The Love Schematic (Marriage Market Misadventures #6)

Chapter 1

“This invention will change the world,” Blaze muttered as he rushed down the cobblestone street. He danced around an automaton that was falling to pieces, scattering its bits on the road, and then weaved underneath a runaway balloon that had a pair of wings attached.

Inventor’s Row held nearly every workshop in Manabelt, and each was filled to the brim with brilliant elves who’d finished their projects for the Everend Market Innovation Awards.

Open to anyone on the continent with a dazzling new creation, Gearwickians threw themselves into their passions to craft wonders of magic and technology.

Only a few weeks were left before the marriage mart season.

The unofficial tradition of showing off one’s invention had begun in earnest.

Inventing took more than brains and arcane talents.

It took materials. Procuring them took money.

Neither of his fathers had created a profitable invention in decades, though their house was covered in designs and tinkerings.

Their home was always overflowing with love and respect, but the only thing keeping it up was the stacks and stacks of unfinished ideas, abandoned because the materials needed to complete them were too costly or too rare.

Blaze had sworn his creations would never see the same fate, but so far, his attempts to secure funding had failed.

His impending meeting could change his stars. No, would change them and set him on a course out of this hive of overthinking builders constantly on the brink of ruin. He’d set out across the world, and all of elfdom would know his name.

He simply had to get a working prototype to Everend Market.

The chimes of the city center’s clocktower rang the hour.

Rusted cogs, he was late! Blaze picked up his pace. Arriving sweaty and out of breath was a bad way to make a first impression, but it had to be better than wasting Lord Gustus Stelen’s time.

The Stelen noble family had owned the estate in the middle of Inventor’s Row for generations.

Lord Gustus, the current head of the family, had moved his relatives to a luxurious house out in the forest and renovated their original tower into a building dedicated to the business of invention.

It was the first of its kind in Manabelt.

That was wealth. That would be the riches Blaze would have when his invention was fully realized.

Blaze rushed through the gates of the Stelen workshop complex.

The courtyard had a ring of smaller buildings, many of which had large openings that were thrown open in the brisk spring weather.

Elves worked on toys and instruments, produced farm equipment, and enchanted household items under the banner of the Stelen family.

The hum of hammers and low chatter was a gentle background to the sound of the grand fountain in the middle of the courtyard that Gustus’s father had built a century ago. Gears carried water from the base to spill over mechanisms that caused various figures to dance.

Blaze had spent countless hours watching the gears move in unison when he was an elfling.

He’d studied the way each figure twisted and turned.

It was the most beautiful creation he’d ever witnessed.

And the fact that it used water for the sheer pleasure of its movement was a luxury no one else in Manabelt could afford.

I’ll build ten of these one day. Blaze rushed past it toward the tall building in the back.

Cool air flowed from the open doorway. Blaze clutched his satchel tighter and stepped into the grand foyer.

A staff member waited just beyond a golden line laid into the floor.

Runic script adorned the walls, but Blaze didn’t feel the press of magic as he approached the line.

At least two of what he saw were identify spells, but perhaps others suppressed magic so that it was unnoticeable.

Or had someone forgotten to charge the spells? That seemed like poor security.

“Mr. Levimist?” the staff person asked.

Blaze was here on a mission, not to gawk at potential flaws in the noble Stelen family’s prowess. He smiled. “Yes, that’s me.”

The staff person gestured toward the lift. “Please head to the fifth floor.”

“Thank you.” Blaze dipped his head in acknowledgment, then hurried on his way. The soles of his good leather boots were a grating sound in the otherwise silent foyer.

The lift was another inspiring feat of gears and magic working in unison.

He’d crafted similar objects in school, but that only heightened his fascination with it.

The runes on the control panel were a much older script, one not commonly used anymore.

Few had seen the inside the tower before Lord Gustus had dedicated it to business.

Had one of his ancestors built it? Perhaps it only feels rare because so few buildings have even a second floor.

