“Yeah. And I think your friend here knows where it is,” I said.
She snapped her gaze to Lilia. “Isthatwhy you have sticks in your hair? I knew you were mad at him, Lil, but—”
“Sticks?” I swept my gaze across her, noticing a few twigs stuck to the back of her cloak. A dash of orange decorated her hair. A leaf, I realized. And beneath her cloak, she still wore that white blouse and the woollen blue dress. Her boots were coated in a layer of dust that looked a lot like crunched leaves. “You hid my kegs in the woods.”
“I did no such thing.” She cast her friend a helpless look. “Come on, Nilsa. You know I’m not a thief.”
“Well, I wouldn’t call itthievery, exactly. It’s just…I could see you moving his belongings around just to annoy him.” Nilsa winced.
I nodded. Exactly what I thought. “I think I’ll go check out these woods, then.”
I started toward the door.
“No!” called Lilia.
My boots scuffed the stone floor as I slowed, fighting back a smile. She had no way out now. If she tried to stop me from exploring the woods, she might as well admit her guilt.
I turned toward the counter. She shovelled a few spoonfuls of stew into her mouth, then strode toward me. Her expression oscillated between panic and determination. Clearly, her mind was spinning through ideas on how to stop me from stepping foot in those woods. I folded my arms. This ought to be good.
But instead of offering up a flimsy explanation, she hooked her arm through mine and dragged me outside.
A bitter wind whistled through the courtyard beyond the inn, but my internal furnace burned hot enough to chase it away. The pungent scent of brine drifted toward us from the fishmonger hurrying past, his cart rattling behind him. A few seagulls caught the scent and swooped toward him, but he waved his cane at them before they could snap up his fish.
“Listen,” Lilia said as she quickly extracted her arm from mine. Her face reddened, as if she’d just now noticed we’d touched. “I think we need to start over, you and I. We’ve gotten off to a rocky start, but there’s no reason for us to be against each other. You can run your tavern, and I can run mine. There’ll be plenty of patrons for the both of us.”
I searched her eyes for the truth behind her words. They were like pools of silver out here beneath the sun, reflecting my face right back at me. Damn, the lass seemed sincere.
“I’d agree with you,” I said slowly. “Except I have no ale to run my tavern now.”
She cocked her head. “You’re really not making this up, are you?”
“Why would I make it up?”
“I don’t know. To annoy me?”
A smile tugged my lips. “Seems I’m fairly good at that without resorting to a lie.”
She laughed. “Good point.” Then she held out her hand. “Truce?”
I slid my hand into hers, swallowing her soft palm with mine. Her cold fingers quickly warmed as my heat flooded into her skin and steam hissed between us. She shivered, gazing up at me. Her eyes were wide, like an open book. Earnest, kind, warm. This was how she’d looked at me the night we’d met on the road.
I wished I could trust it.
“Sure,” I said, still holding her hand. “I’ll agree to a truce. After I search those woods.”
Her hand tightened around mine, like a reflex. I’d been right. She was only saying all this to stop me from investigating. It disappointed me more than I wanted to admit.
“There’s nothing in the woods,” said Lilia, but her voice was tight.
“You won’t mind if I go for a walk there, then.” I released her hand. “Or is there something you don’t want me to find?”
She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. With a satisfied nod, I strode away.
9
LILIA
Panic anchored my feet to the road. I couldn’t risk Ragnar stumbling upon my dragon. Even if he wasn’t fearful of him, he could use him against me by threatening to tell everyone I’d brought a dragon to Yule. And I couldn’t hand the bastard something else to hold over my head. He already had enough.
