Page 8 of Sorcery, Swords & Scones
Sass opened her mouth again and closed it just as swiftly. Why did it have to be Thrain? Any other dwarf sent by her family, she would have no trouble dispatching or misleading. But she couldn’t lie to him.
Which is why he’s the one they sent.
Sass steadied her breath and her nerve. “I didn’t intend for anyone to think I was dead.”
“You didn’t think we would assume the worst when you vanished? You didn’t count on us believing the mountains had taken you when the only thing you left behind were tracks in the snow that ended at the edge of a cliff?”
Sass worked the tail of her braid as she thought back to her escape from the Ice Lands and the brutal trek across endless snow. If she were being honest, she’d hoped they would consider her lost to the swirling storms, but she’d never staged a fall off a precipice.“If there were tracks ending at a cliff, they weren’t mine. I took the southern route and wound through the base of the mountains.”
Thrain made another sound of disbelief, but Sass slid a hand across the table that separated them. “I never meant to scare anyone, least of all you. I thought if anyone would understand what I did, it would be my best friend.”
The dwarf shifted on the bench and cleared his throat gruffly. “I knew you weren’t happy with the arrangement, but I didn’t know you were desperate enough to run away.”
Sass kept her gaze on the frayed end of her braid as she ran her thumb over it again and again. “You know my family would have never listened to reason. Our clan was obsessed with making an alliance with King Trollbane.”
Thrain grunted, which was as much agreement as Sass knew she would get.
“It was all moving too fast, and no one cared what I wanted,”Sass continued, the sensation of being trapped resurfacing as she thought about why she’d left home. She tugged absently at the neckline of her blouse with her free hand as she wrestled that feeling back down.
“So you thought running away from everyone you loved and who loved you was the best plan?”
“I’m sorry if I hurt anyone, especially you.” She tossed her braid over her shoulder and folded her arms across her chest. “But you know better than anyone alive that I couldn’t marry Florin.”
Thrain shrugged off his cloak, exposing the silvery fur lining that must have kept him from freezing on the journey from the Ice Lands. “You’re the daughter of a dwarf ruler. You always knew your duty, and the future planned for you. You'd been promised to Florin since you were no taller than an axe blade.”
Sass glared at him. “I decided to make my own choice.”
Thrain scraped a hand through the dark hair that hung in long tangles over his shoulders and swiveled his head to take in the tavern. “And this is your choice? Working as a tavern wench in the South?”
“I’m no tavern wench, Thrain. I’ll have you know I own half of this successful establishment.” She smiled at the smoldering hearth and the polished tables, warmth bubbling up in her chest like a pot of simmering chai. “It might not be a dwarven mine or a mountain palace, but it’s my home now.”
Thrain wrinkled his prominent nose. “How could this ever be home for a dwarf princess?”
Sass bristled at the mention of her former title. “I’m not a princess anymore. Not if it means I have to marry who my family says and live a life of someone else’s choosing.” She pressed her lips together and glared at her former friend. “So you can go back to the mountains and tell everyone that you failed at your task, because I’m not coming back with you.”
A weary sigh escaped Thrain’s lips. “Your family didn’t send me, Sass.”
That made her sit up. She didn’t know if she was relieved her clan hadn’t sent out a search party or outraged. “They didn’t?”
Thrain shook his head. “I came looking for you on my own. Partly to find out if you were truly alive and throttle you if you were.”
Sass couldn’t help but laugh. “Now that sounds like the Thrain I know.”
A shadow of a smile twitched at one corner of his beard. “I’m glad to find you alive, Sass, but I haven’t forgiven you for leaving me like you did.”
Her heart squeezed with regret and affection. She stood, crossed to his side of the table, and put her hands on his shoulders. “My only regret in leaving was that I didn’t take you with me.”
Thrain’s dark eyes shone. “You aren’t just saying that because you know I can best you in a fight?”
Sass dredged up a grin, a weight lifting off her chest. “No. I wished you were with me a thousand times during my journey, and I wondered what you were doing under the mountains.”
“I wasn’t under the mountains.” He made a face. “I was tracking you all over this flat, sweaty land. For a dwarf who’d never left the Ice Lands, you didn’t make yourself easy to find.”
“If you were the only one searching for me, maybe I shouldn’t have bothered covering my tracks.”
Thrain’s broad shoulders sagged. “That’s one of the other reasons I came. I’m not the only dwarf looking for you.”
Sass tilted her head in confusion. “I thought you said my family didn’t send a search party.”
