“Like calls to like. You taught me that key concept. Want to test it?”
“I do. Very much.”
“You’re not worried I’ll blow up Leafshire Cove?”
“Only a little.”
I laugh and we set to finishing our drinks. Once we are done, we stand at the porch’s wooden railing. I take the khymeia from my pockets and hold them up.
“There is an adamant plate on the wheel,” I explain. “It’s building energy from the turning of the wheel. It should feed into the stones when I cast a spell.”
“Go on, then.” She leans a hip on the railing and eyes me curiously.
“Is this turning you on?” I whisper.
“It is. Your brain is sexy.”
Pride swells in my chest as I lift the stones and speak my will. The stones warm and vibrate as magic sparkles in the air around us. Everyone else on the tavern’s porch is watching now, their voices hushed and excited. The memory that the spell portrays is a very old one. My father and mother walk through the large kitchen garden near the main house. I speed into the scene, covered in mud and grinning.
“Is that you?” Tully asks.
I nod. “Yes, at about seven years, I think. Same age as Rychell’s little fellow Nate.”
“Will you take me there?” Tully asks.
“To the estate? Of course. But…”
“It will be in disarray, I know. Of course, it would be because of your family’s struggles. The king hasn’t started work on the estate yet, right?”
“Not as far as I know,” I say. “All the farmers and other staff, save Hamish, left to find work.” I focus on the spell again. “Do you think the magic is working? Do you see anything I don’t?”
Tully looks around at the grasses peeking through the snow, the river’s gurgling current, the trees bare and stern above, and the folks watching my little show here.
“I think so,” she says. “I don’t feel anything draining and I’m not wearing my pickled jewelry.”
I snort a laugh. “Great. Maybe we should ask the others if they feel off at all.”
We take a while talking to the other tavern patrons as well as Cyrus, Halvard, and Rom. No one is being drained of energy, and the illusion remains strong and even takes on a hint of color. It’s not as strong as the one Tully cast in the ditchite chamber when we drained the mirror, but it’s probably as good a spell as a non-magical creature can accomplish.
Tully throws her arms around my neck. “You did it, Minotaur.”
I tuck the stones into my pockets, then grab her and lean her back for a dramatic kiss. She laughs against my lips. The crowd applauds and gathers around, peppering us with questions. Rustion has even shown up to see what I’m up to.
“Yes,” I say to Rustion’s question. “I would love to keep the stones here at the tavern if Grumlin is okay with it. Then, when someone needs magic to solve a problem, they can simply check them out like a book in a library.”
“Argos, that is an amazing idea,” Tully says.
“It is!” Rustion squeezes my shoulder.
“I’m fine with that, Argos,” Grumlin says as he lifts a pitcher.
I nod a thanks to the wizard.
Rustion grabs my hand and shakes it. “We are lucky to have you here, Argos. I hope you’ll stick around.”
Tully is watching me, her gaze pressing into me.
“I need to go back to my hometown for a while. I’m not sure what my future holds.” I turn to her, a question in my eyes. “In fact…”
