I gasped, my throat still burning from the shock, and started coughing uncontrollably.
"This, this is..." It took me a long time to find my voice.
Kael took the yogurt the chief's wife handed him and set it in front of me. "Barley wine."
The chief's eyes crinkled into slits. "It's our homemade brew. You didn't get to drink any last time you were here, so I poured you some today."
He reached for the flagon to refill my cup, but his wife patted his arm. "Dear, can't you see the girl can't hold her liquor? Don't go pressing drinks on her."
I shook my head, not wanting to dampen their enthusiasm. "It's okay, I can drink."
I didn't drink often, but I'd tested my tolerance with friends back home. I could handle half a bottle of twenty-percent alcohol. This homemade barley wine shouldn't ha
