Page 44 of Sorcery, Swords & Scones
Sass pushed herself up from her chair, her legs stiff from sitting for so long. “I’m going to get some air," she murmured, though she wasn't sure if anyone heard her over the newly ignited debate over the dwarf rune game.
She slipped toward the exit, the heavy wooden door opening with a soft creak, and stepped out into the night. Danger might lurk somewhere in the darkness beyond Wayside, but for a moment, Sass allowed herself to breathe freely, thinking that no one had noticed her departure.
But she was wrong.
Thirty-Three
Sass stood outside the tavern,blinking at the deep indigo that was fading to a paler shade along the horizon, where the first whisper of dawn was teasing the far corners of the Known Lands. Hints of pink seeped over the treetops, and birdsong was quickly replacing the chirp of crickets. The air smelled of grass, wild honeysuckle, and the smoke of the village chimneys, and Sass sucked it in greedily.
She realized with a start that they'd been awake all night. Morning was approaching, and she was still safe. There was no sign of Florin or her retinue, no armed dwarves demanding her return to a life she'd fled. For now at least, she was exactly where she wanted to be.
The door behind her creaked, and Sass turned, expecting to see Lira. Instead, she looked up at Val silhouetted against the yellow light spilling from inside the tavern.
A smile tugged at the corners of Sass's mouth, and she felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. “Did you come to remind me we still have a knitting lesson to make up?”
Val let the door shut behind her and joined Sass in lookingtoward the horizon, where the sun would soon soak the sky in flames of morning light.
"I'm not here for the knitting, Sass," Val said quietly. “Even when I've been teaching you to knit, it hasn't been about the knitting. I hope you know that."
Sass opened her mouth, then closed it again, all the air snatched from her lungs. "I didn't know until now," she finally admitted, "but I'd hoped it wasn't just about the knitting. Especially since I'm really not very good at it."
Val's laugh was low and throaty, rippling through the quiet. "You really aren't, are you?"
Sass couldn't help but join in the laughter, even as she attempted mild protests about her improving skills and how the needles were trickier than they looked.
When their laughter faded, a comfortable silence settled over them, and Sass sank into it like snuggling under a thick blanket.
"I know you've got a lot going on right now," Val said without turning to face Sass, "and a lot to figure out. But whenever you're ready, I'll be here."
Even though she’d grown up deep in mountain halls surrounded by dwarves who believed that louder was better and bold moves were the only ones worth taking, it was enough for her to know simply that Val was there and she cared. After a lifetime of being told what she should want and who she should be, Val's gentle understanding was like gold.
Without giving herself time to question herself, Sass turned toward Val and placed her hand on the tall woman's stomach, feeling the quilted leather of her vest beneath her palm. It was warm from Val's body heat, and Sass’s open hand rose and fell with the steady rhythm of the woman’s breathing.
"One thing I don't need time to figure out," Sass said, peering into Val's eyes, "is how I feel about you."
Val's breath hitched. "Oh, well, that's nice to hear." She exhaled a heavy breath and cut her gaze to the ground. “I know I do thetalking for Korl, or at least I used to, but I’m better at doing things than saying things. Give me a sword to swing or even knitting needles to work, and I’m good. It’s trying to find the right words to say so I don’t mess things up that’s the hard part.”
Sass didn’t think that Val could ever say something to mess things up with her, but the guard’s sudden shyness was sweet. Suddenly, Sass didn’t feel so nervous knowing that someone as strong and capable—and tall—as Val wasn’t always sure of herself.
Acting on pure instinct, Sass gripped the edge of Val's vest and yanked her down while propelling herself up on her toes. Their lips bumped together awkwardly at first, but then Val steadied herself and curled a hand around the back of Sass’s head.
Sass didn’t know what she’d expected, but she’d never imagined that the tough guard would have such soft lips. Her head swam as she sank into the kiss, her lips moving slowly at first and then more urgently. When Val slackened her grip on Sass’s head and broke the kiss, Sass dropped back on flat feet and stared up at Val, stunned.
“I’d say you're pretty good at things like this," she said, even as she brought one finger to her tingling lips.
Before Val could respond or Sass could pull her into another kiss as she desperately wanted to do, a rustling in the bushes made them both go still. Sass couldn’t tell how close it was, but she knew it wasn’t an animal creeping through underbrush. The unnatural sound was more like the whisper of fabric against fabric followed by a footstep in the dry grass.
Val crouched into a battle stance, her hand going to the hilt of the sword that hung at her side, and Sass tensed, her thumb touching the ring on her finger. The metal should have been prickling, but it wasn't.
Orc’s blood, had she put too much faith in a magic ring that didn’t work?
Thirty-Four
"We have a visitor,"Sass announced as she stepped into the tavern again, the peat-laced warmth a sudden change from the cool morning air outside.
Val joined her and slid Sass a sidelong grin. "Actually, a few visitors."
They stepped aside to allow Erindil to sweep into the great room in a swish of sheer, midnight-blue robes and a cloud of exotic spices. His attendants hurried in after him, each wearing equally ornate sleeping clothes and as out of place in the rustic tavern as peacocks parading through a chicken coop. Speaking of peacocks, was Erindil’s diaphanous robe edged in peacock feathers?
