Page 34 of A Lie so Pretty and Poisonous

I let out a breath.

Darragh picked up a book from the table next to him and placed it on top of his stack. “It will take me some time to set up a meeting with the farm staff and the Toolock nobles. Once I do, I can take you there. I’d say in two to three days.”

I gave a genuine smile. “Thank you…Darragh.”

He broke eye contact, nodding in return.

“I wanted to ask if we can go to an apothecary or herbalist before going back to the palace?” I tilted my head as I looked up at him.

He pulled his brow together. “I am not sure what that is.”

“A person who uses plants and herbs to concoct salves, tinctures, or medicinal teas to aid in illnesses and ailments.”

“We call them ‘spagyrists,’ but they are not common. In fact, I can only think of one, and he doesn’t reside in the city. Are you injured or ill?” His eyes drifted up and down my body.

“Oh, no, no. That is my profession in Edenalee, and I just wondered what an apothecary here might look like.”

“Seraphs tend to heal ourselves efficiently enough. For life-threatening injuries, we have seraphs with more powerful healing enchants. There are several in the employ of the crown. I know the healers do purchase some things from the spagyrist to promote healing when warranted, but I haven’t seen his merchant cart in many months. He tends to stick to the forests.”

My body tensed. “Is he a dryad?”

“He is.”

The attack when we first arrived flashed in my mind. That was enough interaction with dryads for me not to want to do it again. “Since we won’t be seeking out this spagyrist, am I able to stop at merchants to purchase my own clothes? I don’t have a say in what dress I wear each day and would love the option to have some clothes that give me more variety. I only have human currency. They are pure silver coins, but I don’t know if they are going to be accepted in exchange for goods.”

He nodded. “You can buy whatever you like on the credit of the crown. I was told to grant you purchases of whatever you want.”

“By the Queen?”

Darragh grumbled, “Gabriel.”

“Oh.” I didn’t mean to say it with such disappointment, especially in front of him.

A restrained smile tugged at Darragh’s mouth before he directed me out the front of the library, down the stairs, and toward the outpost building where we collected our horses. Darragh’s body language became less intense as we moved, and I hoped that meant he felt more at ease around me, which would make me more at ease around him.

Gabriel’s warning about Darragh appeared unfounded. I knew all too well what it meant to be an outsider to the aristocracy. Baseless rumors about me were often whispered as a pastime at parties and exchanged between bored socialites whose husbands ignored them outside of their bedchambers. I suspected this was also Darragh’s experience. Someone who didn’t fit into their societal expectations, reaping the criticism and disdain as a result. I understood the implications of his station deeply. As I tracked his movement toward our horses, the sun making his dark hair gleam, I wondered what else about him I might secretly understand.

We rode toward the city center, Celeste keeping pace with Astorath, passing shop after shop until we arrived at a merchant who specialized in ladies’ textiles. A faded “Rosalyn’s Emporium,” painted in gold lettering, topped the mercantile. The seraph-filled street became more vacant upon our arrival. Rather, Darragh’s arrival, but he seemed used to them skittering away at his presence. We hitched the horses to a post, and Darragh opened the door to the dress shop.

A tinkling of bells announced our arrival, and a pretty seraph with copper red waves and bright green eyes rounded a giant spool of plum-colored silk to greet us. She was petite, the first seraph I had seen that was of a stature more my own. Most of the seraph women stood a good few inches above me, and the men towered.

“Welcome to my…” She lifted her eyes to Darragh, standing behind me. “Oh, the riffraff is here,” she blurted out.

I was about to come to his defense and ask that we patron a less snobby merchant, but a playful smile slowly worked across her face, and I looked at Darragh to see him grin.

“Ros,” he inclined his head to her. “Looking well.”

“Of course I do. You never come to see me anymore, so you wouldn’t know!” She put her hands on her waist and stepped up to him, her head tilted all the way back to scowl while he playfully rolled his eyes at her.

“I have been busy.” He formed a full smile, something I hadn’t seen before but was quite pleasant. She was not scared of him like most were, and I wondered if they were lovers.

Rosalyn rolled her eyes back at him and gave him a little hit to his stomach. “No excuse.” She turned to me. “And who is this lovely thing?”

Before I could open my mouth, Darragh gestured to me. “Ros, this is Lady Aurora.”

“Rory,” I interrupted.

“She needs some dresses, both formal and informal,” he said. “Maybe some she can wear while riding. And some boots with proper riding trousers and tunics.”