Page 47 of When the Merchant Met the Orc

“I’ll be the judge of that,” the male himself says, as he approaches with Laini, his human mate.

Laini and Rom are dressed as dusk hollows. Laini has a happy face painted in black on the voluminous skirts of her orange dress. Rom’s tunic is the same shade and painted with a scowl not unlike his usual expression.

Nate stands proudly and looks up at Rom. “Did I do you right?”

We all chuckle, and Rom examines Nate’s woolen wings.

“Absolutely,” Rom says, the hint of a smile touching the corners of his mouth. “The shade of gray is exactly correct, too.”

Nate runs off toward the bonfire. “Come on, Ma!”

My eyes are drawn that way too, but not because of the fire.

“It’s so sweet that he wanted to be Rom tonight,” Laini says.

“I appreciate the costume help,” I say. “Please let me know what I owe you for the wool and so forth.”

“It’s on us,” Laini says, and Rom nods.

“I’m touched that he picked me,” Rom says.

Normally, Rom is stoic and incredibly quiet, so this much talking is a bit of a shock.

“I’m glad you are flattered instead of annoyed,” I say.

“I could never be annoyed by Nate, Rychell.”

I squeeze Rom’s hand, then hug Laini.

“I like your costume, too, Rychell,” Tully says. “Your crown matches the one they have in the museum in Kingstown. Now, I need to get the brooms ready for the race after the Twilight Telling. I’ll see you all soon.”

“I juiced some up for you with the wheel,” Argos says.

He is an inventor; he set up a wild contraption that allows non-magical folks to do some amazing things. Most of us are wary of the invention, though, so it doesn’t get as much use as Argos likely wishes it did.

Tully raises an eyebrow. “Thank you! I can go straight to drinking all the mead in sight then!”

Laughing, they wave and hurry toward the drinks table.

Kaya arrives with her mate, Cyrus. The dragon shifter picks orange icing out of Kaya’s blonde hair. Kaya grins at him, then eyes my half-eaten spice pie.

“What do you think?”

“Is the purple turmeric in here? It tastes amazing.”

“It is! I think I’ll add more in the next batch to give that particular flavor note more punch.”

Cyrus’s dragon tail swishes behind him as he plants a kiss on Kaya’s cheek. “Trust your instincts. You’re a master in the kitchen, my mate.”

She curls into him for a moment, and then she’s grabbing treats and instructing Cyrus to try each one.

I start toward the tall golden flames of the main bonfire. “See you later on.”

Chapter 25

Rychell

The mayor, his wife, and their team have strewn the cobblestones here with straw. Halvard is telling the story of the town’s founding fairies. Nate pats an empty spot beside him.