Eliana pursed her lips as she studied the wedding veil she’d been working on. She wasn’t actually sure who it was for yet. For that matter, she wasn’t sure if it was for anyone at all. Not every piece of clothing was meant to be worn.

  It had been over twelve hours since she’d sat down. Eliana hadn’t moved so much as a muscle in that time. She’d simply sat there, staring at the veil. Waiting. To anyone passing by, it might have seemed mad.

  Perhaps it was.

  In the end, it didn’t matter. Eliana did not create for purpose. She created for the sake of creation itself. Everything else was just a nice bonus. Trapping the veil within her mind rather than freeing its form in thread would have been a crime that her hands would never commit.

  This was far from the first project that she had begun without an owner, and it most certainly wasn’t going to be the last. But this one was a little different. Above many things, Eliana prided herself on speed and quality.

  There was a reason that mages from all over Obsidia had come to her for their clothes. Eliana had seen the darkness of the Obsidian Gate. She had walked the sprawling lands of the Horde of Man and stood within the splendorous halls of the Coral Empire. There were few places she hadn’t been.

  But she’d never finished the veil.

  She’d sewn the first thread hundreds of years ago. It was one of her first projects. A part of her suspected it might be her last. So much as a single ill-placed thread would have ruined the entire piece.

  It had been five years since she’d sewn another thread into it. The veil remained, unfinished, frozen in time and denied its purpose, perfectly preserved in its incompletion. Eliana simply couldn’t bring herself to finish it. Not unless she did it right. That would require inspiration. But no such thing had struck.

  And so the veil had remained as it was.

  To be incomplete was far better than to be ruined.

  That didn’t stop her from staring at the plain white cloth, so faint that it was practically translucent, as if to pry the secrets free from within it. The veil was silent. Nothing within it spoke to her. Nothing at all.

  Eliana couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt properly inspired. The last time she’d done any manner of work that had truly caught her interest. There had been blips, of course. Brief moments where a project had been a little more curious than normal.

  Yesterday had been one of them. Spider had been a curious individual. It had been a long time since she’d met someone older than her. And though the man’s body hadn’t felt old at all, his soul had been another story entirely.

  There was a certain… dissonance to him. A warning note in the air as if played in warning to any foolish enough to delve too deep into the depths of his eyes. Eliana hadn’t gotten to her old age by ignoring such things.

  Spider had been interesting. But he had not been inspiring. There was a subtle difference. One that only an artist could properly put a pin in. Then again, there was little about a man in tattered robes that was going to be of much use for a wedding veil.

  Eliana blew out a slow breath.

  Her thoughts shifted within her like water sloshing in an old bucket. Then her gaze flicked to the door.

  It creaked open.

  On the other side stood a man clad in thick, luscious furs. Two others stood behind him. Eliana’s eyes narrowed.

  “You,” Eliana said flatly. “I thought I told you not to come back here. You aren’t welcome.”

  “I was in the area, Eliana. Do you really expect me not to swing by and say hello to an old friend?” Mordred asked as he stepped into the store. “And you opened the door. Don’t act like you aren’t at least a little pleased to see me.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “You spilled soup on my dress,” Eliana said. “Because you were staring at a waiter’s ass.”

  “Did you not see our waiter?” Mordred exclaimed. “She was half fox devil! And I was most certainly not staring at anyone’s ass. I was looking at her tail. I’ve never seen its like.”

  “Is that why she slapped you?”

  “I admit that asking for a sample of her fur may have been a bit too much,” Mordred said. “I apologized. Profusely.”

  “That did not un-stain my dress. And I was only there in the first place because you asked me for a favor,” Eliana said crossly. “What manner of man needs to practice going on a date?”

  “Mordred, clearly,” Ace said with a snort. “Did you know he never actually ended up going on the date he wanted you to help him prepare for? He chickened out.”

  “We are not here to discuss the past,” Mordred interjected stiffly. “And we would not have worked out. It turned out that we had very differencing world views. Ones that would have brought us to conflict.”

