Chapters (46)
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
Bella spun a turnip against her carving knife, peeling off the skin in a long spiral. Kyra grabbed the longer shreddings from the table as they fell. “About fifteen years now, sixteen since my husband passed. And if you’d told me seventeen years ago that I’d end up at the Dog, I would never have believed it.” She put the knife down. “It was hard. You’re old enough to understand now. My husband was gone. Who knows what had befallen my son in his eagerness to chase griffins and mermaids? Not many places would take a woman in, and I was lucky that Laman knew and respected my husband. I needed work and a place to stay. I couldn’t afford to be choosy.”
Kyra had a sudden vision of a younger Bella, clutching her bags at the door of the tavern, jaw clenched in determination as she looked over the tavern’s rougher patrons. “I suppose it took some getting used to.”
“It did.” Bella was looking off into the distance now.
“Did it get better?”
She looked thoughtfully at Kyra. “I got used to it. But what really made it better was finding Flick again. And meeting you.”
“Really?”
“Well, I’d given up on ever finding my sister. When she sent for me, and I found out she was dying…” Bella trailed off for a moment. “I see her in Flick sometimes. And the two of you gave me hope. Most of the patrons here are hard, jaded. The two of you still had some innocence about you, despite what you’d gone through.”
Kyra gave Bella a crooked smile. “Innocence? Do you still think that?”
“You two are more innocent than you think, and less innocent than I’d like.”
It occurred to Kyra that with Bella’s son dead, she’d have no one to care for her when she grew old. The responsibility would fall to her and Flick. Kyra found that she liked the idea.
“Well, Bella, if it makes you feel better, you don’t have to worry about Idalee following my footsteps. She doesn’t have the knack for it.”
“Just as you don’t have the knack for preparing vegetables.” Bella eyed the pile of shreddings. “How did I do?”
Kyra held up the longest shredding, about the length of her forearm. “Not bad, but not your best.” She fetched the scrap bucket and held it as Bella swept in the turnip peels.
“Are you leaving?” said Bella. “I have some leftover roast from lunch.”
Kyra obediently served herself some roast before excusing herself.