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Corvus: Of course there is no pressure to do any of this. Please feel free to disregard if you’re not interested.

If she was going to trust herself to move through this and make decisions, Pearl needed more data points. She needed time to observe Corvus to see if he was walking the walk. Or maybe she just wanted to prove to her friends that she was capable of a fling. Or if she looked more closely at herself, maybe it was something else entirely.

So, she shot off a reply.

Pearl: I’d love to join you.

Chapter ten

Past - November

Corvus and Pearl fell into an easy rhythm. But Corvus was careful not to put a name on what they were doing because as long as he didn’t call her his girlfriend, he could pretend like no one in his life would disapprove of what he was doing. Like it didn’t mean anything. Like her importance in his life wasn’t growing with each passing day. While they were talking one day, Pearl found out that he’d never been to see a production at Shakespeare’s Globe, and she said that was embarrassing for him as an Englishman. Pearl apparently had gone to almost every production since she’d moved to London. Corvus said it was a tourist trap, and she fired back that he was a snob and that it was absolutely beautiful. He countered that as she was indeed a tourist, of course she would fall right into their trap. Pearl settled the argument by saying, “That’s going to be our next date, and if you truly hate it, I’ll let you complain about it for at least 20 minutes after it’s over.” Corvus looked forward to proving her wrong.

Ridiculously bundled up against the cold, Corvus still wasn’t over how Pearl was adorably unable to handle cold weather. “You know we’re walking across London, not going to the top of Everest, right?”

“Look. I’m used to very balmy winters, ok? I pull my sweater out if it dips below 65 degrees. Sometimes I think I’ll never get warm or dry again.”

“Don’t you know any warming or drying spells?”

Sheepishly, she answered, “I’m trying to learn some, but I’ve never needed them before. So far, I just keep making myself manage to have hot flashes like I’m going through menopause. The spellbooks I’ve been reading seem to all assume I know how to do them like I’ve been taught since I was a child, which is obviously not the case.”

Chuckling, Corvus put a gentle hand in her glove-covered one, and let the smallest amount of his magic seep into her slowly. The trick was to only put the warmth on the skin and not try to change body temperature. It was like imagining a warm protective layer covering your body. Pearl looked up at him with a gasp and said, “Ok, this settles it. You’re not allowed to let go of my hand for the rest of the night.” And honestly, that was just fine with Corvus.

The production of the evening was Othello. Having been forced to read it in school, Corvus was settling in for a very dull evening, but when he announced this to Pearl, she’d just elbowed him and said, “Of course it was dull when you read it. Shakespeare is meant to be seen and heard, not read. The actors will make it come to life!”

When the play began, Corvus was less sure he’d read it before (or at least skimmed it), because he didn’t remember anything nearly so compelling and found himself being drawn into the story. Watching Othello’s suspicions grow against his love Desdemona, Corvus kept waiting for the moment when Iago’s dastardly plot would be revealed and Desdemona’s innocence would shine through, but the moment never came. And he gasped when Othello began to suffocate her. Gripping Pearl’s hand tighter, he stood suddenly. He didn’t want to watch this. Didn’t want to see a man kill a woman who had only ever loved him. See him throw away a beautiful life because he believed the poison of bad advice.

Corvus didn’t realize how long he’d been standing until a voice behind him shouted. “Oi! Sit down or get out of the way, mate!”

Anger boiling over, Corvus turned, “Oh, I’m sorry! I’ll get out of your way so you can see a woman being murdered more clearly.”

Feeling a tug on his hand, Pearl nodded her head towards the exit and he followed her gratefully out. As soon as they got a bit of privacy, Pearl pulled him into a hug, and it felt as though she’d mastered a warming spell the way it soothed him.

“I’m sorry, I suppose I just didn’t expect her…I didn’t expect him to kill her.”

Pulling out of the hug, Pearl put her mittened hands on his face. “I’m sorry, darlin’, I thought you knew this one was a tragedy. I could see why that would be even harder to see if you don’t know it’s coming.”

Corvus put his hands over hers and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry if I ruined it for you. We can go back in.”

Giving him a soft smile, Pearl whispered, “That’s the nice thing about something that came out a few hundred years ago - I already know how it ends. There’s a lovely little pub nearby where we can get something warm - what do you say we head there?”

“Ah! I see! Still on your journey to get warm?” Corvus teased, but inside he was grateful she saw him. Grateful that she’d seen him show weakness and simply held him closer rather than using it against him.

“So you’re telling me you’ve never had a bread bowl before? They are only the most amazing thing! Like not only do you get almost an entire loaf’s worth of bread, but you have soup in it, too! A genius invention, honestly.”

“Isn’t that a lot of carbs for one meal?” Corvus questioned.

“Of course it is, but we don’t talk about that. Just hush and let people enjoy things.”

They’d settled into a booth in the corner of the cafe. Two of the only people left because of the late hour and the weather, it felt like they had the whole place to themselves. Pearl was cozied up to Corvus, and he was sure he never wanted to move from this spot. He’d been coaching her on warming charms, and as she practiced, a gentle, green glow was seeping through her shirt. Warming charms required little magic, and she was trying not to draw attention in this distinctly unmagical space, but he couldn’t help being drawn to the light like a moth to a flame.

“Your focus is so unusual. From where did you acquire it?” His language was formal and grammatically perfect, and Pearl had admitted to him once how attractive she found it. Like a man not splitting infinitives was the height of sexiness. He supposed he’d take it, although attracting women was probably not what his tutors had in mind when they’d been teaching him. She’d also told him that the more nervous he was the posher he was, but he liked that much less even though she told him it was undeniably adorable. Even he had to admit he might be proving her point when that last sentence spilled out of his mouth.

“Oh, yes. It’s an old family heirloom that has been passed down through the generations.” Pearl’s eyes twinkled with humor, and he realized she was teasing him. “It’s sea glass I found on the beach when I was a kid. It’s essentially pretty trash. Funny how so many of my most significant magical connections were made on a Texas beach.”

The confusion only grew in his eyes at her explanation. “But how did you know it would work? Sea glass isn’t something I’ve ever heard of for channeling your magic.”

Placing a hand gently on his, Pearl smiled indulgently at him. “Corvus, I didn’t have any idea it would work. I…hmm…I always have trouble putting this into words that don’t sound insulting. My family is filled with good people who loved me dearly, but their interest in magic is…practical and unimaginative at best. We make the cotton grow tall, heal scraped knees, keep the pot stirring while putting the baby down for a nap, what else would you need magic for? Certainly they never saw the need for a focusing tool because their magic was always small and exceedingly practical. The first time I saw a focusing gem I was 9-years-old and a cousin came home for a visit for the first time since I had been born. The family always talked about her in hushed tones, and it was clear she was the black sheep, so I was very suspicious when she showed up at my aunt’s house. But then one of the barns on my aunt’s farm caught on fire, and I’ll never forget seeing her silhouetted against the flames and the night sky. Then yellow light burst from her wrist, and the fire grew smaller and smaller until all that was left was smoke and her beautiful yellow light. ” She huffed a laugh that carried a hint of bitterness. “They could never really understand my excitement for the intricacies and theoreticals of magic, and the idea of affording a gemstone for a child was laughable. So, I was wandering on the beach near our house and just decided to give it a try.”