Page 9 of Witchful Thinking

Diana couldn't quite hide her smirk."You did say you wanted to get more comfortable with the local wildlife."

Alarick laughed, a rich sound that did absolutely nothing to her pulse rate.Nothing at all.

The Grumble and Brew loomed ahead, a rustic stone building with windows that glowed an alarming shade of orange.Smoke puffed from the chimney in perfect rings that occasionally transformed into miniature dragons before dissolving.

"Ever been here before?"Alarick asked as they approached.

"Once.The napkins tried to fold me into origami."

"Sounds like fun," he teased, opening the heavy wooden door for her.

Diana didn’t bother dignifying that with an answer, especially since that conjured up all sorts of naughty images in her head.The Grumble and Brew was aptly named—a low, constant rumble pervaded the space, punctuated by occasional bubbling sounds from various corners.Enormous copper cauldrons hung from the ceiling, some actively brewing mysterious concoctions that emitted sparks in rainbow hues.

Ceries waved enthusiastically from a corner booth, where she sat with her husband Thaddeus.Diana noticed the table was set with what appeared to be two oversized bubbling cauldron cocktail, each with two straws.Subtle.

"Diana, Alarick, you made it."Ceries beamed as they approached."And you came together.That’s intriguing.”

"We live in the same corridor," Diana said flatly

"We understand completely," Thaddeus said.

An enormous troll wearing a stained apron and a chef's hat that had clearly seen better decades lumbered over to their table.

"Welcome to Grumble and Brew."His voice matched the restaurant's ambient rumble perfectly."I Chef Grimcrack.You try special tonight?"He slammed down four menus that appeared to be carved from thin slabs of petrified wood.

"What's the special?"Diana asked suspiciously.

Grimcrack grinned, revealing teeth that could generously be described as "mostly present."

"Volcanic Rock Steak.Cook on enchanted lava stone at table.Very romantic for couples."He looked meaningfully at the four of them."Stone heated by thousand-year-old volcano.Legend say couples who share meal—"

"I’ll take one," Diana interrupted hastily.“Just one.For me.”

Grimcrack looked disappointed."Less romantic that way.But still delicious."

"Can’t have that," Alarick said.“I’ll have that as well.”

Grimcrack brightened considerably."More Bubbling Cauldron Cocktails?Very good.Make conversational inhibitions dissolve.Perfect for romantic first date."

"It's not a date," Diana corrected automatically.

"Second date?"Grimcrack asked hopefully.

"It's not a date at all," she insisted."We're colleagues discussing herbs."

"Herbs," Grimcrack repeated skeptically, looking between them."Sure.Grimcrack add extra aphrodisiac herbs to steak rub then."

"That won't be necessary—" Diana began, but the troll was already lumbering away.

"Well," Ceries said cheerfully, "shall we discuss those healing herbs I’m growing for the infirmary?I've been experimenting with a new variety of calming mint that changes color based on the patient's level of anxiety."

"That could be useful," Diana admitted, relaxing into the professional conversation."If we could visually gauge anxiety levels..."

"The only problem is that it sometimes makes patients temporarily change color too," Ceries added."I had a student turn bright purple during testing."

"Better than what happened with the singing medicine cabinets," Diana said, shooting Alarick a pointed look.

"Those cabinets were a masterpiece of magical craftsmanship," he protested with a grin."Not my fault the enchantment had a few quirks."

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