The barmaid returns with three tankards and a smaller glass, batting her eyes at Caeo before she leaves again. Itching for any form of relief, I reach for the nearest tankard, but Reid grabs it and moves the small glass in front of me.
“Reid…” Caeo warns.
“This is for you.” Reid nudges it closer.
I bite my lip. “What is it?”
“Corn brew.”
“Don’t drink that,” Caeo says.
“It’s fine. We’re bonding, right?” Reid wraps his arm around me with a shake as he squeezes my shoulder. “Nothing builds friendship like a good drink.” He lifts his tankard and looks at me expectantly.
Heart pounding, I look to Alexis for guidance. She gives an uninterested shrug.
Thanks.
My arm twitches as I pick up the glass, and Reid knocks it with his tankard. I take a decently sized swig of the corn brew, everyone’s attention pressing into me.
I erupt with coughs as I swallow, barely keeping the burning liquid in. Alexis claps her hands together, looking triumphant as my eyes water.
“Damn,” Reid mutters. He takes the glass from me and passes his drink. “Here, wash it down.”
I eagerly take it from him, desperate for any flavor to replace that of the corn brew. The ale isn’t much better, its bitterness making me grimace.
Reid leans close to my ear. “Maybe Caeo can get the taste out.”
Arandur’s knickers, is he trying to kill me?I glare at him as I force the ale down. A warmth spreads through me as it settles in my stomach.
“Why would you even suggest that?” I hiss.
“Don’t tell me you spent half a bell walking with him and didn’t think about it. She certainly did.” He nods toward Alexis.
Her gaze rests on Caeo, watching him drink his ale as she nurses hers. Halfway through his sip, he pauses and stares at her, his ink-black hair slightly obscuring his smoky eyes. She gives him a gleaming smile, and I turn back to Reid, ignoring the burgeoning heat rising within me.
“Caeo thinks you’re excited to be paired with me.”
Reid’s eyebrow flicks up. “Does he? I wonder why.”
“I don’t know. Are you?”
“I’m… cautiously optimistic.” He prods the tankard toward me.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” I scan his face, searching for any trace of his intentions. His brow quirks up, but who knows what that means.
“Afraid of loosening up?” he asks.
“I don’t need to loosen up.” I immediately flinch at a burst of laughter from the table next to us. Fortune clearly isn’t favoring me right now.
“Please. You’re the High Marshal’s daughter and have obviously been studying incantation every day of your life in preparation to be here. Am I right?”
I curl my lips inward. “Possibly.”
“So, relax. You’re here, and you’ve placed higher than anyone in recent memory besides yours truly. You can take a moment to live a little.”
Liquid suddenly spews everywhere from Caeo’s mouth, barely missing me.
Reid slams his fist on the table. “Arandur’s crooked cock!”
