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"Kaidan!" The sound of Cormak's correction was sharp.
"It's fine," I assured him.
But Cormak hurried over. "I'm sorry, ma'am. My boy's had more sugar than usual. Are you ok?"
Rolena sat up and straightened her skirts. "Well, if you tell me where to get one of those swords, I will be. Your son is quite the hero, you see. I'm apparently evil and had to be done away with."
Cormak offered her a hand up, but Ela spotted Nari. "Hey!" he said, heading over to steal a bite of the apple she had left. "Oh, I'll trade you for my sugar floss. It's a bit more than I can take."
"You know each other?" Cormak asked.
Wraythe chuckled. "That's his partner." Then Wraythe saw the toy sword in Nari's belt. "Hey, can I use that?"
She tossed it over. "Watch out, he's got a wicked underhand."
"Hey, boy?" Wraythe said, holding out the sword. "I challenge you."
"Is that..." Cormak looked between all of us. "He's not being a problem, is he?"
"Oh, he should be a problem," Rolena teased. "It's the Day of Blessings!" Then she offered her hand. "Rolena Marcome."
He took it. "Cormak Connors, and my son is Kaidan."
"He's adorable," Rolena said. "My family would never let any of us play like that. It's so good to see a child smile."
"I..." Cormak paused, then sighed. "In truth, the priests encouraged me."
"Temptation," Rolena said. "It's what they're good at, but I'm glad you gave in."
"Would you..." Cormak hesitated. "Can I at least ask you to dance to make up for the slaying my son did?"
I watched as both Nari and Ela stepped back, giving them just a little more privacy. Wraythe was jumping, dodging, and laughing with the kid, so I gestured for Nari and Ela to come hide with me, making our eavesdropping a bit less obvious. Like the professionals they were, the pair made it look both natural and casual, but we were all listening intently.
"I'm not looking to give the wrong impression, sir," Rolena finally said.
"I wouldn't want to give offense to your husband," Cormak assured her. "I was just trying to take someone's advice and enjoy myself."
"Oh." Rolena thought about that for a moment, then nodded. "Then I'd love to. I'm also not married. My family wanted to sell me off like a prized horse, and I'm afraid I'm not that kind of woman."
Cormak offered his arm. "A confirmed spinster? Not many women are willing to brag about that."
"And you?" she countered. "Here with a priestess and your son, but not ashamed?"
"It was the only way I could think to get him in," Cormak admitted as they began to step to the music. "My wife passed, so I don't get many chances to do things like this."
They were just starting to get out of reach when Ela groaned. "Ok, I'm up again. That's her father, here to make it clear that she's an embarrassment."
Sure enough, a man was headed toward their patrons, and he looked livid. "Rolena, you embarrass us with that priest, and now you're dancing with a dock worker?"
"Excuse me?" Cormak huffed.
But Eladehl just stepped into Cormak's chest. "Pardon us. We needed a little break."
Taking a cue, Nari moved to offer Rolena her hand. "What? It's supposed to be fun," she teased, moving Rolena into the dance.
And then Cormak stepped off with Ela. My jaw dropped open but I made no move to stop them. Instead, I watched the father. If he tried to pull either one of my wards away from their dance partners, it would be him I removed. From what little I could tell, he was terrified of a scandal, and not much was more embarrassing than being kicked out of a temple holiday.
But Bode bumped my shoulder, making me aware that he was back. "Do you get it yet?" he asked.
