Vaskel muttered his agreement and a vague promise about coming back later, but he pushed both from his mind as soon as he entered the tavern. He ignored the growing crowd and even the fact that Val was behind the bar as Sass bustled around the long tables. Keeping his head low, he tucked the jugs of brandy behind the bar and headed for where he was sure he’d find Lira.
But when he pushed through the swinging kitchen doors, he stopped short. Instead of Lira busily baking, she was standing frozen at the stove while Crumpet stirred a burbling pot, while Bramble the raccoon was using his deft little paws to fold pastry into half-moon shaped pies.
“Hells and cinders,” he muttered with a shake of his head.
Before he could address Lira and her obvious reaction to the wedding brandy, Sass burst in behind him.
“What in Grognick’s beard is going on in here?” She flipped her dark braid off her shoulder, leveling a finger at Vaskel. “You should be behind the bar before Val over-serves everyone in the place.”
He hesitated, but Lira seemed to snap herself out of whatever spiral the wedding brandy had sent her into, taking the spoon from Crumpet so the flutterstoat could sag against her.
“First you leave,” Sass flapped her hand at Vaskel, clearly not done with him. “Then Lira hares off after you. Then a pair of hellkins not nearly as charming as you, tried to get out of paying with some poorly veiled threats.”
“Hellkins?” Vaskel’s mouth went dry. Festering dragon dung! He hoped Marina would keep her crew away from Wayside. That had obviously been wishful thinking on his part.
Sass huffed out a breath. “Nothing I couldn’t handle. I told them to pay up, or I’d send some trolls after them.”
“That’s our Sass,” Lira said with a grin. “Always quick on her feet.”
The dwarf shook a severe finger at her. “Don’t try to get back on my good side. You left me with a kitchen staff of wee beasties. If you’d been gone much longer, I would have had to borrow a badger from the forest to help clear tables.”
Vaskel watched Lira’s brows lift and thought that Sass had better be careful what outlandish things she said or she might indeed find a badger working in the tavern one morning.
“It won’t happen again,” Lira assured her, which prompted a few more grumbles from the dwarf.
“I’ll get back to the bar,” Vaskel said, with a last look at Lira. He’d have to wait until later to thank her for keeping his secret and for taking him to see her uncle.
“You’ll be glad to know that the dodgy hellkin is gone,” Sass said with a satisfied nod, which faded quickly. “But so is Thrain.”
Vaskel rushed out to the great room, his gaze scanning the tables filled with patrons. No Marina and no Thrain.
He huffed out a breath. “Festering goblin spawn.”
Twenty-Four
Vaskel slumped farther downin the overstuffed armchair and dragged the pewter tankard to his lips, sipping the ale that was no longer cold. “He’ll be back soon.”
Val sank into the chair across from his, the impact making the yarn basket on the floor jump and her own ale slosh over the lip of the tankard. “You can’t stay here all night waiting for Thrain.”
“He has to come back at some point,” Vaskel mumbled, more into his drink than to Val.
Val gave him a broad grin and raised her ale in salute. “To Thrain returning.”
Vaskel didn’t bother to lift his drink before taking another swig. The tavern had emptied out long enough ago that Sass had swept the floors twice. Even the fire was a pile of murmuring embers glowing orange in the stone hearth.
Korl and Lira emerged hand-in-hand from the kitchen, both doing a double-take to see so many people left around the fire after closing.
Sass sauntered up with the bristle broom in one hand. “You truly intend to stay here until he returns?”
“Until who returns?” Lira asked.
“Thrain.” Vaskel flicked his gaze to the back staircase that led to both Sass’s bedroom and Thrain’s. “He sleeps here. That means he has to come back.”
“We can wait with you,” Lira said, although she didn’t sound excited by the prospect.
“The last thing we need is a sleep-deprived bride.” Sass propped her broom against the nearest table and perched on the arm of Val’s chair. “You should go home.”
“You’re just saying that because I’ve been in a mood the past few days,” Lira said.
