“Thrain,” the elf said with a shudder.
Cali grinned at this, her melancholy fading as she thought of her friends inside the tavern.
“Shouldn’t you be readying yourself to join The Cruel Mistress?” Erindil asked when his gaze settled on the pantheri.
Cali cast a glance at the sleeping village blanketed under pristine snow and wondered how tricky it would be to make her way back to the inn to gather her things. Then she swung her gaze back to the elder elf. She wasn’t sure how old he was, but it was many times the age of anyone she knew. “Had you heard of Bonnie One-Eye and her ship before tonight?”
The elf smiled at her as he urged Glen forward. “Oh yes, my dear archer. Bonnie and I are old friends.”
Five
“Old friends?That’s what he said?” Vaskel braced his crimson hands on the bar as he stood behind it.
Cali glanced over her shoulder at the long table the pirate captain had recently occupied. She was no longer there, and neither was her master-at-arms nor the other wedding guests. The lute player no longer perched on a stool near the hearth, and the floorboards didn’t buzz with the pounding of dancing feet.
The ceremony arch remained in place, although it was clear from some of the torn blooms and missing greenery coiled around the wrought iron structure that Sass hadn’t been completely successful in keeping Glen from snacking on it. Pip’s spectacular wedding cake had been eaten down, so that only crumbs and icing flowers speckled the round table, and from what Erindil said, the ostrich had played a part in that as well.
Empty glasses and tankards littered the tables, which were still pushed back to form a makeshift dance floor in the middle of the room. Not that anyone was dancing, now that the only sounds were the crackling of the fire and the rhythmic snoring of Thrain as he lay sprawled in Korl’s usual armchair.
“Bonnie One-Eye and her associate are upstairs,” Vaskel answered her unspoken question. “Thrain offered them his room for the night.”
Cali eyed the sleeping dwarf, whose mouth gaped open as he snored. “Very gallant of him.”
Vaskel grinned and reached for a bar cloth. “Not sure if he’s making the sacrifice or we are.” He rubbed at a wet spot on the wood. “Now, about Erindil and the pirate captain…”
Cali jerked her head back to the hellkin. “That’s all the elf said. He and Bonnie were old friends. You know he likes to be enigmatic.”
“He does that.” Vaskel seemed to consider the information. “Considering Erindil’s age, old friends could mean anything.”
Cali slid onto a stool as her friend polished the bar. “But what is Erindil’s age?”
“Could be a thousand years, or it could be twice that. You never know with elves.”
Cali knew that was true, but it didn’t help her unravel the curious statement that Lira’s uncle had made. Her tail swung behind her as she thought. “If they’re such old friends, why didn’t she recognize him when she arrived? And I didn’t see them talking tonight, did you?”
“To be honest, I wasn’t focused on Erindil, but he spoke to the pirate while you were outside drinking with Rog.”
“You knew about that?” Cali had been certain her absence hadn’t been noticed, but apparently she’d been wrong.
Vaskel arched his scarred eyebrow. “I’m used to keeping track of my crew. Besides, I noticed Rog slip outside earlier. I wasn’t surprised when you followed.” He leaned forward, locking his gaze on her. “Are you sure about all this, Cal?”
She hadn’t spoken to Vaskel since she’d agreed to join Bonnie One-Eye in the search for Marina and her hellkin crew, but she’d gotten the sense from his stern looks and abundant frowns that he wasn’t in favor of it.
Before she could assure him she’d thought it through, the kitchen door swung open and Sass emerged. Her frayed braid had unraveled at the bottom, and she’d tied an apron over the burgundy dress she’d worn for the wedding. When she spotted Cali and Vaskel, she rolled her eyes.
“Hells and cinders! Not you, too.” She flapped a hand behind her. “It’s bad enough that Lira and Pip are elbow-deep in baking, but how are you two still here?”
Vaskel put a hand to his heart. “I’m cleaning the bar. Unless you’d rather I leave it for you.”
Sass made a face, but she stopped short when her gaze landed on Thrain. “What in a moldy ogre’s sack am I supposed to do about him?”
Cali pressed her lips together to keep from laughing as Vaskel grinned. “Hope he wakes before you open tomorrow?”
The dwarf huffed out an impatient breath as she bustled between the tables and hooked empty tankards around her fingers. “Between the wedding and the weather, I was hoping for a day off.”
“If there was an ever a time for Lira to take a break from cooking for the tavern, this would be it,” Cali said. “It is her wedding night, after all.”
Sass shot a pointed look toward the kitchen. “Try telling that to her. She and Pip are deep into a collaboration they claim will be unforgettable.”
