Page 68 of Sorcery, Swords & Scones
Sass pulled out a pumpkin spice sweet roll and sighed. “I’ll never say no to a date that has pastry.”
Val laughed and chose her own roll from the bag. “That’s good to know.”
Sass hopped onto the stone wall of the bridge and shimmied herself around so that she was pressed against Val with her legs also hanging over the side. “Now you know all my secrets.”
Val chuckled and bit into her sweet roll. “I doubt that, but I have all the time in the world to learn the rest.”
Sass hid her grin behind her oversized pastry swirl and took a big bite, savoring the burst of sugar on her tongue and the sweet moment with Val. After chewing and swallowing, she peered at the stream gurgling beneath them. “This is nice.”
“It’s a good place to come and think.” Val nudged her gently. “Almost as good as rooftops.”
Sass nudged her back just as gingerly. “It’s a nice place for a morning date.”
“I hoped you’d like it.” Val slid her a shy smile.
“Especially since you’re my very, very good friend,” Sass teased.
Val rolled her eyes. “About that…I thought we might discuss upgrading our status.”
“To very, very,verygood friends?”
Val elbowed Sass, but took care to do it gently and not knock her off the bridge and into the stream. “To girlfriends.”
Sass’s heart tripped in her chest, as Val entwined her fingers with hers. “I like the sound of that.”
“Me too.” Val’s voice was a throaty rasp that sent a jolt through the dwarf.
They sat side-by-side on the stone bridge holding hands and breathing quickly until Sass twisted to face Val. “I suppose we should make it official.”
Val curled an arm around Sass’s waist, pulling her closer as she lowered her mouth to the dwarf’s. “I suppose we should.”
Val’s lips were as soft as sweet rolls and twice as sweet, Sass thought, as she let herself savor the kiss every bit as much as she had the pastry.
Epilogue
Vaskel steppedfrom the front door of the inn and stretched his arms overhead. He’d gotten a late start to the day, but yesterday had been more tiring that usual, between the encounter with the dwarves, seeing a dragon for the first time, and celebrating their victory late into the night.
He touched a hand to the pocket in his vest, remembering what he’d promised Sass before he’d finished tidying the bar.
“I won’t need this anymore.” Sass had held out the etched silver ring. “I forgot to give it back to Iris, but you walk past the apothecary on the way to the tavern, don’t you?”
“You sure?” he’d asked, eyeing the elvish ring that should warn of danger.
Sass had nodded, her smile wide. “Positive.”
Vaskel had been happy to see the dwarf so sure of herself and her future in Wayside, so of course he’d taken the ring, promising to drop it off to Iris before heading into the tavern. Besides, he enjoyed a bit of harmless flirting with the apothecary.
Turning toward the heart of the village, Vaskel took long strides past the weathered stone monument in the square. Evenfrom there, he caught the distinctive aroma of Pip’s baking on the breeze, and his stomach growled.
He spied the black-and-white awning of the apothecary, pulling the ring from his pocket and rubbing the etched sides with his thumb. Even though it had been in his vest pocket, the metal was surprisingly warm to the touch.
Vaskel’s steps slowed as he peered at the ring, twirling it in his palm before tentatively slipping it onto the tip of his smallest finger. It had been crafted to fit delicate elf fingers, not larger Tiefling ones, but he worked it over the first knuckle joint.
So, this was the ring that possessed elven magic? He held out his hand to let the silver catch the sunlight, admiring the intricate etchings in elvish.
The tinkling shop bell made him jerk his hand down and give a brusque shake of his head. Enough of this. He needed to return the ring to Iris and then head to the tavern. The village might be recovering from the Harvest Festival and the potential dwarf incursion, but that was all the more reason the tavern would be busy.
Vaskel resumed his determined strides toward the shops lining the main road and facing each other, giving a tug at the ring on his little finger. When it didn’t slip off, he paused in front of Iris’s shop windows to yank harder.
That was when the ring started to burn and prickle his skin so violently that he yelped in pain. He wrested the band from his finger and flung it to the ground, panting and pivoting on one foot as he looked around him.
The dwarves were gone, and the dark mage who’d once been a threat was safely subdued in the castle dungeons. Besides, the dwarves had never been a danger to him.
But the ring had alerted him to something. Something that was dangerous tohim. The Tiefling steadied his ragged breath as he searched the quiet village and empty road for any sign of danger.
Who from his checkered past had come back to haunt him?
