Page 58 of Tusks, Tails & Teacakes
Lira stewedon it all the next day, going through the motions of rolling out scones and making meat pies for their ever-growing clientele. By the following morning, she couldn’t wait any longer.
The bell jangled as she burst into the apothecary, and Iris's face barely had time to register surprise.
“We should come clean,” Lira said, the words tripping over each other. “Ishould come clean. I should tell Durn about the book.”
When she was done with her announcement, Lira clutched her side and sucked in a breath. She’d practically run through the village to reach Iris, even ignoring the tempting smell ofsweet rolls billowing from the bakery and throwing a passing wave of greeting to Pip and Fenni.
Iris's response to her outburst was a smile as she came around the counter and curled an arm around her waist. “It sounds like you’ve been thinking this over for a bit.”
No shock. No arguments. Just a patient nod as she led Lira to the back room.
Lira flopped onto one of the overstuffed chairs as Iris opened the latch on the bookwyrms’ cage, releasing them into the air to swoop overhead. Watching the tiny creatures flutter to the bookshelves and daintily brush the leather spines with their wings did make Lira smile.
Iris pressed a cup of tea into her hand. “Why don’t you tell me what happened between when I saw you last and now?”
Lira sipped her tea, the sweetness of the warm drink settling her nerves almost as much as the rhythmic beating of wings overhead. “Well, Sass saw us, for one.”
“Did she?”
“She saw us coming from the cellar.” Saying it aloud made it sound less catastrophic than it had in her head.
Iris hitched a dark brow. “The cellar that holds the food stores?”
Lira huffed out a breath. “Sass knows there’s nothing down there that isn’t rancid.”
“Did she say anything about it?”
“Not specifically, but she did mention seeing us coming from the cellar.”
Iris poured herself a cup of tea and set the kettle on the table. “And you think that she’ll think we were…what? Discussing ways to get through the wall to retrieve a book you hid years ago?”
“When you put it like that,” Lira grumbled from behind her cup.
Iris laughed and shook her head. “I taught you stealth and secrecy. Don’t tell me you were this nervous when you were with your crew?”
Lira released a heavy breath and sank deeper into the chair. “Of course, I wasn’t. That would be a quick way to get killed.” She flickedher eyes to the woman who’d taught her how to stay calm under pressure. “I’m not sure why this is so much harder.”
One of the bookwyrms landed on Iris's shoulder after she shrugged it. “Maybe because this isn’t any old job. This is something that matters to you. Keeping secrets from these people matters to you.”
Lira frowned at this. She’d snuck into grand manors, tricked unwitting guards, charmed unsuspecting castle staff. This shouldn’t be any different.
But it was.
It was one thing to divest a spoiled lady of jewels she didn’t need or snatch an ancient scroll from a collector who would hardly miss it. That was work, and she’d rarely deceived anyone who didn’t deserve to have their purse lightened.
Even though she’d made her way in the world as a rogue, Lira didn’t like lying to friends. And, she realized with a start, she now considered Sass a friend.
Hiding the true reason she was there felt wrong, even if the true reason was no longer the only reason. She couldn’t imagine getting the recipe book and gold and leaving now. Not when she and Sass had worked so hard to make the tavern flourish again, with plenty of help from Korl, Val, Tin, Pip, and even Crumpet.
Every day at The Tusk & Tail had led her farther from her original objective and closer to staying in Wayside for good. There was little reason to keep her secret any longer, if only there wasn’t a wyvern on the hunt for gold.
“You’re right,” Lira said. “I shouldn’t keep this secret from Sass—or any of my friends. I’ll bet if I told Durn, he’d let us remove a few stones to retrieve the book.”
Iris's teacup bobbled in her hands. “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”
Lira sat up. “I thought you were suggesting I not keep any more secrets?”
The bookwyrm took flight from Iris’s shoulder as she twitched,darting to a stack of gilded-edge tomes on the table and using the flap of his wings to clear the dust.
