Page 70 of Of Potions and Honey
Mira stared at her feet. “Someone would’ve figured it out, I’m sure.”
“Maybe.” She looked up when Kayden nudged her. “But you definitely did. I think the town owes you one for that.”
Mira chuckled, suddenly bone-tired. “I don’t know. This was just as much about me as it was about everyone else.”
“You could have just left,” Yoni pointed out. “But you didn’t.”
“No.” Mira looked down at the bottle she was still holding. Brushed a thumb over the image of the fountain. Looked back up to find three pairs of eyes on her. A wide, exhausted smile crept on her face. “I guess I just figured that all of this? That’s worth it to stay and fight for.”
Twenty-Nine
Thesunwassettingbehind the trees, and all around the town square, lamps and lanterns were being lit. Mira had forgotten about that; her stall was illuminated only by two flickering candles in old glass lanterns that Harper had lent her. That was all right though. She was almost out of stock anyway.
After the crowd had dispersed, people had come with questions. So, so many questions. Mira had tried to answer them to the best of her abilities, and in ways that would not come back to haunt her in the form of a sternly worded letter from Golden River’s solicitors. Thankfully, Gemma and Rue had kept the stall going the whole time. Rue had seized the opportunity to loudly sing the praises of ‘the town hero’s magnificent potions’, which had been so embarrassing as to make Mira wish that the ground would open up and swallow her. It had been undeniably effective though. By the time Gemma had spotted Yoni lingering nearby and gently shooed Mira away to ‘go see her pretty neighbour’, there had been half a box of bottles left, and even those were probably gone by now.
If nothing else, then maybe Mira could at least make another payment, and stay for just a little while longer.
“You look like you badly need a nap.”
Mira laughed as they sat down on the edge of the fountain, each with a ‘Honeywood Kiss’ in hand, something Emilia had insisted she hadn’t just come up with when she had served them the delicious concoction of mead, lemon and mint. Mira had steadfastly ignored the fact that her face felt as hot as a furnace, complimented her on the creative name, and pretended not to hear Emilia cackling when she, Kayden and Yoni left the inn. Kayden, with the smuggest smile Mira had ever seen on his face, had excused himself, which left Mira and Yoni alone to sit down and enjoy their drinks.
Legs outstretched, Mira looked up at the darkening sky, finally able to just sit and breathe for a moment.
“I need a week of sleep.”
“Aww.” When Mira glanced sideways, Yoni was pouting in a rather exaggerated manner. “You’d miss our walk?”
Mira sat up a little straighter. “Not for the whole world.” Something fluttered in her chest, and before she could think, she’d held out her hand. “I’ll be there, rain or shine. That’s a promise.”
Yoni held her gaze. “Don’t promise things you can’t stick to, Mira.”
“I’m not. I’m going to make this work. If you want to.”
The way Yoni’s lips parted, she knew as well as Mira that this was no longer about a walk. Slowly, she reached out, weaving her fingers through Mira’s. The tiniest smile appeared on her face, but it was there, and that was all Mira needed to feel like her feet had left the ground entirely.
“I do. We’ll make it work.”
Mira smiled a little crooked. “If I don’t try hard enough, are you going to get all scary again?”
“I’m not-” Yoni snapped her mouth shut and exhaled sharply. “You were never scared of me.”
“Of course not.” Mira leaned in a little closer. “But… you are a formidable woman. That’s very motivating in a number of ways.”
Yoni blinked slowly, but didn’t move to pull away. “Motivating to do what, exactly?”
“This and that.” Mira waggled her eyebrows. “Maybe something foolish, every now and again.”
“Foolish how?” Yoni pursed her lips. “Mira, I swear, if you want to kiss me, just-”
This time, it was Mira who cut her off by closing the distance between them. For a moment, time seemed to come to a halt, like the universe was courteously allowing them to have one single timeless, weightless moment. Allowed Mira to smell the mint on Yoni’s breath, taste the honey on her lips, put down her glass and pull Yoni closer, until they were pressed against each other with no space left between them.
When they finally, after what seemed like an eternity, broke apart again, Mira’s heart beat an elated staccato in her chest. She knew she was grinning like a fool, but right now, she didn’t care. Maybe she’d never care again, as long as this would never end.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.”
Yoni’s eyes were wide, but she stayed close. “It was about damn time.”
Laughing, Mira leaned in again, pressing another quick kiss to Yoni’s lips. “We can always catch up.”
