Warna kept her voice steady. “Priest Dominic, Lord Verice has offered me shelter and protection. If I can do this for him, it still will not be full recompense for his kindness.”
“And if we don’t go along with your plans?” Dominic demanded. “What would you do then?”
“I believe you are under orders from Lord Verice to remain within the town,” Warna said. “I would ask the constable to enforce his orders.”
“Who are you to speak so to us?” Dominic demanded.
“Who are you,” Janella interrupted. “to claim to speak for all of us?”
Dominic huffed.
“She’s right, and you know it,” Ersal said. “We’ve not set foot within the castle since he ordered us out. This is the first bit of hope we’ve had since that day.”
“Since that night,” Janella whispered.
“You were there?” Warna asked. “When it happened?”
“Aye,” Ersal rubbed his hand over his face. “We all were.”
Warna threw a glance at the constable, but he shook his head. “Not me. I was in town, on leave.”
“Would you tell me?” Warna leaned forward, looking at all of them. “What happened that night?”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Her request was met with bent heads, averted eyes, and a few stifled sobs. “I’m sorry,” Warna said, regretting her question. “Kalynn told me the story, but she wasn’t there and didn’t know the details.”
Dominic’s head came up, his eyes narrowed. “You met Seer Kalynn? And—” he hesitated. “And Wolfe?”
Warna nodded.
“She needs to know,” said one of the women in the back, a round, sweet-faced lady with brown hair laced with gray. “If she’s to aid him, she needs to know.”
“Aye,” Janella said. “But the telling is hard.”
There was a shifting in the room as they all exchanged glances, tight-lipped, their eyes full of pain. But there were also nods, and Warna could see the determination spreading. As if by silent agreement, they had made their decision.
Ersal cleared his throat. “It was the Fourth Night of our Festival of Light and Laughter, when we celebrate the Gifts of the Lord of Light and Lady of Laughter. T’is our custom, here in Tassinic, you see?”
Warna nodded in encouragement, afraid she’d stop the flow of words.
“Third Night is the Gift of Music and Dance,” he said. His voice trailed off, his gaze fixed on the air behind her.
“Oh lady, it was such a grand night,” Janella said softly. “So filled with light and laughter, warmth and music. The whole castle fair glowed.”
“We’d prepared for weeks,” another voice piped up from the back. “Decorating and cooking.”
“Planning the presentations,” someone added. “Practicing dance steps.”
One rough looking man in the back spoke, his voice a rumble. “The castle and keep were all lit with mage lights. So much magic your skin tingled with it, you know?”
“She doesn’t,” Dominic said sharply. “Humans rarely have the gift,” he continued at Warna’s unspoken question. “All those of elven blood can sense it. Not all can manipulate it, but all feel its use.”
“Laughter flowed freely that night,” Ersal said with fondness in his voice. “Everyone was making merry, dancing, laughing, talking. And in the Great Hall, Lord Verice had broken out the applefire—”
A chuckle from the back. “And wasn’t Betnan upset by that?”
The chuckles spread about the room.
