My brother gave me a dirty look. “You owe me dinner at Underwood’s for this humiliation.”
I waggled my fingers at him. “Go on, now. Have fun.”
Finn glowered at me another moment, but he plastered a smile on his face, stepped into the court, and started hamming it up with the other jesters. Despite his horror of volunteering and turningoff his phone, he really was a good sport.
Darrell checked something off on his clipboard, then gestured at Owen and me. “This way, guys.”
He led us back to the front of the park and over to a large open-air pavilion that was close to the food trucks. A makeshift forge had been set up inside, and a couple of blacksmiths were already hammering away and demonstrating how horseshoes, swords, andother items had been made back in the olden days. It was the perfect spot for Owen, who was a metal elemental and had his own forge at home, where he crafted all sorts of weapons, including the five silverstone knives I was wearing.
“I thought this would be right up your alley,” Darrell said.
Owen grinned. “You know me too well.”
Darrell grinned back at him, then turned to me. “And Gin, you’remanning the Pork Pit food truck with your friend Sophia.”
“That’s right.”
He nodded and checked off something else on his clipboard. “Perfect. I need to go back to the main stage to help set up for the noon show, but I’ll try to swing back around later to see how you guys are doing. Okay?”
Owen and I both nodded, and Darrell moved off into the crowd, still clutching his clipboard.
“Hear ye!Hear ye!” a loud voice boomed out, drawing my attention. “The Pirate Queen Celeste has arrived, along with her royal court!”
People stepped back, and a woman strode forward. She was quite beautiful, with hazel eyes and glossy black hair that had been wound up into a crownlike braid that arched across her head. She was dressed in blood-red leather from head to toe, and the tight garments showedoff her muscled body and generous curves. I might have looked like a laughable pretender in my dead-bird blouse, but Celeste truly resembled a fearsome pirate queen.
A silver tiara glittered on her head, while two silver swords with large rubies set into their hilts hung from her red leather belt. Thanks to my elemental Stone magic, I could hear the gems singing about how real, pretty, and expensivethey were. Seemed like Darrell wasn’t the only one who spent a fortune on ren-faire treasures.
Several people dressed in red velvet shirts, pants, and gowns were following Celeste, and they smiled and waved to the crowd, as though they were real royal lords and ladies. But my gaze skipped past them and landed on the giants at the tail end of Celeste’s entourage—tall, strong giants clad in blackleather shirts, pants, and boots. Most of the knights, barbarians, and other costumed characters were carrying plastic weapons, but not these guys. I could tell by the way their silver swords glinted in the sunlight that the blades were the real deal.
Pirate Queen Celeste stopped in an open space on the grass, grabbed her two swords off her belt, and started twirling them around and around inher hands, putting on an impromptu show. She definitely knew what she was doing, and she spun the blades around with smooth, easy grace. A minute later, she stabbed both of her swords high up into the air, finishing her flashy routine. People clapped and cheered, and Celeste bowed low, acknowledging their applause. Then she straightened up, holstered her swords, and started posing for pictures.
Owen noticed my curious look. “Darrell said that the pirate queen roams around the faire, showing off her sword skills, judging the jesters, crowning knights, stuff like that. It’s just a way to make the event more fun and to get people excited about the noon show.”
“And what about the giants?” I asked, jerking my head in their direction.
“I think they’re supposed to be the pirate queen’s personalguard.”
A couple of the giants did stay close to Celeste, but the rest moved away and started roaming through the crowd.
“What are they doing?” I asked. “Why aren’t the giants staying with the queen if they’re supposed to be her guards?”
“Oh, Darrell told me that he hired some giants to work security.”
I frowned. “Why would you need so much security at a ren faire?”
Owen shrugged. “Darrellsaid that folks can drink a little too much at the ale garden. They also had problems with people challenging each other to duels and real fights breaking out at the summer faire last year, so he thought it would be a good idea to have some giants around for this one. But he didn’t want to make a big deal about it, so he had them dress up like the pirate queen’s guards. Nothing to worry about.”
I eyed one of the giants as he walked past us. That was a very strong giant carrying a very real and very sharp sword. In my experience, that wasplentyto worry about.
“I should go to the forge and get started. I’ll come over to the Pork Pit truck later, and we’ll watch the noon show. Okay?”
I dipped into a low curtsy, with my hand pressed to my heart, as though I was a courtly lady. “As myhumble blacksmith wishes.”
Owen laughed. I straightened up, and the two of us shared a quick kiss. Owen winked at me, then headed toward the forge. I watched him go with a smile on my face, but I couldn’t quite ignore the cold finger of unease that slid down my spine.
Perhaps it was my constant paranoia, but I couldn’t help thinking that something wasn’t quite right here—and that we were alreadytrapped in Winter’s Web.
