Page 18 of Tusks, Tails & Teacakes
“I wouldn’t cross him. Not even the guardsmen can challenge his authority.”
Iris met Lira’s gaze, and for a moment, Lira wondered if her mentor suspected her secret. Then she brushed the idea from her mind. Iris was an apothecary, not a seer.
She put her teacup in its saucer with a clatter. “We should probably get going. We still need to get some supplies at the marketplace.”
Iris made a clicking sound in the back of her throat and all the bookwyrms fluttered in a wide arc around the high ceiling and through the beams of sunlight before swirling down like a tightly spinning wind and swooping into the cage. She clicked the door closed and smiled at Sass.
“Lira says you’re to be trusted, so I will trust you not to mention what you saw here.”
Sass inclined her head. “I didn’t see a thing but a lot of glass jars that smell funny.”
Iris grinned before she shooed them both out, but it was only when she and Sass were standing outside the shop that Lira realized she’d forgotten to ask Iris the question that had been consuming her since she’d left Wayside. How had an apothecary learned all those rogue skills she’d taught her so many years ago?
Ten
Not only wasSass’s bag overflowing with swaths of fabric and loaves of bread wrapped in paper, Lira’s arms were full of supplies that Boden had sold them for a fair price. He’d taken a bit of convincing that the pair were truly from the tavern, but then he’d recognized Lira and reluctantly accepted her tale of returning to Wayside. She was getting so good at telling it that she almost believed her own words.
Lira shifted the sack of flour on her hip as they walked back to The Tusk & Tail. She noticed Sass eyeing the jar of honey she held in her free hand. “I didn’t think dwarves had much of a sweet tooth.”
Sass choked back a laugh. “Shows how littleyou know dwarves.” Then she added. “But I got more of a taste for sweet stuff when I ventured below the long wall. Humans can’t get enough of it.”
“Not just humans.” Lira tipped her head at the blacksmith and wheelwright shop across the stream. “The orcs who work there have a known addiction to Serena’s honey, and they loved my gran’s cakes.”
“Seems like everyone loved your gran.”
Lira’s throat tightened. “They did, and they loved her baking. I don’t know if I have a chance of living up to her legacy.”
“I get that. If I’d stayed in the Ice Lands, I never could have been as good of a miner as my brothers. Not that I wanted to mine. But it’s hard having family expectations hanging over you. Is that one of the reasons you left?”
Lira rarely spoke about why she left, but for some reason, it was easy to talk to Sass. “Once my gran passed, nothing felt right. I could only see what wasn’t here anymore. I thought if I left, I wouldn’t miss her so much, I wouldn’t be reminded of her every minute.”
Sass nodded and the two fell silent as they reached the door to the tavern, the sign still dangling overhead by one hinge even though there was no more wind to make it creak as it swung. Before Lira could push open the door, Sass put a hand on it.
“There’s something I don’t get.”
Lira drew in a breath. “What?”
“You seem to know everyone in the village and they all like you. It seems like a nice place. I get why you left, but why stay away for so long? And why come back now?”
Lira should have known this was coming. Just like she should have known that returning would stir up all sorts of old memories. She hadn’t thought about any of it in so long that dredging up the past felt like roiling up muck that had been well buried.
“The crew I joined kept busy, and we kept moving. I’ve been from end to end of the Ageless Lands, and I’ve even been as far as the Skittering Islands. I guess I got so busy I let myself forget.”
Sass’s expression didn’t change, which meant she was waiting for Lira to tell her why she was back, which wasn’t going to happen.
“All crews disband eventually, and that’s what mine did. I didn’t come back right away, but after a few months I decided it was time to come home.”
Lira stuck as close to the truth as possible. Her crew had disbanded. She had spent some time traveling alone before she’d decided to set off for Wayside. She had been drawn back to her home, but it hadn’t been because she’d missed it. At least, she hadn’t thought so at the time. The sweet ache of familiarity she’d felt since she’d been back had been a surprise.
“So, you’re staying?” Sass asked.
Before that morning, if she’d said yes she would have been lying. But strolling through the village and seeing those who’d been such a big part of her childhood made it hard to imagine moving on anytime soon. Besides, she was as safe in Wayside as she was anywhere, and since returning, she hadn’t felt the sense of foreboding that had dogged her since Malek’s death. “For the time being.”
Sass hitched the net bag higher on her shoulder. “Good. Me too.” She inclined her head at the tavern. “This place might not be much but it’s better than sleeping under a tree.”
Lira gave her a crooked grin. “Depends on the tree.”
Sass was laughing as they shoved open the door and walked into The Tusk & Tail. Even though the pair had spent the morning cleaning, the place still reeked of damp and stale ale.
