She smirked a little at that, the devilish glint in her eyes drawing sudden heat to my belly as the memory of our kiss in the woods flared hot, an invisible flame hovering in the air between us.

“But at the end of the day, we just like being in arm’s reach of each other,” she finished with a shrug. “It means dinners together, impromptu dress-up cocktail parties, all manner of fun shit at random hours. Always someone around to grab if you need a partner for a tricky spell.”

“To each their own, then,” I said, taking a swallow of my drink and setting my mug down to signal the subject closed. “So what’s the deal with all the new stores on Yarrow? I know the Emporium and the orchards are struggling to keep up with Camelot, but they don’t seem to be hurting for business at all.”

“Many of them are affiliated with the Blackmoores, in one way or another,” she replied, mouth twisting into a bitter moue. “Tenants, or merchants carrying their products. The ones that aren’t . . . well, I don’t think the same rules apply to normie vendors. Thistle Grove magic doesn’t seem to care about them as much, so I’d assume they sink or swim on their own merits.”

“So it’s just the other families getting screwed over,” I said grimly. “What a bullshit take. By both the Blackmoores and the magic, to be frank.”

“Except for you,” Talia said pensively, toying with the ends of her hair. “Tomes hasn’t suffered any, has it? Or is it that your parents play their cards that close, and I just haven’t heard about it?”

“You know, they haven’t mentioned anything like that at all,” I said, frowning a little; the discrepancy hadn’t really occurred to me. I’d just figured the Blackmoores hadn’t yet bothered to try elbowing in on our humbler domain. “If anything, my dad has seemed a little overwhelmed with the tourist influx. I don’t think he’d even mind if things were a little quieter, and I doubt he’d feel that way if they weren’t doing reasonably well.”

“Maybe it’s that Tomes isn’t such a direct competitor,” Talia mused, tapping a fingernail against her lower lip. “Your family does books, not witchy attractions. It’s not exactly a destination, at least not the way we are.”

“Yeah, maybe. Or possibly it’s because we’re traditionally Arbiters, not even competing in the Gauntlet? So the magic itself doesn’t even consider us in play?”

“Could be.” Talia glanced down at the silver watch on her wrist, all dainty loops and filigree. Of course she’d be one to go all vintage analog, in glaring contrast to the rose-gold smartwatch snug on my own wrist. “Listen, I have to run—but hey, would you be free Thursday night, around seven? I haven’t forgotten that I promised you sushi.”

“My dance card’s wiiiide open,” I said, heart leaping into a shameless frenzy at the notion of an entire undisturbed night with her. “Were you thinking Carbondale, or is decent sushi within town lines another development I’ve missed?”