Page 38 of Sorcery, Swords & Scones
Sass linked her fingers with Lira's. "I miss it too, but I couldn't be happier that you found your person. Korl adores you, and watching you two together makes me believe that there’s someone perfect for everyone out there."
Lira's eyes glistened. "And Val won't be able to resist you in that dress. Trust me, no one could look at you right now and want to be just friends.”
Sass laughed despite her nerves. “I didn’t get this dress just for Val.”
Lira’s brows lifted. “Didn’t you?”
Sass groaned. “Ugh. How do you know me so well?”
The woman twitched one shoulder. “I’d do the same thing.”
Sass gave her friend a small shove with her shoulder. “Korl wouldn’t think you were any less beautiful if you wore a flour sack.”
Lira laughed. “Just promise me you won't be so busy with Val that you forget to help at our table. With so many ladies wearing their best dresses, I can't rely on Vaskel not to wander off if he spots a pretty face in the crowd."
The sound of music drifting in through the open window made both women turn. The Harvest Festival was beginning, and somewhere below them, the village was coming alive.
"You can count on me," Sass promised, standing and smoothing down her skirt one final time.
Lira opened the door, and they both stopped, mouths falling open as Thrain stood just outside.
“What…?” Sass started to ask before the words died on her lips.
“That haberdasher,” Thrain grumbled, looking down at the head-to-toe orange outfit that encased his stocky frame. “He insisted I needed a special outfit for the occasion, said my clothes were giving mountain grunge.”
Mountain grunge?Lira mouthed to Sass as she clearly attempted to suppress a laugh.
“You let Tin dress you?” Sass couldn't take her eyes off the dwarf. Or maybe it was the orange ascot she couldn’t stop staring at.
Thrain grunted. “He made it sound like everyone would dress for the occasion, and this outfit would make me look splendid. ”
Lira stepped forward and looped an arm through his. “Well, I think you do look splendid. The haberdasher was right, of course. Folks are dressing for the occasion.” She jerked a thumb at Sass. “Just look at your friend.”
Thrain mumbled something about Sass not looking like a walking pumpkin, but Lira had spun him around and was steering him toward the stairs, giving Sass an amused look over her shoulder.
Sass shook her head and followed, her shoulders shaking. She brushed the ring again. No prickling. Maybe this was going to be her night after all.
Twenty-Eight
“You’resure you don’t mind?” Sass asked Vaskel and Lira, who were busy arranging the tavern’s display table underneath the swinging wooden Tusk & Tail sign. Steam rose from the copper pot of chai that Vaskel was ladling into ceramic mugs, while Lira's apple crumble bars sat in neat rows on wooden boards, their bumpy tops burnished brown.
“I promise it will be a quick spin around the village to see what everyone's displaying," she added. “For Thrain’s sake.”
Lira waved a hand at her, more focused on her display than on Sass. “Go, so you can hurry back!”
Thrain nudged her with his elbow as they walked away. "You just want to get some of whatever that halfling baker is selling."
Sass laughed, feeling lighter than she had in days. "You know me too well. There's no point pretending I have any willpower when it comes to Pip's creations."
The golden sunset painted Wayside in balmy stripes of amber as Sass and Thrain made their way from The Tusk & Tail toward the heart of the village. The usual sounds of a work day ending—the clink of hammer on anvil from the blacksmith, the creak ofwagon wheels over dirt, the calls of merchants hawking their remaining wares at the market—had been replaced by music drifting on the evening breeze, the bright laughter of children, and the eager chatter of villagers.
Wayside didn’t just sound different; it smelled different too. Sass was accustomed to the scent of yeast billowing from Pip's bakery, but now that mingled with sugar so pungent she was surprised she couldn’t see frothy clouds of it bobbing overhead.
As they walked, Sass twirled the enchanted ring with her thumb. The metal remained warm, giving no sign of prickling. For the first time since Thrain had arrived with news of Florin's search party, Sass felt like she could actually enjoy herself.
She waved at Vorto and Klaff, who were setting up a horseshoe toss game outside their workshop. Children were already milling about and eyeing the whistles that the orcs had crafted to look like ears of corn.
“Wouldn’t mind trying my hand at that later,” Thrain said, even though Sass didn’t let them stop. Not yet. Not until they’d eaten.
