47. Chapter 46
Ezra hadn’t seen Silas since Christmas, though he was sure Silas continued to watch him.
Ivy would return to Arcania in only a few hours, and his nerves were a mess.
While she was gone, he spent the time he had to plan the date he’d sweep her off to.
Downtown Arcania didn’t have much to it, especially in the winter, but he’d do his best to make it special for her.
Or, at least, give her some sense of normalcy in this sea of chaos.
The chilly wind blew past him as he turned the corner, and he grimaced.
God, he couldn’t wait until spring. It was his favorite season, with nature reborn and the cold melting away into warmer weather.
It was like getting another chance at life.
What was her favorite season? He never thought to ask, given all the doom and gloom that surrounded them since they met.
He turned the corner, weaving through the small post-Christmas crowd waiting for the crosswalk light.
The old brick buildings still had their decorations up—multicolored lights, plastic Santa and snowman figurines, trees and ornaments.
As he moved down the street, he noticed a community board at the park entrance, with colorful flyers blowing in the breeze.
Beneath them were flickers of Callum’s old missing posters Ezra had purposely covered with other posters earlier in the semester.
He couldn’t easily hide anything here due to some of the storefronts having cameras.
Luckily, Callum’s was the only one there.
Likely due to his and Ivy’s statements given on his disappearance.
Something prickled at the back of his neck.
He was being watched. He subtly scanned his surroundings, trying to find any faces he recognized.
But there were only strangers, and nobody looked his way.
He sighed, turning back to the board. The breeze weakened, allowing the flyers at the top to hide the missing posters again.
Guilt ate away at him as he continued to the enchantment shop. He told Silas he was done, and he meant it. Once he told Ivy the truth, would it be enough for her to forgive him?
He opened the door to the shop, and the bells above jingled cheerfully. Patchouli and bergamot instantly surrounded him like a warm hug. The shop’s walls were covered with shelves and stands filled with trinkets, baubles, ingredients, books, and more that a couple of people were perusing.
“Ah, welcome back in, dear,” the short, older woman behind the counter greeted as she spotted him. She pushed up her glasses before turning around to her cabinet. “Just finished this last night for you.”
Once he got to the front counter, she had the long black velvet jewelry box placed in front of him. She opened the lid and smiled as she pressed the tiny golden button on the side of the pendant. The enchantment sprang to life.
“Truly a special piece,” she murmured as they watched the tiny, dazzling gems shift and dance. “I’m sure your girlfriend will love it. Even if it’s a few days past the holiday.”
He chuckled, but his heart leaped at the word. “She’s not my girlfriend. Not yet, at least.” When the enchantment ended, the pendant returned to its original form. He closed the lid and took out his card. “Hopefully she will be soon.”
After he paid, he secured the box in the inside pocket of his jacket and left the store.
As soon as he stepped onto the sidewalk, a sensation crept up his neck like a spider climbing its silk thread.
His shoulders tensed as he shuffled from the store back toward Arcania.
He neared the bulletin board again on his way to the next stop and came to a halt.
If he were going to be worthy of Ivy, he’d have to let go of the approval he sought from his father.
He clenched his jaw as he turned to the papers fluttering in the wind and rearranged them so Callum’s poster was back on top.
Instead of his face being buried, lost, and forgotten, it was now at the forefront.
He glanced over his shoulder, and as he did, a head of blonde hair disappeared quickly at the end of the street behind the row of shops.
It must be the person who had been watching him.
He took off in their direction, and by the time he rounded the corner, the short woman with cropped blonde hair and an army-green jacket was already halfway down the street.
Unless his father started enlisting women into his grunt service, this person was someone he didn’t know.
And she didn’t seem the type to hang around Silas.
“Hey!” he said, his voice not quite a shout, but loud enough for her to hear him. She threw a startled look at him and took off in a run.
“Shit,” he cursed under his breath. “I only want to talk!”
He picked up his pace and followed her as she ran farther, crossing in front of an oncoming car to get away from him.
She ducked into a narrow alley between buildings.
A small loading truck rambled down the road, and he groaned as he waited for it to pass, watching the woman slink farther away.
Once he was finally able to cross, he slipped into the alleyway quietly, stepping over discarded tin cans, broken glass, and other miscellaneous trash.
As he neared the halfway point, she was nowhere to be seen.
Maybe she was cloaking herself. He could attempt to sense the magic, though he was terrible at it.
With a deep breath and a muttered incantation to enhance the spell.
His magic swept through the alley and returned with nothing.
Either she ducked into one of the buildings, or she had a much stronger cloak than he could sense.
He swallowed roughly as his stomach sank.
She didn’t seem like his father’s typical hire.
He went for those with brute strength rather than cunning.
Maybe she wasn’t working for his father.
But that left him with a much more unsettling question—who was she working for, and why did they want him followed?
When the clock struck six, he made his way to Wayfarer’s Courtyard to meet Ivy as she returned, with a bouquet of pink snapdragons and purple stargazer lilies in hand.
Luckily, the former had been enchanted not to light everything on fire without direct light.
And the latter kept its magical properties, with the lilies’ stamens opened to reveal white, sparkling pollen beneath the night sky.
The train chugged loudly in the distance as he waited on the platform.
A golden beam of light cut through the darkness, and the horn signaled as it came closer.
His nerves were sparkling just as much as the pollen, and he bounced on his feet to release some of it.
The train slowed to a stop at the station, steam billowing from its chimney.
Before the doors were even opened, his magic instinctively sought hers out.
The soft petals of her magic brushed against his excitedly, as if they missed each other as much as he missed her over the last week.
The bond only strengthened once she came into view, and all his nerves melted away at the sight of her.
She wore his beanie—though it may as well be hers now—and a yellow scarf around her neck she had tucked into her emerald jacket, and she was as beautiful as ever.
She beamed at him as she exited the train, and as soon as the attendant handed her her bag, she rushed over to him. “You’re here.” A warm smile spread across her face.
The starlight from the flowers lit her face in a faint pink-purple light, and he sighed happily. “As I said I would be,” he said, grinning at her before taking her bag and extending the flowers to her. “These are for you.”
“They’re beautiful.” As she took them, she brushed her fingers through the lit pollen, sending the tiny stars swirling through the air. She giggled. He loved that sound. He wished he heard it more often.
“I’m glad you like them,” he murmured. “How was your Christmas break?”
Her smile faded slightly as she gazed up at him. “I…I cracked the cipher.”