“Ugh.”

“Aaron knows Lily was just being a bratty tween.”

She closed her grimoire, mumbling, “Yeah.”

I cast her an arch look, wondering if Lily’s comment hadn’t been an embarrassing exaggeration. One of my first conversations with Sin had included her summation of the three mages as insanely hot but completely undateable. I’d never considered that she might have an actual crush on Aaron—which made me feel like such a great friend, considering I’d gone and dated him for several months.

She sighed. “At least they haven’t teased me about my name. I figured they’d be quoting How the Grinch Stole Christmas at me all night.”

They’d probably been planning to—right up until I’d read them the Riot Act and threatened bodily harm if they so much as thought about teasing her.

“What were your parents thinking?” I asked with a laughing shake of my head.

“I don’t even know. We all got the same sort of name—Anna May, Cindy Lou, and Lily Belle—but mine is the worst.”

Unfortunately, I had to agree. “Don’t worry about the guys. I handled it for you.”

She arched an eyebrow at my phrasing. “Speaking of handling them … Don’t get mad, okay? But …”

“But what?” I asked warily.

“Do you want to talk about Ezra?”

“What about him?”

“Your feelings for him,” she clarified patiently.

I sucked in a shocked breath and choked on saliva. “Wh-what?”

“I know you’re trying to hide it, but I’m afraid it’s pretty obvious. Well, to me. Probably not to them.”

“I—I’m concerned about him, that’s all. He’s not doing well lately.”

“You don’t need to lie, Tori. My lips are sealed no matter what.”

Behind her words, the meaning was clear: I’m your friend. Trust me.

“I … okay. Okay, fine.” The words stuck on my tongue and I had to fight to get them out of my mouth. “I’m attracted to Ezra.”

“Attracted.”

“Yeah. Starting around Halloween. Or … well, maybe I was attracted to him before and only realized it recently. But yeah, that’s the problem.”

“It’s a problem?”

“He’s my friend. I can’t be attracted to him.”

She gave me a strange look, but I was saved from responding when the car came to a gentle stop. The tinted window between the driver and the backseat whirred as it descended.

“Ladies,” the chauffeur said politely. “We have arrived. Please enjoy yourselves, and I’ll be waiting here whenever you’re ready.”

“Thank you,” I said as I threw my door open with relief—but the feeling was short-lived, because Sin was back at my side in three seconds, her mouth pressed into a determined line.

“All right,” she said as we surveyed the quaint cluster of houses and shops that bordered the quiet road. Large mosaic flowerpots sat along the curb, waiting to be filled with bright flowers come spring. “Let’s look at this logically.”

I nodded. Logical. That sounded good.

“You have feelings for Ezra, and—”

“No, I have the hots for Ezra.” Feelings were different. Feelings were dangerous.

Before she could argue, I marched across the street to a brick-faced shop with Compton Apothecary hand-painted on a sign above a window displaying various potted plants. As I pushed open the door, a waft of cloying odors hit me—damp mulch, aromatic wood, and every flavor of tea on the planet mixed together.

Right behind me, Sin lowered her voice. “I know I warned you not to get with Aaron’s friends after dating him first, but if you feel that strongly about Ez—”

“I don’t feel that strongly,” I whispered back as we walked aimlessly into an aisle. Plastic bins, each one neatly labeled and filled with dried leaves, lined the shelves. “Have you never been attracted to a guy but it’s just attraction?”

“Yes, but—”

“Ezra was my first friend at the guild.” The declaration surprised me; I hadn’t realized it was true until I’d said it. “Aaron and I started dating almost immediately, so our dynamic was different. Ezra was the first person who was kind to me. He welcomed me when everyone else was still hating the new girl.”

I stopped in front of a plastic tub filled with pussy-willow branches, the top few inches of each twig covered in fuzzy white buds. “How Aaron would react doesn’t matter because I’m not going there with Ezra. It’s a dumb lust-crush, that’s all. It’ll pass.”

Sin studied me but I refused to face her, glaring at the pussy willow.

“I think this thing between you and Ezra is more than lust,” she murmured. “Why not tell him how you feel and—”

“No!” I whirled on her, my eyes wide with horror. “Definitely no. I can’t tell him. He can’t know.”

Her brow furrowed. “Why not?”

