Chapter Thirty-seven

It was already the best name day celebration Thea had ever had. Her cheeks ached from laughing. Her drink nearly came out of her nose as she watched Kipp and Cal enthusiastically declaring that every wine they tasted from Marise's selection was the best they'd ever had, their cheeks flushing redder by the second.

Spotting Wren at the bar, Thea made a beeline for her – only to be beaten by the golden-haired Bear Slayer, who approached her sister, looking oddly bashful.

‘I have something for you,' he said quietly, sliding a small, linen-wrapped parcel across the bar.

Thea was close enough to hear, too close to back away without startling the pair and too curious to look away.

Wren tilted her head. ‘It's not my name day…'

‘No, but…' Torj shifted awkwardly on his feet. ‘Just open it.'

Wren's dainty hands slowly reached for the parcel. ‘Some sort of weapon, I presume? Perhaps a —'

‘Just open it, Elwren.'

Wren unlaced the twine and peeled the fabric back, her mouth dropping open. Thea had never seen her sister speechless before, but there she was, gaping at an odd little pair of silver scissors.

‘These are what you needed?' the Warsword asked.

Wren blinked, slowly turning to lift her gaze to his. ‘I…'

Torj nodded to himself. ‘Good,' he said, before walking back towards Talemir and Marise.

Biting her lip to keep from grinning like a fool, Thea sidled up to her sister and jutted her chin towards the strange tool that made for an even stranger gift. ‘What are those?'

Wren was staring after the Bear Slayer. ‘They're secateurs,' she said, almost in a whisper.

‘What?'

‘Remember back in Naarva how I was saying my hand hurt from harvesting the orchids? That I do a lot of intricate work with my hands and they often ache from the repeated motions?'

‘It rings a bell.' It didn't.

‘In one of about ten thousand meetings, I suggested that all the harvesters be provided with secateurs, to help with the strain… They're a design from distant lands, hard to find. I didn't think anyone was listening.'

Thea couldn't help but grin then. ‘Someone clearly was.'

Wren snatched up her secateurs and gave Thea a warning look. ‘Not a word of this.'

Thea raised her hands in mock surrender. ‘I wouldn't dare.'

Soon, Wilder came to stand at her side, chuckling softly as the debauchery unfolded around them. Cal and Kipp were making nuisances of themselves, as usual, with Kipp not-so-quietly needling Cal.

‘All I'm saying is that it's nice for things to match, Callahan. We can't have that laughing fox on your arse cheek getting lonely —'

‘Will you shut up?'

‘Perhaps a dancing badger? Or a flying stag?' Kipp's eyes went wide and he grabbed Cal by the shoulders. ‘No! A lightning bolt, to signify our undying friendship with the trio of Embervales!'

‘I'm not falling for this a second time,' Cal muttered.

‘All in good time, my friend,' Kipp said sagely. ‘All in good time.'

Music drifted in from the main hall, and to Thea's surprise, it was Talemir who insisted that they dance. He swept Drue clean off her feet and carried her towards the melody.

When she glanced up at Wilder hopefully, her Warsword was already smiling at her.

‘I know you don't like to dance, but…'

He took her hand in his. ‘I think we've long since established that I'll always make an exception for you.'

They left the privacy of the area Everard had sectioned off for them and entered the main part of the tavern, where the air was thick with the scent of ale and roast meat, and smoke from the hearths. Drunken laughter and the hum of conversation melded with the lively tune of a minstrel's lute, creating an irresistible song that seemed to infuse life into the very walls of the Singing Hare.

Wilder led her to where the tables had been messily shoved to the walls, and the floor was slick with spilt drink. It was nothing like the grand ballrooms of Harenth or Aveum, nor was the dancing itself the stilted, formal waltz of nobles. Here, the music was fast-paced and infectious, and those on the floor threw caution to the wind and danced completely uninhibited, twirling messily, holding each other too close, laughing so hard that tears streamed down their faces.

Thea wished Ida and Samra were here, to put their Dancing Alchemist skills to the ultimate test. Across the room, Wren was trying to drag Cal onto the dance floor, much to Kipp's glee. Wren caught Thea's eye and grinned at her from across the room, any shadow of that interaction with the Bear Slayer long gone.

The Singing Hare's atmosphere had a similar crackle to Thea's lightning, filled with promise and anticipation. The entire room pulsed with the music and the rhythm of the dancers, who threw themselves head-first into the revelry. It looked delightful.

Wilder squeezed her hand. ‘Shall we?'

Thea was already pulling him onto the dance floor, laughing as they were instantly swept up in the current of couples and larger groups swirling in a sea of colours and shapes. Wilder's hands encircled her waist and she leant into his touch, marvelling at how free they were here, swaying to the music, radiant with joy.

Fingers plucked the lute's strings with fervour, echoing the excited pulse of the room. Thea met Wilder's silver stare, their steps light, their bodies snug against one another. Gone was the weight of their weapons and armour. Instead they found a momentary reprieve, a glimpse of sanctuary in a world that so often seemed on the brink of destruction. And so they twirled and spun, monsters, prisons, war all fading into the background. There was only the melody, the dance and each other.

As night turned into early morning, Wilder kissed her soundly amid the revelry. ‘Happy name day, Thea,' he murmured against her lips.

For the first time in years, those words sparked not dread, but joy in her heart. She had everything she'd ever wanted, and for whatever time she had left, she'd be grateful for the privilege.

They danced together, and with their friends in a huge circle, everyone swaying to the lively jig and swapping partners in a flurry of uncoordinated movements. For the first time in her life, Thea danced with her sisters, feeling the elation of their company in her bones. Sadness lingered at the edge there, for what they'd been robbed of, but this? This was a gift. This was family.

Stealing kisses from Wilder as they twirled around the room, Thea was so happy, so filled with joy that she could have burst.

But nothing this good lasted forever.

Which was how she knew, when Vernich appeared at the edge of the festivities, his expression grim, that their reprieve was at an end, and the war was calling them back.