A small stage had been erected just beside Lilia’s tavern, where the dwarf bard stomped his foot and sang a tune about the Old Gods. Fireflies darted about, buzzing with the same cheerful energy as everyone else.
Beside me, Daella took it all in, her cheeks flushed. I’d noticed her looking around the village with that same expression a few times now. Her eyes snagged on my sister’s tavern, and a slight smile tugged the corners of her lips. I understood why. Lilia’s Traveling Tavern was infamous.
She lugged it with her everywhere she went—alone. Her wagon was heavy, but she was strong as fate, and unlike me, she seemed incapable of staying in the same place for long. Ever since we’d found our way to the Isles fourteen years ago, she’d gone from village to village, and even from island to island, searching for something I did not think she even knew.
The wagon itself was decorated with lanterns and silver tapestries that were embroidered with a sigil of two tankards clanking together. A matching awning hung over the open door that led down a set of wooden steps. She stored the extra tankards, ales, and spirits inside, but she had a bar set up outside. Several of the younger elves and dwarves of the village perched on top of the wagon. I knew Lilia didn’t like them hanging about up there, but she never reprimanded them. All she’d ever wanted was to make people smile.
We’d turned out so different, she and I.
“Well.” Daella’s fake smile spread across her face. Even now, there was no sign of a real one. “I can see why you thought I might want to come here.”
“Beats your tower, eh?”
“Everything beats my tower, but especially this. I doubt most taverns are so…”
“Bright and cheery.”
The corners of her eyes crinkled. “The opposite of you, really.”
“Which is why I’ll be leaving you here to enjoy yourself while I return home to start work on the boat. Stay as long as you like. I’ll leave the front door unlocked.”
Her hand snaked out, quick as lightning. She grabbed my arm before I could turn away. The heat of her blazed through me, and steam filled the space between us. “Not so fast. If anyone needs a night out enjoying themselves, it’s you.”
I leveled my gaze at her. “I don’t do parties.”
“Neither do I. And yet, you brought me here.”
“Because you’ll enjoy it.”
“Will I?” She motioned at the celebratory square with her free hand. “I don’t know anyone other than your sister, who looks very busy, and that bastard Gregor, who I’d rather avoid. So it looks like I’m stuck with you, and you’re stuck with me.”
I glanced down at her hand on my arm, at the steam hissing from our skin-to-skin contact. Her fingers were softer than I’d expected, and her smooth sage skin was so vibrant and alive next to my tan. So ridiculously beautiful.
I cleared my throat. “All right, I’ll stay, but you’ll likely regret it. I don’t like these kinds of things.”
“Maybe that’s why I want you to stay. I like the idea of tormenting you.” She winked and let go of my arm. The cold air that followed chilled me to the bone.
Without another word, she spun and took off into the party. I sighed and followed, slinging my hands into my pockets and wondering how deeply I’d regret this in an hour or two. As the night wore on, the drinks would flow and the raucous energy of the crowd would become unbearable. Every year, I’d listened to the sounds of it from my open bedroom window. And every year, I’d slammed that window down and tried to sleep despite the noise. I never did.
Daella approached the bar, and Lilia’s face visibly brightened, especially when she saw me in the background trying my damndest not to attract much attention. Every single person here knew I hated these kinds of things. I’d really rather they didn’t make a fuss.
“I can’t believe it,” my sister said in her trademark singsong, swiping her hands on her apron. “Freya’s fires must have frozen over, because that right there looks like my hermit of a brother.”
Daella laughed. “Inside that head of his, you just know he’s kicking and screaming.”
“How’d you do it?” Lilia asked as she grabbed two tankards from the rack behind her. She lifted the first to a barrel of her infamous brew and arched a brow at Daella.
“I threatened him with a dagger to his throat. Oh, wait. No, that was what he did to me. Something about being the big bad protector of this place.”
“Rivelin!” Lilia exclaimed, her frown drawing down the corners of her eyes. “You can’t just go around threatening people with daggers.”
Daella glanced over her shoulder and smirked. “See? Your sister agrees with me.”
“I think I’m going to head home now,” I said flatly.
“No, come on. I’m just messing around.” Daella passed one of the tankards to me and lifted hers, as if awaiting a toast, brushing aside the whole bit about the dagger. Clearly, it hadn’t upset her earlier. I felt relieved, then frowned. Why did it matter if it had?
“I think I might need to separate you two or you’ll make life unbearable.” Still, I took the offered tankard and knocked mine against Daella’s. Froth flowed over the side, coating my fingers, and Daella deftly avoided getting it on her skin. Then she stared at me expectantly, waiting for my toast. Something about the look in her eye made me momentarily forget my frustration.
“To…new alliances,” I said.
“To new alliances,” she repeated, and then she drank the whole thing down. When she finished, she gasped for air and then coughed, pounding her fist against her chest. Froth covered her top lip like a mustache, and a few droplets of the brew clung to her chin. She winced as if in pain.
“Ah.” I reached out and swiped the froth away. She stiffened beneath my touch, steam rising, but she didn’t flinch away. “You’ve got it on your face. You do know it’s more enjoyable if you just sip it, right?”
She stared up at me, her eyes bright, then rubbed the spot with her shirt. “No, I did not know that. I’ve never had ale before.”
“You’ve never—that is absolutely unacceptable,” Lilia interjected with a quick shake of her head. She snatched Daella’s empty tankard and poured her another drink. “The first one was on the house for you saving me from that bastard’s grubby hands. This one’s on the house because every woman deserves to have a little fun sometimes. Drink up and enjoy yourself tonight.”
“It’s different than what I expected,” Daella said, lifting the tankard to her lips and sniffing. “I heard ale was bitter, but this is quite sweet.”
“That’s Lilia’s brew for you,” I said with a smile. “It’s the best ale in all the Isles, maybe even beyond. I doubt any tavern in the Grundstoff Empire can compare.”
She nodded as she took a smaller sip this time. “I believe you must be right.”
A few other patrons stumbled up to the bar, and my sister shooed us away with a fond smile and an unfortunate wink in my direction. I knew what she was thinking. She’d said as much before. Daella was a beauty, and there was a spark about her. Lilia had always said I needed someone in my life like that. Someone with edges rough enough to understand me but soft enough to bring a little brightness into my ‘dreary hermit life’， as she liked to call it.