“No evil stepfathers in Haiwella to keep you entertained?”
Her expression sobered. “Sadly, I’m certain there are some in the city, too. But life is different there. You don’t know most people.”
I understood that life must be different in a city packed with thousands of people, but it was hard for me to imagine. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to live in a place where you could walk past people and they’d have no idea who you were. That sort of anonymity could be peaceful, too.”
Mina shrugged, looking away. I expected her to argue, but she was done with the topic. “My turn. What do you do when you aren’t in the forge?”
I felt my cheeks heat. Before, I had spent my free time doing a few different things, but since Powell’s interference, I had given up most activities. Which meant there was only one answer I could give Mina. “I sketch.”
She raised a brow. “What types of things do you draw?”
“Jewelry mostly.” At least half of my sketches were designs. Most of the rest were different views in and around Skorsa. But the most recent sketch, the one I had worked on the past two evenings when I couldn’t risk leaving the house with Powell still at home, was of Mina.
“Ooh, I want to see those. Your work is amazing. Have you made anything else with the gold I gave you?”
“Not yet. Making the ring without risking Powell seeing me handling the gold was hard enough. I’ll wait until his next trip into Haiwella to bring it out again.”
She frowned. “How closely does he monitor you?”
“When nothing has aroused his suspicions? Not very. But he is erratic enough that bringing the gold out is a risk. He’ll check what I’m doing at the oddest times. And the past few days, he’s been checking more often than usual.”
“We need to find the charm and break it. Or turn it over to the authorities.”
Mina’s outrage made me smile. Now that I wasn’t giving up, I agreed that I needed to address the problem of the charm, but I wasn’t in a rush. “I thought we agreed that telling the authorities wouldn’t help. They’d be under the influence of the charm.”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” Mina shifted, dislodging my arm as she turned to face me fully. “If we brought someone in from Haiwella, and made sure they came with a magic-breaking charm to protect themselves, we could catch Powell.”
“I wouldn’t even know how to contact the authorities in Haiwella, let alone convince them to come here with a charm like that.” Magic-breakers were almost as rare as mind-benders. The charms they made to nullify all magic were understandably expensive.
Mina glanced away. “I could manage it. I have the connections needed, but I’d have to return to Haiwella.”
“Don’t.” My denial came without hesitation. Her eyes snapped up to mine, and a protest formed on her lips, but I cut her off. “Don’tgo back to Haiwella early. You only have a little time left in Skorsa as it is. If I can’t find the charm and break it before you need to leave, then you can use your connections, but I’d rather have more time with you than escape Powell’s machinations a few days earlier.”
“Alan.” My name was a soft exhalation, equal parts exasperated and delighted.
I gave into the need coursing through me and cupped her cheek in my hand. I kissed her, careful to keep the contact soft and brief. “Don’t run off to Haiwella early. Certainly don’t do so on my account. I’d rather have more time with you than less.”
So long as I had Mina, I didn’t care if Powell controlled the rest of the village.
Seventeen
Mina
???
Running my thumbover the pattern of thorns engraved on my ring, I waited outside the village hall. I needed to talk to Sam. I needed a second opinion.
With every question Alan had asked me last night, it had become harder to maintain a balance between telling him the truth and not revealing my identity. I might not have been able to say the words, but they had almost spilled out multiple times, all the same. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I didn’t want to reveal my rank, either. The guilt of maintaining my secret and the need to wait until I told Alan warred within me. The correct answer was no longer obvious.
A dose of Sam’s insightfulness was just what I needed. Not that I planned to tell him that Alan was the reason I no longer wanted to hide. Not with the heart-changing charm still affecting him. But I could get his opinion without telling him all the details.
“That’s a pretty fierce glare, Mina,” Sam announced the moment he walked out the door.
I tried to smooth out my expression. “Join me for the noon meal? I bought pasties at the tavern. I thought we could go sit by the stream and eat.”
Sam pulled the basket from my arm, peeking under the cloth to see what was inside. He found the slice of cake I also bought and pinched off a bite. “Are you going to glare at me the whole time?”
So much for smoothing my expression. “If you eat all the dessert yourself, yes.”
