As she laughs, her eyes crinkle with delight behind her glasses. “I don’t look like I play, do I?”
I pause to give her outfit a once-over: black denim overall skirt over a white-and-red-checkered button-up shirt. There are hearts embroidered on the lapels, and the skirt flares outward in a way that accentuates her curves. “You look like you’re too cool for us, actually,” I say.
She pretends to flip her hair over her shoulder, even though she’s got it pinned up in space buns today. “Truthfully, I asked to play.” I lift the pitcher of tea, and she follows behind with the cookies as we walk to the game room. “I’ve been exploring new hobbies and trying to find new outlets, you know? And Liam and I have always been buds.”
I imagine if I had to listen to middle schoolers play out of tune all day, I’d need an outlet as a big, muscled barbarian dude, too.
We join the others in the game room, where Morgan and Noahhave their heads bent together across the table, discussing what elaborate outfits their characters are wearing to the wedding. Jules is quick to chime in as she hovers over them, pouring drinks and arranging her cookies. As the others go on about their wardrobe selections, I sit and jot down notes in my journal alongside rough sketches. I’d already drawn Jaylie—why not the others? As Morgan laughs at something Noah says, I keep my eyes on the page and outline Morgana’s confident smirk.
I wonder if Noah’s asked her to show him around town, too.
“All right, all right—are we ready to get started?” Liam asks. Everyone settles in and pulls out tiny velvet bags identical to the one holding my own dice—we’d rolled only a few dice during our first session, and I hadn’t noticed them in detail. My heart melts to realize that Liam must have gifted everyone their first set. Morgan’s dice are a dark, decadent red with swirls of gold threaded throughout, and Jules’s are a stormy purple. Noah’s are a mix of different clover-green tones, and he energetically passes them back and forth between his hands. I marvel at how thoughtfully chosen they all were. When Liam first gave me my set, I’d simply admired how pretty they were, but it occurs to me now that they look just like the Goddess of Luck’s gold coins.
As Liam prepares the last of his notes, Noah’s voice floats toward me from across the table. “Which color? You should ask Sadie, not me. She’s the artist.”
Morgan turns to me from where she sits on my left. Her perfume is a sharp, citrusy cloud around us. “Are you really, Sadie?” She glances at my notebook, and her brows climb her forehead in surprise. “Is that my girl?” She taps a pointed red fingernail over my sketch of Morgana.
“I—yeah. I like to doodle.” Internally, I wince.Doodle?
“She’s perfect,” Morgan gushes.
I look up to find Noah smiling at us—at me. His eyes danceover my features, lingering on the side of my face. “Picked those out special for today, didn’t you?”
I twirl one of my dagger earrings between my fingertips. “Maybe.”
“So thematic,” Morgan says with a laugh. “Can you draw some for Morgana, too?”
“I’m on it.”
“Well, if we’re all set, then?” Although he addresses the whole table, Liam’s gaze is pinned on me. He’s using his teacher voice. I’m the kid in the back of the class who won’t stop talking.
“I’ve got all my spells. Let’s do it,” I say.
“And I’ve got my songs picked out.” Noah reaches under his chair and produces a cheap-looking ukulele out of seemingly nowhere. The table collectively groans good-naturedly, and Jules claps her hands together with a laugh. Liam looks pleased to have inspired such a high level of participation.
Noah meets my eyes across the table and grins.
“Excellent,” Liam says. “Then allow me to paint a picture of where we left off…”
Chapter
Five
“You have until the count of ten to explain to me why I’m dressed like this before I introduce you to the sharp end of my axe.”
The threat drips off of Kain’s fangs with menace, but Jaylie is more surprised to hear the man string together so many words at once.
“Oh hush,” Loren chides. “I think you look rather handsome.” With a flourish, the bard expertly ties off the black bow tie around Kain’s neck. It appears comedically tiny when situated atop the tiefling’s broad chest and shoulders. Below it, the fabric of his smart black butler’s suit strains against his muscles, two sizes too small. They’d had to rip a hole in the seat of the pants to make room for his tail, which snaps back and forth with annoyance. Jaylie is reminded fondly of her grouchy kitten, Charm, waiting for her at her Lady’s temple.
Teeth bared, Kain continues to hiss out his countdown. “Seven. Eight. Nine…”
“It’s part of the plan, Kain,” Jaylie stresses. “Remember?”
Back at the tavern, Dorna had laid out every detail. Their mission is simple: ensure nothing goes wrong at the wedding of their eccentric and rich employer, Lord Aurelio Donati.
Although Jaylie herself is no mage, even she’s heard of Donati,the city of Belandar’s most beloved wizard. He boasts a seat on the Arcane Assembly, a professorship at the Arcane Academy, and a reputation for having boundless generosity and deep, deep pockets, so it’s no wonder Dorna is quite eager to please her newest client. To stay in line with the groom’s wish not to have obvious armed guards in attendance on the happiest day of his life, each member of Jaylie’s party is given a disguise and a perfectly good reason to be at the wedding.
“Really, we gave you the easiest job of all. And the best opportunity for scouting,” Loren adds.
