I hauled him to his feet, ignoring the mud he splattered onto my trousers. “Good. Now here’s what I want you to do. You’re going to take that lute, carry it back to Riverwold, and apologize to everyone for trying to ruin their fates-damned festival. And if you do it without crying about it, I’ll ask Steffon to undo your ban. And as long as you swear not to cause any more trouble. That means no fighting and no stealing.”
Ivar stiffened. “You don’t know what’s happened, then.”
“What do you mean?” I took a step closer to him, my muscles tensing. “What’s happened? Did you do something else?”
“Ah.” He danced a step back. “Now listen, I didn’t do it, so don’t you blame this on me.” Swallowing, he made more space between us. “The whole festival burned down earlier. I thought that was why you were chasing me until you started shouting about the lute.”
“The entire festival burned down,” I repeated, trying to make sense of his words. I’d chased Ivar in the opposite direction of the festival, but I’d assumed he was merely heading back the way he’d come. I’d smelled no smoke nor heard the crackle of fire while we’d dashed through the town streets.
I narrowed my eyes, grabbed the front of his shirt, and hauled him from the ground. “Are you lying to me?”
“No,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “Why would I lie about this? That would be extremely foolish of me. You’re just going to think I did it.”
“And for good reason. It seems exactly like the kind of thing you’d do.”
His face paled. “I’ll admit I’ve thieved, but I would never want to hurt someone. You have to believe me.”
Slowly, I lowered him back to the ground, loosing my grip on his shirt. He stumbled back, then collected the mud-drenched lute.
“I’ll go with you and return it,” he said, lifting his chin. “I’ll prove to you I had nothing to do with this.”
“Hmm.” I eyed him. I didn’t trust the greedy little pie man further than I could throw him, but he was right. It made little sense for him to tell me about the fire if he’d done it himself. And I couldn’t waste any more time haggling with him over it. Lilia had been in the courtyard, so she would have been safe…unless the flames had spread from the festival and into town. The thought clenched my gut.
I had to go to her. I had to make sure she was safe.
And then I had to find a way to keep her by my side, even if it seemed impossible.
32
LILIA
Only a few steps down the path, my body seemed to stop listening to me. My feet refused to budge, and the sound of my heartbeat grew loud in my ears. Now that the drizzle had stopped, the moonlight bathed the distant town in pools of silver. Laughter drifted toward me on the wind. I could picture it all so clearly. Everyone would be down and out about the fire, but they’d have picked themselves up by now.
Nilsa would have found a miracle of food and drink, and she’d be passing it around to the packed taproom, where the visitors were taking shelter for the night. The townspeople would be there, too. They’d jump in to help, passing out plates or washing up in the kitchen.
The bard would leap up onto the stage with her lute to sing about quests and adventures.
Things had gotten out of hand earlier, that was all. Everyone had been hungry and tired and more than a little cranky. But they’d pull through. The heart of this place was good, and everyone would look around and see that Yule was still worth fighting for in the end. Even if the festival took place in the crammed town streets, it would go ahead.
It always did.
Nothing could dampen the spirits of the people of the Isles. Not the Elding. Not a fire. Not even gods-damned fear of dragons.
I squared my shoulders. There was food in that cavern. My ale was there, too. It might not be enough to create a luscious feast, but it would be enough to fill some bellies and convince them my dragon was not to be feared—so long as I could find him first…
Lifting my fingers to my lips, I whistled the call. I shielded my eyes against the bright moonlight and searched the skies for his return. Long moments passed with nothing more than the rustle of the wind in the long grass, brushing against my thighs. I frowned. It wasn’t like him to stay away when I called for him.
At long last, a bellow echoed through the night sky. His brilliant wings speared the night, illuminating the dark clouds above. He dove toward me, body tumbling this way and that, like a dance of scales and wings. I couldn’t help but smile. I’d only seen him dance like this once before with his siblings. It was like he’d found the song in his heart.
I lifted my hand toward him, a part of me wishing I could join him there in the clouds. He looked so breathtakingly free.
“Lilia,” a deep, achingly familiar voice called, breaking me free of my reverie.
Everything within me stilled. Lips parting, I dragged my gaze from the sky. Ragnar stood just down the path, the wind battering his face with the curling strands of his crimson hair. His hands hung heavily by his sides. But when he spread his arms wide, I ran to him.
My feet pounded the ground faster than I thought possible. He started toward me and scooped me up when I launched toward him. My arms clung to his neck; his hands palmed my thighs. I wrapped my legs around his waist and buried my face into his neck.
“You’re all right,” he murmured, pressing his face into my hair. “You’re all right.”
