“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, but he makes no move to back up and give me more space. “I didn’t mean to frighten you—I was only trying to help.”

“You didn’t frighten me,” I lie, lifting my chin. He might be a hot, powerful supernatural whatever he is (I still don’t know his species) but I’ll be damned if I let him intimidate me in my own shop. For a moment we lock eyes. Mine widen and his narrow—it’s strangely intimate and also disconcerting. Who is he?

Finally, I manage to look away and sidle farther from him, putting some space between us. “What else do you want?” My words come out sounding rude—almost belligerent—but being this close to a male, especially such a large, dominant alpha male, isn’t something I’m used to.

He clears his throat and consults the list again. “Cedar, ginseng, and rue. And that should do it.”

I shake my head. “No, not that last one. You don’t want rue.”

“Excuse me?” He gives me a displeased frown. “You don’t even know what kind of potion I’m concocting.”

“Yes, I do,” I say, feeling calmer now that I’m out of his general proximity. I go back behind the counter, cementing my authority here as the witch in charge. “You’re making a divination serum,” I tell him. “Probably to help you find your true love.”

“What?” For the first time he looks genuinely angry. Not just pissed or snappish but really irate. “Who told you that?” he demands, striding toward me. He has long legs so it only takes two steps to put him right in my face. I’m glad we have the counter between us, not that he couldn’t just step over it, as tall as he is.

“No one told me,” I snap right back. “It’s obvious. Look—you’ve got mugwort, that’s good for clairvoyance. Serpentavia root and adder’s tongue for divination. Rosemary and cedar for purification and love. Cinnamon for lust and ginseng for, uh, sexual potency.” I clear my throat, feeling my cheeks get red at the intent way he is studying me.

“And?” he demands.

“And so you don’t want rue,” I say, nodding to the shelf where the herb is kept. “Rue is for exorcisms and hexes. Adding it to a true love divination serum would ruin the whole thing. I mean, you want to find the girl…or guy, right?” (Hey, what do I know about his sexual orientation? I can’t even tell what kind of supe he is.)

His face darkens. “It’s a female I am searching for, I can assure you of that.”

“Okay, sorry.” I hold up my hands in a 'don’t shoot' gesture. “But anyway, you want to find her and bind her to you, not hex her. Rue would ruin a perfectly good serum.”