  “You’re going to have a hard time finding anyone that shares even the slightest amount of world view with you,” Fist said.

  “We’re sorry for the dress,” Ace added, looking to Eliana. “Mordred said he sent you a shipment of materials to apologize. Don’t tell me he—”

  “No. I got it,” Eliana said. The corner of her lip twitched. “Why are you here, Mordred? You are not the kind of man that would come pay me a visit for no reason. Did you damage your robes?”

  “Of course not,” Mordred said. “Your work isn’t so easily damaged. We’re here for a different reason. A mission.”

  Eliana’s lips thinned. “I am not available for hire. I do not work for the Empire.”

  “We’re aware,” Mordred said. “This is a personal request. I’m… ah, extrapolating my instructions. Just a little.”

  “You’ve gone rogue again,” Eliana concluded.

  “He’s gone rogue,” Ace confirmed.

  “I am not going rogue,” Mordred snapped. “I am simply ensuring we act with all the required knowledge. There is a demon that we are tracking. A very unique one. We followed her scent here. I imagined that, if anything was odd in this city, you’d know of it.”

  Eliana’s head tilted to the side. “A demon? Don’t tell me that you’ve found another fox girl.”

  “She is not a fox. And please do not imply that I have any romantic interest in those I research. That would interfere with my ability to objectively analyze and catalogue information.”

  “Which is why he started asking the demon about her mating habits,” Fist put in.

  “Be silent,” Mordred snapped. “I got my decks mixed up. It happens.”

  “I see,” Eliana drawled. “Do you really think I keep track of every single demon that passes through Banesbridge? I have better things to do with my time.”

  “No. Of course not,” Mordred said with a shake of his head. “But her trail didn’t just lead through the city. When I said here, I meant here. She was in your store.”

  Eliana blinked.

  The one that was with Spider? Why would she possibly have someone like Mordred on her tail?

  “I do not make it a habit of discussing those who call upon my services,” Eliana said. “That would not be good for long-term business.”

  “I mean her no harm,” Mordred insisted. “I just want to learn more about her. This is important, Eliana. I’ve never seen a demon of her like before. She was… I don’t know how to put it. Different. Whole. I’d almost say perfected. This is unheard of. I can’t leave this alone. Please. Don’t make me beg.”

  Eliana grimaced. “Don’t.”

  “I’ll do it,” Mordred warned. “My pride is worth little in the face of discovery.”

  “I am more than aware how little value you place in pride — be yours or others.” Eliana pressed her lips together. “But you’re too late.”

  “What?” Mordred asked. “What do you mean?”

  “They’re already gone,” Eliana replied. “They were here a day ago. Both are already gone. They’re no longer in the city. It’s doubtful you’re going to catch them anytime soon. The trail is probably already fading.”

  “Shit. We got caught up in the city and completely missed the trail leading out of it? We need to go! Now!” Mordred spun on his heel and strode back through the door. He paused right outside the shop, then turned back to Eliana and cleared his throat. “Thank you. And… uh, sorry about your dress.”

  Eliana sighed and shook her head. “It was not a good dress. And an apology means little when you’re practically twitching to run. Go.”

  “Thank you,” Mordred said. Then he was gone, his team sprinting out of view after him.

  A small smile tugged at the corner of Eliana’s lips. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught another glimpse of her veil. Her head tilted slightly to the side.

  Then she snapped her fingers.

  Every single mannequin in the shop jerked. They spun, all turning to look straight at her. A deafening clatter filled the air as they snapped together, dozens of different costumed pieces of wood all collapsing into each other.

  The shop was emptied in an instant. Nothing remained but empty space and a large wooden staff two heads taller than Elania. She reached out and took the staff, letting the huge piece of wood fall back against her shoulder.

  It’s been quite some time since I last pulled up roots and moved. Perhaps I should pay the tournament a visit.

  Patreon (50 chapters ahead!)