t until my mother’s death. Or maybe when she first got sick. Everything sort of blurs together from that time.”
Mina’s hand lifted, as if she would reach out and touch me, but she stopped before completing the motion. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to stir up painful memories.”
I threw the stone into the stream, the splash swallowed by the sound of moving water. “At least the memories are in the past. I need to face them if I have any hope of figuring out how Powell cursed me.”
A line formed between Mina’s brows, and she bit her lip. “I don’t think it is a curse. I know of an instance involving a curse, and it took the power of a node. Powell isn’t even a mage, is he?”
“Not as far as I know. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t. He could have a node-tie for all I know.”
She shook her head. “I doubt it. He wouldn’t be trying to set himself up in Skorsa if he had a tie to a node somewhere else.”
“Maybe that is why he goes back to Haiwella so often.”
“If he is actually going to Haiwella, then it isn’t to access a node. The only one in the city is blood-locked to the royal family. Besides, even if he visited a node, it wouldn’t help him affect the people of Skorsa. He must be using a charm or an enchantment.”
I scooped another rock from the ground and tossed it from hand to hand. I had long suspected Powell was using magic against me—no other explanation fit—but it was still unnerving to hear Mina come to the same conclusion. It made the situation that much more impossible. What hope did I have to overcome magic?
When I said nothing, Mina spoke again. “Tell me about how the villagers react to you. I know what they have said about you, but what about when you tried to convince them that you are skilled?”
My shoulders slumped. “I’m not sure I ever tried.”
“What?” Mina wasn’t shocked so much as outraged. “You never tried to counter Powell?”
