“Tell me something,” Noah said as Eliana held up a skintight pink bodysuit in front of him. “What did you see?”

  “Hm?” Eliana tilted her head to the side and lowered the suit. Then she clicked her tongue in disapproval. “No good. It would bulge in all the wrong places.”

  Noah suppressed a sigh. It didn’t look like their attention was quite in the same space. Ever since he’d told Eliana that he was interested in seeing her wares, she’d pretty much forgotten they were having any sort of conversation in the first place.

  She’d just been mowing through the costumes on her mannequins. Most of them had been terrible. A few hadn’t. There were one or two outfits that had actually seemed pretty tempting. Noah wasn’t certain if he would have liked them — but he’d have tried them on if he’d been given the chance.

  The chance had never occurred.

  Eliana had tossed every single outfit to the side no more than a few mere moments after comparing it with him. Whatever she was looking for, she definitely wasn’t finding it. Corban’s trepidation about how long it would take her to find Noah an outfit was starting to make a lot more sense.

  “Did you really think that would work on me in the first place?” Noah asked, glancing at the pink bundle of cloth in Eliana’s hand.

  “Never assume,” Eliana replied as she slung the clothing over a mannequin’s arm. “Start guessing at what suits someone and you’ll end up missing out on what might be the best outfit they’ve ever worn. There are trends, but there are no absolutes.”

  “I see,” Noah said. “I don’t think I can picture myself running around in anything skintight, though.”

  “You never know.”

  “I’m pretty sure I do.” Noah blew out a small sigh. “And you’ve managed to avoid my question.”

  “Yes. I did,” Eliana said. “How do you feel about pirates?”

  “Hate them. I hate pirates.”

  “Hm,” Eliana said. She scratched her chin. “Orcs?”

  “Indifferent. What the hell does an orc wear?”

  “Whatever they want to,” Eliana replied. “What about gears and mechanical parts? Ever want to be an automaton or fancy puppet?”

  “No,” Noah said. “Absolutely not. And acknowledging that you have dodged a question does not absolve you of answering it. I still want to know.”

  Eliana blew out a sigh. She turned from the mannequin beside her to meet Noah’s gaze.

  “I saw enough to know I don’t want to see more,” Eliana said. “If you’re fishing to find out if I’m a threat — the answer is that I choose not to be. I know not your true nature. I do not want to know your true nature. My life is one of many years. Enough to know when to leave well enough alone. I’ve outfitted great and terrible men alike. But I must say, this is the first time one of them has ever wanted me to dig deeper. They usually prefer when I keep my nose out.”

  “Do you?”

  A grin flitted across Eliana’s lips. “No. Not in most cases. I have been making an exception for you. But if you are so desperate for an answer, then I will tell you what little I am willing to say. There is something ancient in you. I cannot say if it is terrible or awesome. That gold energy… it is not meant for me.”

  So she saw some degree of the Line, but not enough to actually set foot on it. But she’s wrong about it not being meant for her. It might not be yet, but it eventually will be.

  Eliana’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

  “Huh?” Noah blinked. “I didn’t say anything.”

  “No. But you thought something.”

  “What makes you think that?” Noah’s own eyes narrowed as he pulled his soul closer to himself. If Eliana could read his mind as well…

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  “I can’t read your mind,” Eliana grumbled, turning away to shuffle through more clothes. “And even if I could, I’m not damn fool enough to bother. But your expression changed when I answered your question. You thought something.”

  Honestly, I don’t even know where that thought came from. That’s a bit concerning.

  “Just thinking,” Noah said. “Don’t worry about it. Thank you for answering the question.”

  “All thoughts are just thinking,” Eliana pointed out. “That does not make them equal.”

  “Fair enough,” Noah said. He shook his head. “You know what? Let’s drop the topic.”

  “An unexpected result to this line of questioning,” Eliana said sarcastically. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and tapped a foot on the floor. “If there was a basic monster you associated most closely with, what would it be? And do not say a wolf.”