“Sin, he’s not like Aaron. Don’t you see? If he knew how I felt …” I shook my head violently, painful desperation closing my throat. “I can’t lose him.”

“Lose him? You mean his friendship?” She touched my shoulder. “But what if he feels the same way as you?”

I stared blankly, my chest aching, then shrugged off her hand. “Is there anything in here you want to look at?”

She took my hint. In silence, she browsed the shelves of dried herbs, fresh plants, tinctures, oils, and tiny flasks of who knew what. While I moodily followed, she collected an armful of products, occasionally referencing her grimoire before making a selection. Emerging from a narrow aisle, I noticed a guy in his early twenties perched on a stool beside the cash register. He watched us approach, his eyes lingering on Sin.

As she laid her purchases on the counter, I assessed the guy. Sandy blond hair, square jaw, hint of a dimple in his left cheek. Cute. Wholesome. Probably Sin’s type.

I discreetly nudged her with my elbow, but she had her nose in her grimoire again.

“This is the freshest Kalmia latifolia I’ve ever seen outside a greenhouse,” she noted appreciatively. “I can use it to make that blindness elixir we were discussing. Have you trained with the other defensive potions I made you?”

“I’m still working on my aim,” I admitted, wondering how to shift her attention onto the hopeful cashier. “Aaron has me practicing with tennis balls for now.”

The easiest defensive potions to use were contained in glass spheres that could be lobbed at enemies. Simple, easy, basically foolproof—assuming you could hit a target. Which, for me, wasn’t necessarily a given.

“Did you find everything you’re looking for?” the cashier asked in a pleasant tenor, his eyes all over Sin’s face. She still hadn’t noticed his interest. “Can I help you with anything else?”

“I think this is everything,” she replied. “Oh, but I have a question.”

He perked up.

“The shop’s name—Compton Apothecary—is that the same Compton as Kelvin Compton, inventor of the transmorph elixir base?”

Cute Boy’s smile seemed a bit strained. “Yeah, actually. Mr. Compton is the owner. I’m his—”

The door behind him swung open.

“—apprentice,” Cute Boy finished as a second voice boomed, “Did I hear my name?”

A large man with a brown beard braided into two plaits stepped up beside Cute Boy, his thick arms folded across his broad chest. Intense gray eyes glared down at me and Sin.

“Oh,” Sin gasped breathlessly. “Mr. Compton, it’s an honor to meet you. I’ve been studying your work on cell transmutation for months.”

Kelvin’s grim scowl lessened slightly. “An apprentice alchemist, I’m guessing.”

“Y-yes, sir. Sin Baker.” She offered her hand, almost dropping her grimoire.

His giant paw engulfed hers.

“Shall I ring up your—” Cute Boy began helpfully.

“I’m intrigued,” Kelvin rumbled. “Which master alchemist has the pleasure of training you, my dear?”

Sin blushed. “Katherine Hewitt of the Crow and Hammer.”

“Hmm. I don’t recognize her name.”

“She—well, she isn’t widely known like you, Mr. Compton, but she just published a thesis on crystallization and its effects on the potency, preservation, and application of—”

“Ah, yes, a worthy topic for research,” he interrupted. “Tell me how far you’ve progressed in cell transmutation, Miss Baker. It’s an advanced area of study for an apprentice as young as yourself.”

Sin’s face lit up. “I developed an interest when I started learning basic healing potions, because, of course, those involve altering living cells to enhance rejuvenative function. I read your paper ‘The Variable Metamorphosis of DNA,’ but”—she laughed—“it was completely over my head at that point.”

He chuckled along with her. “An ambitious starting place. Transmutation is a cornerstone of alchemy, but living cell transmutation is among the most complex applications.”

They continued their discussion, getting more and more technical until I only recognized every third word. As Kelvin boomed another question, Cute Boy gathered up Sin’s herbs, slid them down the counter, and packed them in brown paper. Before my brain short-circuited from the alchemy talk, I followed him.

“That always happens,” he muttered as he neatly folded the paper.

“The big man shows up to amaze alchemist customers?” I asked. “Or he distracts all the hot girls?”

“Both,” he grumbled, blushing as he busily stapled a packet and started on the next one.

I leaned an elbow on the counter. “I can give her your number, if you want.”

Hope brightened his expression, then he grimaced. “That’s kind of lame. For me, I mean. Not that you offered.”