For nearly a week, I had been dreading the Summit, but now that we were here, it was hard to reconcile that this was the place I had been so scared to come to. That this was the place where I was supposed to be judged and very possibly sentenced to death.
It wasn’t just the areas near Iiro’s tents that seemed inviting. It was everywhere. In fact, it wasn’t so different from the seasonal festivals back in Lochlann. There was music and laughter, food and games. It was nothing like the dreadful scene I had been expecting.
And I wasn’t sure if that made it more or less terrifying.
What kind of people celebrated at the same events where they put people to death?
“Are we walking together…alone?” I gasped. “Such shame. Such scandal.”
Theo looked skyward, heaving a sigh. “It won’t look any particular way. Every woman here is escorted by a man.”
“Of course they are.” Sarcasm edged my tone. “Who knows what we might do otherwise? Pick out our own scarves?”
He only shook his head. “It’s for safety.”
I couldn’t help but notice he had reverted to the uptight lord I had first met at his estate. He kept a healthy bit of distance between us as we walked between the tents, listening to the thrum of conversation and laughter around us. Each section of tents was set up similarly to Elk’s.
A large one was positioned in the middle, with several smaller tents surrounding it. There was always a cookfire off to the side and a post with the clan flag rising high above them all.
All along the makeshift streets were small carts filled with wares that each clan was known for. We passed a few selling jewelry, leather goods, small trinkets for luck, and impressively detailed tapestries, their sellers calling out in both languages.
“Why do some of you speak Socairan and others the common tongue?” I asked Theo, opting for a more innocuous topic of conversation.
He looked pleased by my question, and answered in the explanatory tone I had come to expect from him. “The common tongue is consistent, but Socairan dialects differ with the region. Some are similar, like ours and Viper’s, but Clans Lynx and Ram are close to the sea. Their Socairan is so different from ours that it becomes easier to use the common tongue.”
I nodded, thinking of the village accents back in Lochlann. Though we all spoke the common tongue, some accents were harder to understand than others.
Theo opened his mouth to speak again, but my attention was pulled from his explanation by the sight of a small jewelry booth to my left.
It was laden with woven strands of silver and gold and an impressive collection of small, intricate charms. My eyes flitted from a diamond studded crescent moon to a tiny silver horse Avani would have loved, transfixed by the impossibly fine details on the charms.
There were so many, and they were all so varied. A ball of yarn with knitting needles stuck into it, a cooking spoon, even a bow and arrow.
Theo stopped talking then, watching me admire the craftsmanship of the jewelry. Each piece was another wonderful surprise. I’d seen wood carvings before, but nothing this small or this detailed.
Eventually, reluctantly, Theo pulled me away to explore more of the Summit.
The next set of booths made me wish I hadn’t eaten my weight in bacon earlier. Well, they made me almost wish that, at least. Several of the vendors were preparing various foods at their carts.
I excitedly pointed at one of the carts with chocolate tarts and Theo laughed.
“Have I told you about our custom of pre-dessert?” I asked.
My mouth watered at the chocolate booth in particular, but I was desperate to sample from each of the carts. Several had small cakes and pies, while others had skewered meats, savory pastries, flame-broiled fruits and potatoes cooked in more ways than I realized were possible.
“Pre-dessert? No, but I have a feeling that whatever you say next will be riddled with falsehoods,” he said, tilting his head to the side in a challenge.
I laughed and pushed his arm before wrapping mine around it.
“Theo—”
He abruptly cleared his throat, and took a step away. “Such informality, Princess Rowan,” he said, red creeping up into his cheeks as his eyes darted around the crowd.
I opened my mouth to retort, but closed it again when I saw that people were watching us closely with shocked expressions.
Seriously?
“My apologies, Lord Theodore,” I said, pulling my hand away and dipping my head in a respectful nod. “I must have been overtaken by the excitement of the Summit.”
The latter part I added in a drier tone.
Theo relaxed a little at that before lowering his voice.
“If we buy you pre-dessert, as you call it, will you promise to behave then?”
I made a show of thinking it over before shrugging one shoulder.
“Pre-dessert will probably buy my good behavior for at least a quarter of an hour.” I rushed toward one of the booths, resisting the urge to grab his wrist and tug him along.
“Don’t worry,” Theo chuckled, coming up beside me. “They will not likely run out.”
Rather than lend reassurance, something about his words bothered me, but it took me a moment to figure out what it was. I stopped walking, turning to look up at him.
“But, in the villages…” I couldn’t help but contrast this surplus with the thin, jutting bones on the seller and in the villages we had passed through.
“Ah,” he said, understanding creeping into his tone. “Some fare better than others, but these sellers will see more coin from this Summit than they will in months peddling on the roads or manning their shops, and that money will feed back into their villages.”
That made sense. Maybe that was why everyone here seemed happier, more relaxed than they had on the roads. They knew they would have the means to feed their families in the months to come.
“I’m surprised, though,” I mused, reflecting on that. “I thought the clans would be more…combative.”
We continued walking toward the chocolate booth, where I was even happier to spend my coin now. Or Theo’s coin, as the case may be.
“Oh, they are.” He chuckled. “But even if we are warring in the world outside, there’s a truce here enforced by each Clan Duke. Any blood that is spilled without the consensus of the clan leaders is punishable by death or being removed from your clan.”
“Any blood? Even if it was an accident?” I asked in a lighter tone, arching an eyebrow.
“All blood.” He gave me a pointed look. “Is there something you’re planning that I should know about?”
“I would just like to know all of my options should I unwittingly be responsible for someone’s demise,” I said, arching a brow.
Theo laughed.
“Of course you would. I can see it now, you telling someone about your weather-toe and them falling back into a fire from pure shock.” He shook his head. “And this is why there is death or clan loss. Death is for the accidental murders. Losing your clan is for when it is intentional.”
“Well,” I considered aloud, “I don’t have a clan, so I guess if I murder someone, I should make it intentional.”
Theo looked like he didn’t quite know how to respond to that, settling for a startled laugh that he quickly smothered.
“Why don’t we get that pre-dessert you mentioned, then, lest you intentionally murder me?” He wasn’t quite smiling, but his shoulders had relaxed once more.
Between that and the chocolate, I considered the morning a win.
