I pulled back and searched his face, but I didn’t dare let go for fear he might vanish into thin air again. “Where were you?”
He shook his head. “Chasing after bloody Ivar. He stole the bard’s lute. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before I rushed after him, but I thought he might get away if I took my eyes off him.”
A laugh of shock popped from my throat. “Chasing after Ivar? That’s certainly not what I expected you to say.” But then my lips softened into a frown. “So you didn’t see what happened to Riverwold.”
He brushed his thumb across my cheek, sighing. “Not until an hour or so ago. I was worried you got caught in the fire. I thought you might have been hurt, Lilia.”
“I’m fine,” I whispered, though that wasn’t entirely true. Physically, I was no worse off than I’d ever been, but my heart had taken a beating. Unwinding myself from his arms, I hopped back onto the ground, trying to find the words to explain what had happened. Quickly, I filled him in. And as I spoke, the furrow of his brow deepened into a tight, angry crease.
“I can’t believe they would run you out of town after everything you’ve done for them,” he said. “They don’t deserve your help anymore. You know that, right? You could just take the food and ale in that cavern and move on with your life.”
“No, I can’t.” I gave him a sad smile. “I’m not angry at Steffon or Nilsa. All they want is to protect the town, just like I do. And truly, they want to protect me, too. They knew what would happen if the townspeople got wind of a dragon near the meadow.”
“Still, it’s hardly fair. He’s an innocent dragon.”
“Well.” My smile stretched into a full-on grin. “I don’t know that I’d go so far as to call himinnocent.He stole all our ale and ate all those pies. The mischievous little thing has been scheming against us to make us work together. Some of this chaos is purely his fault. That said, I think everyone down there would welcome him with open arms if he delivered them this ale.”
His lips tilted up in the corners. “And Lilia’s Traveling Tavern will be back in business again.”
My heart dropped. “Minus the wagon.”
“Oh, hi there!” another voice called out, higher-pitched and much less self-assured than Ragnar’s. A blond human hobbled up over the hill, wincing when he caught sight of me. “I ah…well, I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused. But I might have a way to make it up to you. We’ve got a couple spare wagons near my house. You’re welcome to have one to fix up and turn into your tavern.”
“The wagons at the top of that path?” I asked.
“That’s right.” He gave me an eager nod. “What do you say? You interested?”
“You’re actually serious. Ivar, the pie man who stole all our food, is offering a free wagon to me?”
He winced. “Yeah, I am. I know it won’t erase what I’ve done, but it’s the best I can do for now. I’ll even give you paint for it, if you’d like.”
I grinned up at Ragnar. “Did you hear that? We’ve got ourselves a wagon.”
* * *
The four of us camped out in the cavern for the night when the wind blew in a fresh burst of rain. Ivar did not seem at all pleased to share a living space with a dragon, but he didn’t speak a word in protest. With his nervous darting looks, I had a feeling he worried Reykur would take a bite out of him for the smallest offense. I decided not to correct him.
Once the sun rose, we trundled down the hill and through the woods to the ridge near Ivar’s house. Then we trundled back up again and loaded all the cavern supplies into the wagon. It was midday by the time we carted the thing into the busy courtyard outside Nilsa’s inn.
The crowd hushed when they spotted us. Heart thumping, I looked around, suddenly unsure if this was a good idea. The fear in the air was palpable. A few fire demons slowly climbed to their feet, flames sparking along their skin.
Ragnar pressed a comforting hand to my back.
Ivar cleared his throat uneasily. “They look very happy to see us.”
The door to the inn flung wide, and Steffon stumbled out. Shaking his head, he rushed across the courtyard, latched his hand onto my arm, and dragged me behind the wagon.
“What are you doing here?” he whispered with a feverish glint in his eyes. “It’s not safe, Lilia, as much as I wish Riverwold could be a perfect place free from danger. There are a lot of people who are angry with you right now. They think you ordered your dragon to set fire to the festival.”
“Tell them I didn’t do it,” I said.
“What? They won’t listen to me.”
“You’re the Defender of this town. They chose you to lead them. Tell them I didn’t do it, and they’ll have no choice but to listen.”
Indeed, everyone gathered in the courtyard looked to Steffon with expectant expressions, as if waiting for his decision. If he condemned us, they’d force us out of town. But perhaps if he welcomed me back with open arms, they’d be less inclined to chase after us with pitchforks. I could only hope, at least.
Sighing, Steffon ran a hand down his drawn face. I felt a twinge of guilt. He’d been through it the last week, just as much as I had.
