Page 19 of Sorcery, Swords & Scones
The thatch rustled as Lira climbed out and settled herself beside Sass, close enough that their shoulders touched. “I was the one who first christened this roof as a thinking spot. If I remember correctly, you thought I was mad to sit on the roof.”
“That was back when the roof was so rotten I almost lost a leg in it.”
Lira bumped her shoulder against Sass's. “But I caught you before you took the shortcut to the first floor.”
“Aye, you did. I’m grateful to you for that, and to Korl and Val for fixing the roof so sitting out here doesn’t risk life or limb.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Lira wrapped her arm around Sass’s shoulder. "We're going to figure it out. All right?"
Sass leaned into the embrace, drawing strength from Lira's certainty even as her own world felt like it was splintering around the edges. "What if you can't? What if there's no way to figure it out?"
“You’re talking to a woman in possession of a spell book she doesn't know how to use.I'll practice the spells until I find one that can keep you safe, even if it means I have to turn everyone in Wayside into newts.”
"I hope you'd only turnsomepeople into newts," Sass managed, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.
“I wish Silas still came around. I would have liked to see him as a newt.”
Sass snorted a laugh at the memory of the curmudgeon who’d once been a regular. “Vaskel would make a particularly handsome newt.”
“I won’t tell him you said that. It would only go to his already inflated head.”
The pair laughed together before they lapsed into silence again, but it was an easy quiet, one softened by shared laughter and the simple comfort of not being alone with her fears.
“Well, I’d better get back to the kitchen,” Lira said suddenly, straightening. “I need to start the cinnamon scones.”
“I’ll be right behind you.”
“And Sass?” Lira’s tone made her turn to face her fully. “Don’t worry about Val. She’ll understand.”
Sass felt heat bloom across her cheeks like she'd stuck her face too close to a forge. “I’m not worried. We’re just?—”
“I know, I know. You’re just friends. She’s only teaching you to knit." Lira winked. "And Korl was just bringing me a new stove because he wanted to eat more scones."
Sass shot her a look. "That's completely different."
"Is it?" Lira was already moving toward the window, preparing to climb back inside, but she looked back over her shoulder with a grin that was pure mischief. "Is it really?"
And with that, she disappeared through the window, leaving Sass alone on the roof with her scorched cheeks and new worries about how she was going to explain all her secrets to the guard.
Thirteen
Sass hesitatedas the doors to the kitchen swung shut behind her. She was used to seeing Lira at work at the large wooden table surrounded by bowls and ingredients, but somehow the ingredients scattered around the woman looked wrong.
Instead of cinnamon sticks and butter, there were wee burlap bags that Sass didn’t recognize and scents that reminded her of Iris’s apothecary instead of a bakery.
“Why do I have the feeling you’re not working on cinnamon scones?”
Lira glanced up, her wrinkled brow smoothing. “Oh, good, it’s just you.”
Sass took a step closer, noticing that Crumpet was standing next to the heavy spell book that was propped up on a sack of sugar. The pages were opened to a spread that looked suspiciously like a spell and not a recipe for muffins or crumpets.
“I thought you were going to start on the scones.” Sass clocked a couple of black-glass bottles she knew had come from Iris’s shelves.
“I was,” Lira said, “but then I realized that baking can wait. I need to try one of these spells.”
Crumpet eyed the bowl, wrinkling his tiny nose at what it contained already.
“Do you?” Sass had every faith in her friend as a baker, but Lira had never attempted one of her gran’s spells. Considering that her gran had been a trained mage and had still made magical mistakes, Sass feared that this might not be the best plan.
