Page 4 of Demon Bound

Not wanting to give him a chance to move on to another booth, Raiya quickly gestured to the objects propped around her table and hanging from the beam above her. There were stones and bowls and necklaces and other bits and pieces, all inscribed with magic runes. “Are you interested in enchantments?”

“Who wouldn’t be?” he said, with a charming smile that dimpled his cheek. Raiya found herself smiling back. “You’re the first mage I’ve met in Frosthaven.”

“Oh, I’m not a mage.”

“You’re not?” He glanced down at the runes with disdain. “What are these, then? Fakes?”

“Oh, no, not at all. They’re real runes. I study runic languages. And enchanting, old magic, technology of the Auren-Li period—”

“So you’re an academic.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that, exactly.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve never been to a university. Nothing formal. It’s just things I’ve picked up here and there, from books, mostly. But I’m not an expert.”

“Expert enough to do all this, evidently.”

“Yes,” she said, allowing herself a little pride. “I made everything here myself.”

He raised an eyebrow. “But they don’t actually work?”

Her pride vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “No, not exactly. But they would, if you put some magic in them. That’s why the runes don’t glow. They’ve got no power.” She cleared her throat. “I like to think of them as art pieces, sort of. Like you’d put in a museum, maybe.” It sounded stupid, and she tried not to cringe. As if her little crafts were museum worthy. “When I was young, my mother had an enchanted necklace that could turn you completely invisible for a short while. I was always fascinated by it. I’ve always loved everything about runes and enchanting. The magic, the artistry, the research that goes into them. But I can’t use magic, so I just do the part that I’m able to.”

The man seemed disappointed. She sensed she was about to lose another sale. But even more than that, she was annoyed at herself for not having been able to hold this interesting stranger’s attention. “They make very unique gifts,” she said. “Great for collectors of oddities. And theywillwork if you just get a mage to charge them. I guarantee it.”

He smiled again, to her relief. “Of course.” He glanced down at the table and then picked up the item closest to him—a shaft of white crystal inscribed with a complex mage light enchantment. It could turn all shades of the rainbow and fill a room with swirling clouds of sparkling light and color. Theoretically. Raiya had never seen it in action. “I’ll take this.”

“Oh! That’s a fantastic choice. It’s a—”

“Is this enough?” He’d fished out a coin purse and held out several gold marks.

Raiya blinked at them. The man had more money than sense. It was almost endearing. “That’s far too much. Here.” She took one of the coins from his hand.

Before she could put it away, his hand darted out to catch her wrist. He turned her hand over and put all the coins in her palm, then closed her fingers over them. The warmth of his fingers sent tingles through her. She felt her cheeks heating.

“Can you give me one more thing?” he asked.

“What’s that?”

“Dinner with the most interesting girl in Frosthaven?” He canted his head as if to examine her a little more deeply, and there was something sultry in his eyes.

Raiya wondered whether she should be offended by his forwardness. At that moment, though, she could only feel intrigued. He was far more handsome and more polite than the last few men who’d tried to approach her. One of them had been twenty years her senior, and another had been quite drunk. There was a shortage of desirable young men in Frosthaven, to be truthful, let alone ones she had anything in common with. Most of the boys she’d grown up with had moved south when they’d gotten old enough.

The man lowered his voice conspiratorially, giving her a knowing look. “I insist you say yes. I’m so godsdamned bored of chatting about local gossip and whatnot. At least an academic might have something interesting to talk about.”

Perhaps he was a bit too candid.

Or perhaps his candidness was refreshing?

What was the harm in spending a few hours with him, anyway?

“I’m not an academic,” she said again, with a shy smile. “But I’d be pleased to share a meal with you. If you insist, that is.”

“I do.”

It was terribly romantic, really, that he’d specifically picked her out of all the other women there.

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