I rinsed the rag under the faucet and hung it back on the sink. “Can I help you with anything?”
“No, mylady.” She’d put a bit of force into thatlady.
“I’m not a lady. Can I peel something? I’m fast.”
“If I need something peeled, I will let you know.”
“I can—”
Shana pulled out a teapot and a cup and set both in front of me on the table. “You can sit in this chair right here and have your morning cup of tea. The pastries will be ready soon.”
I opened my mouth.
Shana pointed at the chair. I had seen this exact look on my mom’s face when my fifteen-year-old supergenius self told her that I didn’t need to study for drivers’ ed because I already knew everything there was to know about cars and I was an excellent driver.
I clicked my mouth shut, sat in the chair, and poured some tea.
“I’ll get you some honey,” Shana said.
“Thank you.”
She put a jar of honey in front of me. I spooned some into my cup and tried the tea. Like being kicked in the teeth by a caffeine horse. Wooo!
“Is this firepit tea?”
“Yes. Too strong for you?”
“No, I like it.”
It reminded me of an assam tea blended with some sort of sweet spice or fruit. Mercenaries and soldiers all across Rellas drank this tea by the campfire in the early mornings before long marches and in the evening before the night watch. One famous knight had even declared that there were three essential ingredients to winning a war: a commander who was admired by their troops, weapons of Rellasian gray iron, and firepit tea.
Shana sat in a chair across from me, poured herself a cup, and loaded it with honey with a slight frown on her face.
“Am I confusing?” I asked.
She nodded. “A bit. I’ll figure you out. Gort says you know people’s secrets.”
“Something like that.”
“He’s hiding something from me. He won’t tell me what it is, and the kids don’t know either. Do you know?”
Gort wasn’t half as slick as he thought. “I have a good guess.”
“Is he sick?”
“No. It’s not another woman either, if you’re worried.”
She barked a short laugh. “Oh, I know it’s not another woman.”
“It’s not important now, because both of you are here,” I told her.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
I had to impress her. I would need to ask the Magnars to do some strange things in the near future, and having Shana’s support would go a long way. I had to choose carefully.
“You could’ve picked Kurem of Las. He came to you the night before your wedding and begged you not to marry Gort.”
She paused with her tea halfway to her lips. I gave her a few moments to recover.
