“What sort of magic do you practice, my lord?” asked young Teibo, the brother of the young woman next to him.

“Perhaps Thero would favor us with a demonstration?” said Seregil, giving him a wink.

“Magic! Magic!” the three young children cried, clapping their hands.

Thero smiled as they watched him with big eyes. While he didn’t appreciate being made to perform for pampered noblewomen, he’d come to like amusing children during the long days in Aurënen.

“Let’s see.” Cupping his hands over a leftover slice of bread, he concentrated on the form of a tiny dog and released it to run around the table and sniff at the delighted children’s fingers. Then he levitated the dessert plates, sending them into a complex swirling dance above their heads.

“Those are my best dishes!” the tavern keeper called out nervously, but the rest of the crowd erupted into applause. He brought the plates down again, carefully setting each back in its original place.

“How wonderful!” Merina exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek. Brader didn’t seem particularly surprised.

“Do another!” the little girl cried excitedly.

“Now, Ela, don’t pester our guest,” Brader chided.

“One more,” said Thero, aware that many around the room were watching to see what he’d do next. If he wasn’t careful, he’d develop a reputation for frivolity. “May I have a strand of your pretty red hair, miss?” he asked, meaning to turn it into a ring for her.

Brader clasped his daughter’s hand as she went to pull out a strand. “That’s enough now. We don’t want to tax the good wizard’s patience.”

For a moment the big man looked almost frightened.

“My friend is still superstitious after all our time in the south,” Atre apologized for him. Smiling, he plucked a strand of his own auburn hair and handed it to Thero across the table. “Here, you can use this.”

Thero took it and for an instant he felt another fleeting wisp of that strange sensation. The strand of hair felt cold between his fingers. But with everyone looking on expectantly there was no way to examine it more closely. Instead, he wrapped it around the tip of his little finger, then hid it behind his other hand and murmured the spell. The hair transformed into a tiny ring of braided gold, which he took from his fingertip and presented to Ela with a flourish, glancing quickly at her father. This didn’t seem to bother him.

Atre hoped the others couldn’t see him sweating. He hated wizards and their prying eyes. Luckily this one wore the robes of his Orëska House, so Atre had seen him from the wings and recognized what he was. He wasn’t always so lucky.