“That may be unlikely. Idothink the elves may be pleased that we assisted, however.”
“I know having elves pleased with you is of paramount importance.”
Jildarin, who hadn’t shown that he was overly worried about anyone’s opinion of him, considered that. “I do like when people are pleased by myfood. You know that my goal is to prove to all who taste it that dragons can appreciate and perform the arts.”
“Especially culinary arts.”
“Precisely.”
“If you want to ensure the elves are pleased, you’d better perfect the coffee-mushroom dish.”
“I will do so.”
The troll shaman finished singing and lowered her arms. The purple-glowing loaf lay below the carved stone hands of the statues, managing to look delicious despite the color, but Rylana had no way to determine if the gods themselves were pleased. Unless the pair came to life and actuallyatethe bread, how would one know?
“I guess we’ll have to see if the city returns to normal,” she said when the shaman ambled away without giving them any information.
“To know that the curse has been lifted?” Jildarin asked.
“Yeah.”
“The blue glow that was coming from this area has dissipated.” He waved toward their portion of the island and pointed at the temple.
Rylana considered the air around them, trying to tell if that was true. By night, the glow had been obvious, but it was harder to detect during the day. She’d stopped noticing it long before the dragons had shown up.
“It is also no longer beaming up from your castle,” Jildarin added.
Rylana squinted across the water in that direction. “You’re certain?”
“I am. Dragons have superior eyesight.”
“Mine isn’t half-bad when it comes to shooting adversaries, but seeing different hues of light when the bright sun is out… That’s harder.”
Jildarin gazed at her through his eyelashes. It was what she thought of as his bedroom look—hislairlook—even though she knew he didn’t have thoughts of recreational mating in mind.
“You struck Loxvonla in the shoulder before the pillar knocked your weapon away.” His tone was approving, and he smiled slightly.
“Did I? It got chaotic there, and her magical attack knocked the wind out of me, so I didn’t see my arrow land.”
“It grazed her here.” Jildarin touched his shoulder. “Then ricocheted into the trees. If she didn’t possess the magical armor of a dragon, it would have landed more solidly. You faced her fearlessly.” He smiled again and nodded.
“I didn’t want you distracted while you were cradling that dough.”
“Yes.Theyare the distraction.” Jildarin flicked a hand dismissively toward the sky, though all the dragons had thankfully disappeared. “Now that our duty is done, let us return to the diner.”
As they headed for the road, the area clearing of people, Rylana looked back toward the offering pedestal. The loaf of bread continued to glow. She wondered if a raccoon would ultimately get it or if the troll gods, once all the witnesses had departed, would take a physical form so that they could eat it themselves. Who knew what was possible when it came to the gods?
28
Rylana alternated collectingdirty dishes and sweeping while Gniknik, Rolf, and Zalani waited tables during the increasingly busy lunch service. After being up all night, she kept yawning, but the number of people coming in promised she wouldn’t be able to sleep for a while.
On the return trip, they hadn’t seen any green vapors wafting from storm drains, all the pillars had been silent, and not a single earthquake had shaken the streets. The gnomish peacekeepers and the elven forces had departed to tend to their affairs, with none of them bringing updetainingagain, and Rylana and Jildarin had reached the diner without trouble. When she’d spotted Vilma carefully balancing a cup while climbing the ladder to the roof of the coffee shop, Rylana had assumed Sylin had also made it back from the island. Maybe she would be paid later by the gnome captain. He’d presumably been the one to give her the net, though Rylana couldn’t imagine that either of them had foreseen it being used on a dragon.
By the noon hour, Rylana had begun to believe they might truly have sated the troll gods and that the curse had been lifted.The rest of the city must have been starting to believe that too, which accounted for the increased traffic to the diner. Scents of elk loin sandwiches and caramelized onions wafted from the kitchen, further enticing people. Jildarin had gone straight to work, not complaining of fatigue. Dragons were hearty beings.
“If the curse is over,” Rolf said to Gniknik as they passed by Rylana, “profits should increase soon.”
“Profits or the amount of excessive tips that you can swindle out of people?” Gniknik asked.
