Judging the steel to be ready, I pull the mace head and first flange from the oven, lining up the blade with the first groove.

“She will see me!” a voice screams in response. “She needs to answer for her defective work.”

That word prickles. Defective? That’s unnecessarily rude. If I were a person who handled confrontation well, I might go out there and give the customer a piece of my mind.

But I needn’t have worried; my sister is that person.

“Defective? How dare you? Get yourself to a healer and stop blaming us for your idiocy!”

I wince. That was maybe a bit too far. Temra never has been much good at controlling her temper. Sometimes, she can be downright terrifying.

I do my best to block out the argument and focus on my work. This is the part where the magic will set. The metal is heated, primed. I thought long and hard about how I would make this weapon special. A mace is used for bashing and smashing, something that requires brute strength to wield. But what if I could increase the power behind it? What if every time the weapon absorbed a blow from an opponent, I could transfer that energy into the next swing?

I close my eyes, thinking on what I want the magic to do, but I jolt upright as, to my utter horror, the doors of the forge slam open.

I feel the extra presence in the room as though it were a weight pressing down on my shoulders. For a moment, I forget entirely what I’m working on, as I’m unable to think about anything but the discomfort coursing through my veins.

I hate feeling as though I don’t fit right in my own skin. As though the anxiety takes up too much space, pushing me aside.

As footsteps draw closer, I try to compose myself. I remember the mace and focus on it like my life depends on it. Maybe the intruder will take the hint and leave.

No such luck.

Whoever he is, he stomps to the other side of my anvil, where he’s now in my line of sight, and shoves an arm under my nose.

“Look at this!”

I take in the large gash across the man’s lower arm. Meanwhile, a ball of nerves roils in my stomach to have a stranger so close.

“Get out of here, Garik. Ziva is working!” Temra says futilely as she joins us.

“This is what your blade did to me. My sword arm! I demand a refund!”

My face heats, and I can’t think for a moment, can do nothing but stare at the man bleeding over my workspace. Garik is perhaps in his early thirties. Lanky rather than well built, with a hooked nose and too-big eyes. It’s no surprise that I don’t recognize him. Temra handles most of the commissions that come through the shop so I can focus on the actual forging.

Garik looks at me like I’m stupid. “Your weapon is defective. It cut me!”