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“Okay.”
In the hall, my mother mostly fusses over Rina, but she spares me a nod of approval. When I extend my arm to her, she chastises me. “No, my son, you will enter with your bride.”
“Fine, whatever,” I grumble. “Let’s get this done.”
I take Rina’s hand, liking how her small palm fits into my bigger one. It feels familiar and . . . right, except that by the time we get to the bottom of the stairs, it’s trembling enough that I notice. I stop and lean down to kiss her forehead. “You’re with me. That’s all they need to know.”
She nods, then repeats my words from upstairs. “Let’s get this done.”
For a quick moment, I consider how my people will see her. Though I like her better in her fur-trimmed vest, the green of her woolen overdress suits her, and with the top half of her hair braided in a northern style, I’d go so far as to say she’s elegant. Not at allpunylike Noé first described her. She may be small but she’s not fragile. My chest expands with a surge of pride as we go in.
A hush falls over the room until my mother comes into view and a ripple of murmurs breaks out. It distracts everyone enough that I’m able to get Rina settled in the chair next to mine on the dais without incident.
“Don’t you worry, darling,” my mother tells Rina softly. “They’re all staring at me since I rarely come down for dinner.”
I don’t register Rina’s reply because Lorna appears, ale jug in hand. The possibility she may notjustbe unwelcoming occurs to me.What was I thinking, bringing Rina downstairs like this? And on market day of all days?So far the crowd is more curious than hostile, but that doesn’t mean things won’t devolve. I pull my dagger from my belt and set it on the table with a thump.
Rina’s hand finds my thigh, her thumb beginning a soothing motion as Lorna pours the ale. “You’re to be our a’deve?” Lorna asks her, not unkindly.
“I am.”
A wide smile breaks out on the serving girl’s face as she dips her head. “I’m most happy to hear that. I saw you hit the bull’s eye yesterday. Very impressive.”
“Thank you. What is your name?”
“Lorna. And don’t you listen to any of the men out there,” she says, indicating the tables behind her. “Unlike our deve, some of them don’t deal well with change.”
She turns to go but not before she winks in my direction. My grunt of disapproval gets lost in the clamor as the food is brought out, the platters stacked high and the baskets filled with freshly-baked bread. To my surprise, Dagmar, our bad-tempered head cook, serves the dais personally.
“Dagmar,” I say dryly. “Since when do you leave your kitchen?”
Her hard aspect firmly in place, she directs her helpers with where to put each platter. “If the welcoming of a new a’deve is not reason enough to show myself, I don’t know what is.” She has a platter of carrots and turnips plunked down right in front of me and turns on her heel to go.
Leaning down to Rina, I murmur, “Have you bewitched the entire village?”
As if in response, Cayson launches a loud insult into the room. “You let that whore from D’heilar eat at the head table?”
There are a few hisses of agreement, but then someone hurls a boiled potato that hits him square in the chest, and the hisses are drowned out by the uproar of laughter and catcalls.
“My bewitching skills still need a bit of work apparently,” Rina says, spearing a large piece of meat. She looks it over before biting a chunk off directly from the knife. Chewing, she still manages a grin which almost makes me forget where we are and kiss her delectable, grease-stained lips.
We’re interrupted by Yvette and Rionnon. “May we approach, my deve?” Yvette asks deferentially and instead of rolling my eyes like I want to, I motion them forward. Rionnon springs up onto the dais, his smile only for Rina. “I wanted to thank you for the archery lesson yesterday.” He places a small quartz rock on the table in front of her plate.
“Is this for me?” Rina asks, visibly delighted as she picks up the white, semi-transparent crystal. “Wherever did you find it?”
“Over by the baths,” he proudly announces. “I found it last year and I was saving it for a special occasion. I want you to have it.”
“How incredibly kind of you, Rionnon, thank you. I’ll treasure it always.”
“You will?” The boy is both thrilled and astounded, and I rub at my beard to stop myself from chuckling. Rina wields charm almost as well as I wield a sword.
“Certainly. I haven’t received many gifts in my life.” She sets her knife aside and presses her palms to her heart and offers him her gratitude.
Though he’s a bit unsure of the gesture, his adoration of my intended couldn’t be more obvious. In the end, he inclines his head deeply before jumping down off the dais to go back to his seat with Yvette.
Rina turns her happiness on me. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
“They’re common enough around here.”