The elves of Gearwick, the collection of cities primarily across the south of the Everend continent, had formed from groups of elves leaving Dun Steorra and Emberleigh to focus their talents in more practical ways.

Rather than the glossy natural magic of Emberleigh or relying upon celestial workings like the Dun Steorrans, Gearwickians combined magic and mechanics.

Blaze couldn’t raise his hand and lift a series of rocks into the air, but he could create a gauntlet that would let him do so.

The lift stopped at the fifth floor, and Blaze put away his musing to focus on the task at hand. Once he was a worldwide success, he’d have time for any project he desired. But he had to get this one off the ground first—literally.

Centered around an arcane battery was a large sculpture of the town of Manabelt. It had hundreds of tiny gears, and the amount of gold and platinum needed to construct it must have cost at least four fortunes. It was breathtaking, but he didn’t have time to admire it. He pressed onward.

Just as he was about to knock on the intricately carved office doors, they swung open on their own. Lord Gustus Stelen rose from his seat behind his desk, setting aside whatever business he’d been doing while waiting for Blaze. He smiled broadly and motioned for him to come in.

People said that Lord Gustus used to have a misshapen nose and a crooked grin, but these days, he had a wolfish grin and a sharp profile.

Body modification was commonplace, though occasionally risky.

An unskilled practitioner could ruin someone’s features, but Lord Gustus had the money for a professional.

In addition to the wealth on display in the tower, he wore fine clothes of Emberleigh weaves and an earring with six rubies dangling from it.

“Blaze Levimist, I presume?” Lord Gustus said.

Blaze gave a quick bow. “I am, my lord. Please forgive my tardiness.”

“I can see you made an effort to arrive on time.” Lord Gustus had a smooth voice that went with his slick attire. His boots didn’t make a sound on the marble floor as he approached Blaze. “You have a proposal for me?”

“I do, my lord.” Blaze sucked in a deep breath. “This invention will change the world. Long have we stared at the sea and wondered what may lie across it. And trips across the continent can take weeks due to rugged terrain and winding roads. Travel is exhausting and expen—”

“I believe an airship was mentioned, yes?” Lord Gustus said.

“I …” Blaze gulped. His speech had everything he needed to say. Getting cut off in the middle threw his whole script out the window.

This was too important to mess up.

He had to keep going. “Yes. I was leading toward that revelation.”

“I assume you have more than an idea.”

“Far more, my lord.” Blaze lifted his satchel. “I have schematics and a business proposal. If we move swiftly, I could have a prototype ready for the Innovation Awards.”

“Ambitious.” Lord Gustus motioned to a side area of his large office. “Show me what you brought.”

To the left, where Lord Gustus was guiding Blaze, was a work area where a wide table sat in front of three sets of shelves.

Books and scrolls filled two cases, while various instruments for calculations occupied the one in the middle.

Before Blaze had a chance to even skim the titles on the shelves, Lord Gustus tapped the table. “Let’s begin with the important part.”

Blaze took out his business plan. “The initial costs may seem outrageous, but we’re bound to find additional investors at the market. I’ve begun construction—”

“I have the business savvy to make plenty of money from a workable idea, but I can’t discuss financial agreements until I’ve seen the schematics. You’d be surprised how many terrible designs walk into my office with the confidence of a bell ringing the time,” Lord Gustus said.

Flustered, Blaze stuffed his business plan back into his satchel. He was far more careful with his tube of schematics. The paper was delicate and held a light enchantment to keep the ink vibrant. It had barely left his canvas bag when Lord Gustus snatched the tube from him.

Not snatched. He’s excited, and I’m nervous.

I’m reading him wrong. Blaze’s heart remained in his throat as Lord Gustus spread out the designs.

Here was where the university had patted him on the shoulder, given him a degree, and chosen not to fund him.

They’d left him with no option but to return home to Manabelt with only his education.

On his way back to his childhood bedroom, he’d entreated the wealthiest elves he could get in a room, but those handful of meetings hadn’t resulted in support.

“This looks like a sailing ship,” Lord Gustus remarked.