Then, as if realizing something, his smile faded. His expression grew somber. ‘Oh, that means Eva must be gone. You must miss her.’
Even the people of Old Town knew about the Enchanted Forest and its rules. With his words, Bisma’s heart felt as though it had been pierced with a dozen tiny thorns. Before she could stop herself, her eyes teared up. He was cruel, rubbing salt into her wound in such a manner, reminding her of her grief.
She had been sorry to have been away from town for so long, but now she felt she should have stayed away longer if only to avoidhim.
‘I haven’t seen you in some time,’ Xander said, changing the subject. His eyes sparkled. ‘Old Man Hughes was asking for a potion for his stomach ache, said what you’d given him had helped, but not quite enough.’
She’d given him a simple potion that should have alleviated his pain, but the fact that it hadn’t meant that this was no simple stomach bug; likely, the old man had an infection. She’d need to use the root of karu—a deep blue flower, spotted with green and white—to make a potion for him, something Xander easily could have done.
She arched her brow. ‘Not clever enough to make it yourself?’
She wondered why he hadn’t taken the chance to steal a customer from her while she had been away. These past few years, Bisma has had consistent and loyal customers, but it was nothing compared to Xander’s family business. The Chapman Apothecary had been around since Old Town was founded overtwo hundred years ago; most of the villagers bought directly from the Apothecary, which was why most of Bisma’s clientele were those looking for poisons, not potions.
Xander shrugged easily. ‘Hughes is your customer.’
She frowned. His kindness was a trick, she was sure. The wind blew through his copper hair as she regarded him closely. He let her, not the least perturbed by her assessing gaze, whereas the other villagers avoided her glance the moment she set it upon any of them.
‘You know,’ he said, ‘if you supplied your potions to the Apothecary, we could work together and you wouldn’t have to worry about delayed shipments.’
There it is.It wasn’t enough that he planned to seduce her, now he wished to control her business, as well?
‘I would rather poison myself than work with you,’ she said.
At that, he grew tense. He lowered his voice, stepping closer. Heat ran through her at his proximity. ‘You really ought to stop with all this poison business,’ he said sternly.
Indignation ran through her. ‘Who are you to tell me to stop?’
‘Why must you argue?’ he asked, which was rich, sincehewas the one always arguing withher. ‘It’s just not … right,’
How condescending. Perfect Xander with his perfect life. What did he know?
‘I don’t care for what is right or wrong,’ she lied.
‘You should,’ he said, eyebrows furrowing. He looked concerned. ‘Last week a man was so ill he could not swallow anything but water and stale bread for five days. It was a peculiar case.’
Bisma was familiar with the case, of course, because she was the one who’d poisoned him.
The man in mention was a father of four and spent all his wife’s hard-earned money on liquor. His wife had discreetly approached Bisma for a poison that would make liquor repellantto him, and the poison Bisma had concocted was meant to do just that. It wouldn’t have killed him to survive on stale bread and water.
Of course she couldn’t tell Xander that. Her clients trusted her to keep their secrets; their confidentiality was paramount. While Xander may have been able to tell that the drunk was poisoned, the man himself would not be able to. It was why many of her poisons were subtle, for the protection of those soliciting her business.
‘I healed him,’ Xander said. Irritation flared through her, and she glowered. Xander hardly noticed. ‘You need to be careful,’ he warned. ‘I spotted your handiwork; others may as well.’
‘You only noticed because you’re a garden-witch, too,’ she replied. ‘You know your potions.’
‘No,’ he said, his voice softening. Something turned in his expression, the severity giving way to tenderness. ‘I know you.’
A shiver ran down her spine. She felt hot and cold at once as she looked up into his eyes, noticing how large his pupils had become. His eyes were dark, the lids lowered as he gazed down at her.
The breath lodged in her throat as she scanned his face, her heart hammering loudly in her ears. Xander took a step closer, the warmth of his body infiltrating her space. He smelled like herbs and earth and rain, like sinking her hands deep into the dirt, magic sprouting plants in response.
Despite the warning bells ringing in her head, Bisma took a small step forward. He lifted an elegant hand as if to touch her face.
She jolted.No!she scolded herself.
She scowled, taking a big step back.
He looked startled and dropped his hand.