  “I — wait. Why no wolves?”

  “Because every man that has walked into my shop has said wolf,” Eliana said with a huff. “And it has never been correct. Wolves are pack animals. They like sniffing each other’s arses. Do you sniff arses?”

  Noah stared at her. “…no?”

  “Then clearly you do not identify with a wolf,” Eliana said. “So what is it that you are? Shall we go down the list of the other common options people feel drawn to say first? Or will you skip to the point?”

  This woman is completely off her rocker. She shifts back and forth between sage and insane on the drop of a hat. I suppose she fits right in with present company, then.

  Noah also couldn’t help but notice there was a glaring answer. One that had somehow managed to follow him out of Arbitage. He supposed it wasn’t exactly the worst option. If something wasn’t broken, there was no reason to fix it.

  He blew out a sigh.

  “It’s not an animal. But I’ve repeatedly found myself associated with spiders. Does that help?”

  Eliana watched Noah for several seconds. It was just starting to get into uncomfortable silence territory when she inclined her head slightly.

  “Yes. It does. A spider. Yes. I can work with that. I will need to spend some time working. Nothing I currently have is suitable for you.”

  “How long?” Noah asked. “Not that I’m in a huge rush, but we do have some places to be. The tournament—”

  “It will not take me a month to create anything,” Eliana said flatly.

  “You never know,” Noah said. “Also, how much is this going to cost? I still don’t have my crystals yet. I’m not trying to find myself in debt.”

  “I’ll let you know when I’m done,” Eliana replied. And, with that, she turned on her heel and strode into the maze of tightly packed mannequins.

  “Hold on,” Noah said, pushing after her — only to find that no trace of the woman remained. She was gone. He stared at the spot where she’d stood a few moments before. Then he blew out a sigh.

  Figures.

  He glanced around the shop. Eliana definitely wouldn’t have just left him standing here if she planned on taking all too much time to complete the clothing. It was probably going to be a few hours. At least, that was his hope.

  Killing a little time until she was done seemed to be his best bet. Noah was too deep at this point to turn around and just leave. Eliana was just odd enough that he couldn’t see himself walking out of here without finding out just what it was she was making for him.

  Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single chair in the entire shop to sit down in. There was barely even enough room to walk around without bumping into a mannequin along the way.

  Noah glanced around. Eliana’s work was really something else. No matter how odd she was, she clearly had a great amount of skill. The details in the costumes surrounding him was something he’d never seen before. Every single thread was intentional, each accent placed in the perfect position.

  That wasn’t to say her creations were normal. The vast majority of everything in the store was so strange that nobody could have possibly worn it without standing out like a sore thumb, but that didn’t make the quality of the work any lower.

  Noah’s eye caught on a mannequin off to the side.

  His back went stiff.

  It was clad completely in tattered black robes, with a massive blade completely concealed with white bandages strapped diagonally to its back. The mannequin looked exactly like the person he’d seen at the top of the cliff while he’d been on the pulley being lowered down into Banesbridge.

  The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Noah’s domain expanded instinctively. At this range, even the most skilled mage would have at least some degree of their presence noticeable.

  Nothing was there.

  This was just a mannequin. It had to be. That was the only explanation. The real question should have been why Eliana had a perfect replica of this particular individual — or why this was the only mannequin armed with a weapon.

  But Noah couldn’t shake the feeling that something else was off.

  He checked his domain again. There was still absolutely nothing off about the shop. Not a single abnormality was present. Every single sign pointed toward this being just a very strange choice of décor, probably a copy or replica of the outfit that Noah had seen a short while before. This couldn’t have been the real person.

  Still, Noah’s eyes narrowed. He drew on his Runes as goosebumps raced across his skin. His senses were disagreeing with his mind. And Noah hadn’t gotten this far by completely ignoring his gut feelings — not to mention this wasn’t exactly inconspicuous.

  I don’t think I remember that thing being here when I first walked into the shop. The hell is going on?

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