Page 16 of Tusks, Tails & Teacakes
Lira had never felt special. She’d felt different. How could she believe she was special when she hadn’t been able to save her friend? But that wasn’t something she wanted to tell Iris. Not yet.
“Running a farm isn’t so bad,” Lira said, thinking about gathering eggs from the hens and helping her gran churn butter. Things had been simple, but they’d been happy.
“But you had to leave and see what was beyond Wayside to know that.”
Lira hated how the truth of that statement stung. Before she could ask Iris more, the bell in the main shop trilled and a familiar voice called out, “Lira? You here?”
She had forgotten about Sass.
Nine
Iris swungher head to Lira. “I thought you told me you weren’t with your companions.”
“I’m not. This is someone I met at the tavern.”
Furrows joined the worry lines on Iris's forehead. “The tavern? You went to The Tusk & Tail?”
“I did, but what in the hells happened to it?” Lira asked in lieu of an answer, hoping Iris wouldn’t think to question why she’d sought out the tavern before visiting her. “When I left, it was the heart of the village. And since when is a wyvern the village reeve?”
Iris gave her a sad smile. “You left a while ago.”
“Hello?” Sass bellowed, her voice gettingcloser. “Anyone here?”
Iris walked to the curtains, holding the two sides as she turned back to Lira. “Why is she looking for you?”
How had Lira been talking with Iris all this time and not thought to mention where she was staying or that she was roommates with a dwarf. “It’s a long story, but the crux of it is I convinced Durn that his tavern needed fixing, and I was the one to do it—along with a female dwarf named Sass.” She took a breath. “I’m staying at The Tusk & Tail, and she’s my roommate.”
Iris blinked at her and then a burst of laughter escaped her lips. “I see you’ve honed your skills of coercion.”
“It didn’t take much convincing.” Lira omitted telling her that both the tavernkeeper and the dwarf had been desperate.
Iris twitched one shoulder. “Spoken like a true rogue.” Then her smile faded. “Do you trust her?”
Well, that was the question, wasn’t it? Lira had learned not to trust anyone when she’d been tricking her way into castles, sweet-talking the keys off jailers, and convincing her marks to tell her their most precious secrets. She hadn’t been someone to trust, so she hadn’t dared trust. But now she was back home, and the rules were different. Weren’t they?
She’d met Sass in the middle of a robbery, but it had been a pitiful one. Like she’d told her, the dwarf was obviously not a trained thief, and it was clear she didn’t excel at deception. What dwarf could ever claim stealth? Lira’s gut told her that Sass was exactly who she claimed to be. Not only that, but the dwarf had proven to be a hard worker, which wasn’t nothing in Lira’s book.
“We can trust her,” she finally told Iris. “She’s traveled all the way from The Ice Lands looking for a different life than mining.”
Iris’s brow hitched higher on her forehead. “I see you still have a soft spot for outsiders.”
Lira thought of her crew, each member an outsider in their own way. Then she thought of herself straddling the elf and human worlds. “Isthat so bad?”
“Not at all.” Iris reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze before she held open the curtains. “She’s in here, pet. Come on back.”
Lira couldn’t see Sass, but she could hear the dwarf’s tentative steps. Then she remembered how ominous the apothecary was in the front, all flickering candlelight and murky jars of strange concoctions. Did Iris still keep the scorpion eyeballs in a jar? She definitely had a jar of beetle husks.
“It’s okay,” Lira called out. “I really am back here.”
Sass appeared under Iris's arm, but she didn’t have to duck to enter. In response to the new arrival, the bookwyrms took to the air in a flurry of fluttering wings and excited chirps.
“What in the sweet, simmering cauldrons are those?”
“Bookwyrms,” Iris answered before Lira could. “They keep my books dust-free.” She held out a hand to Sass. “I’m Iris.”
Sass absently extended her own hand while she tipped back her head. “Sarsaparilla but everyone calls me Sass.” She blinked rapidly. “I’ve never heard of bookwyrms.”
“They’re my own creation.”
