With only a moment’s hesitation, I poured the liquid into my mouth. The last time I sampled my concoction had been days ago, and the fermentation was nowhere near complete. Now, I was out of time, so I silently prayed to any of the Old Gods that were listening that the brew would be ready.
The cider caressed my tongue and slid down my throat. I groaned in delight.
Absolutely perfect.
My newest creation was my best one yet—spiced pumpkin cider. It had taken weeks to find a traveling salesman willing to find pumpkins and bring them to Moonvale. The massive orange fruits were rare, only growing naturally in the fields surrounding the mountains of Rockward.
The fruits then had to be chopped up, the skins and seeds removed, chilled, dried out, and then boiled down into a syrupy pulp. It had taken ages of painstaking labor.
The hassle was worth it.
I took the annual Moonvale potluckveryseriously, and this cider would surely be a crowd pleaser.
I poured myself another sample, tossed it in my mouth, and savored the crisp, almost nutty flavor. I had used one of the largest barrels in the cellar, but now, I wished I had brewed multiple batches.
This stuff was going to disappear faster than a water sprite in a forest fire.
Kizzi and Fiella were going to love this one. The corner of my mouth curled as I thought about the two women and their deep, almost reverent love for ciders. Of all the folk in Moonvale, I could count on them to give me the most elaborately honest opinions.
I could also count on them to drink any cider I placed in front of them.
Those ladies could handle their alcohol with impressive gusto. Even more so than some of the older, larger folk that frequented the pub.
I poured another small dribble of cider into the goblet and tucked it under my arm, tidying up the space before making the climb back to the pub’s kitchen.
I shouldered open the cellar door with a flourish while calling out, “Ginny! You’ve got to try this one.”
When I last saw Ginger, she was in the dining room polishing tables to perfection. I assumed she would still be out there.
The unlucky faun was right behind the door.
My mindless entrance knocked the woman right off her hooves and she fell on her ass with a muffledoomph. The plate she had been drying clattered to the floor and cracked in half.
“Gods above, Tandor! Use your eyeballs for once and look around before you come storming in here!” she scolded.
“Sorry, boss. I got too excited.” Still clutching the goblet with my precious pumpkin brew in one hand, I reached out with my other and hooked my fingers under the bewildered woman’s arm and hoisted her to her feet. She landed gracefully. Everything she did looked graceful—even falling flat on her ass.
“I can stand, I can stand, you brute.” She pried her arm from my grasp and ran her hands over her pants to brush off any clinging dirt. “Thanks for the hand, I guess. Though it is yourfault that I needed it. What do you have there?” she asked when she finally noticed what I was holding.
Wordlessly, I presented the goblet to her. She took it, examining it with a practiced skepticism. She swirled it around, held it up to the light, and then took a tentative sniff, exactly as I had done in the cellar.
Sparing just a moment to meet my eyes and arch a full eyebrow, she raised the glass and poured it into her mouth.
A moment passed. Two. Anticipation boiled under my skin, buzzed in my stomach. I clenched my hands together to stop myself from wringing them.
Then Ginger burst out laughing.
“What… what is it? That’s not exactly the reaction I expected,” I asked nervously.
Ginger slapped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “You’ve finally outdone me. This is the best cider I’ve ever tasted.”
“And that’s… funny?”
“No, not funny. Hilarious. I never thought I’d see the day, but I should have paid more attention to you. You’ll steal this business out from under me if I’m not careful.”
My breath whooshed out of me. I finally cracked a smile. “It’s pretty good, huh?”
“Pretty good? This stuff is borderline magical.” She paused for a second. “Or is itactuallymagical?” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “What did you do, Tandor? Am I poisoned?”
