Except now…
Now, staring at him, I wonder if my grammy is right and I should have paid more attention. Because I wasn't prepared for how handsome he is.
His dark, coarse hair is cropped close to his head but still has the appearance of being a little unkempt – a feature I find somewhat distracting in a nice way. The tips of his green pointed ears stick out through the light mess. The muscles of his arms bulge as he crosses them in front of his chest, pushing that 120-thread-count linen tunic to its limits.
He manages to look both refined and barbaric at the same time, a juxtaposition that I hadn't known was possible until now.
And I am more intrigued than ever.
Why is he here in a spell shop in Starling Vale?
"Lissy!" a familiar voice exclaims, and we both turn our attention to the counter, where Noemi steps out from behind the curtain that separates the front of her spell shop from the back. "What are you doing here?"
"Hi, Noemi." I smile at her and take another step back from the orc. "I'm just here to pick up some spells for my shop."
She grins and nods. "You go through those so quickly. Luckily, I have more in the back." She gestures with her thumb behind her. "Just let me finish up with Lord Oakenshade, and I'll be right with you."
Lord Oakenshade? Oh, she means the giant orc that I'm standing next to. I never would have thought he'd like having "Lord" in front of his surname.
He frowns, like he's not used to it either.
And that's when I notice that Noemi is carrying a velvet-lined tray full of tiny vials with different colors, each containing a different potion.
For the orc?
I look over and raise an eyebrow at him. What kind of a spell would he be looking for?
He doesn't turn my way. Instead, he stalks forward to the counter as Noemi carefully sets the tray down on the glass.
"Which one is it?" His voice is gruff with impatience as he rakes his gaze over the findings.
"I brought them all out," she says slowly, thoughtfully. He glances up at her, a question in his gaze. She shrugs. "Because I'm not quite sure what you want. You want a potion that makes someone fall out of love, correct?"
"Yes, but…" He scratches the back of his neck with a massive hand nearly as big as my whole head, and I realize that he's unsure of himself at this moment. It doesn't look like he feels this way very often. "I don't want it to break her heart."
I open my mouth to ask, "Whose heart?" but Noemi shoots me a furtive look to keep quiet.
Right, client confidentiality. Maybe I need to step out while this transaction is taking place.
Except I'm rooted to my spot because I want to see what he says next.
"Well," she says at length, "that's the problem with falling out of love. It's going to break a heart or two, because most of these will cause anger or indifference or something, which will trigger the falling out of love – but that effect is not permanent, and she will feel her heart break after that."
He's silent for a long moment. "Isn't there a way to… I don't know… cause her to want to be friends? Or maybe a spell for him? Just… anything so they're not in love anymore."
He's not talking about a relationship he's in, I realize. This is about someone else.
"If your goal is to avoid a broken heart for her," Noemi explains, "then anything you give him is going to break her heart immediately. And anything you give her will wear off, and she will feel the effects at some point."
"How long?"
Noemi blinks. "Pardon?"
"How long until the effect wears off?"
She hesitates. "Depends. The longest lasts about a month. Then it breaks, and she feels everything it kept from her."
He combs a hand through that thick crop of coarse hair. "Why is nothing permanent?" he asks, frustration etched into his stance.
