Dave's answer sounded calm on the surface, but Jane already knew he was hiding something.
Normally, a man like Dave would have been far better at controlling his reactions. Surviving for years as both a potion seller and an information broker in the slum district required a careful mind and steady nerves. Men like him learned quickly how to bury their true feelings behind a neutral face.
But this time he had been caught completely off guard.
Only hours earlier he had faced something that shook him far more deeply than he wanted to admit. Not one mysterious visitor, but three. Three individuals who had openly claimed they were travelers from another world.
Even remembering the pressure they carried still made his chest feel tight.
And now, before he had even recovered from that encounter, a strange woman had entered his shop and asked the exact question he feared most.
Of course his reaction slipped.
Dave forced himself to take a slow breath.
