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Words were beyond her now; she could only feel. The throbbing in her center built until it took on a life of its own, torturing her with every one of Herrick’s movements.

His rate increased, his fingers setting a pace that only his tongue could keep up with. Soon, Maude could not control her breathing any longer. Her breaths became shallow, her hips grinding into Herrick’s mouth. Just when Maude thought the sensation was too much, Herrick formed an ice cube with his free hand and ran it down her stomach. The heat of her body was melting the ice quickly, adding an entirely new feeling to the mix.

At the last second, Herrick pressed his hand down on her lower stomach, pinning her to the ground and his mercy.

It was too much. Too much to feel. Maude’s body began to tighten, the pressure in her core building beyond her ability to bear it. It was too much. She needed to let go. She needed—

“Come for me,minn eldr,” Herrick growled. “I need to taste you, to feel you.”

His words were her undoing. Release barreled through her as Maude cried out Herrick’s name, the flashing colors behind her closed eyes shattering along with her. Herrick became ravenous, devouring every undulation of her hips and soaking up every reaction his touch elicited.

Her flames shot out from either side of them, only to be extinguished by Herrick’s water. Steam boiled around them as theirgaldercollided, hiding them from the open sky above them and any gods that might be looking down on them before settling on their skin and mixing with their sweat.

Herrick slowed and withdrew his fingers from her, laying more kisses up her stomach and chest. When he reached the hollow of her throat, however, the previously languid muscles belonging to Maude seized up. She cried out in pain now instead of pleasure, her body rejecting the exercise it had just gone through.

“Maude?” Herrick asked, panic seeping into his voice as she yielded to her body’s protests.

“Burnout,” she gasped, eyes flying open to look at Herrick. “Fuck.”

The vines holding her hands in place disappeared, allowing Herrick to pick her up and cradle her. Spasms rocked through her, the burnout from earlier rearing its ugly head.

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” Herrick said, running his hands over her hair and her skin.

“Not your fault,” she said through her teeth, spasms rocking through her.

Before she could say anymore, oblivion swept over her, and the rest of the world was lost to her as she lay in Herrick’s arms.

22

Bryn was curled up in her bed with one of her mother’s journals that she had taken from Sigurd’s house, reading through its entries, when she heard a knock at the door.

“Come in,” she called, placing the journal underneath her pillow.

Revna entered her room, and Bryn’s heart skipped for a moment before she could compose herself. She was about to speak when she noticed the look of panic on Revna’s face.

“What’s happened?” Bryn asked as she stood from her place in her bed.

Revna scanned Bryn, noticing the short, thin shift she wore instead of her usual robe.

“One of the General’s Flame Assassins has made it back to the barracks,” Revna said quickly.

Ice-cold shock reverberated through Bryn, and she swore.

“Yes, those were my sentiments,” Revna said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “What do we do?”

Bryn’s mind raced. If the General caught wind of this assassin returning before the King did, their entire plan would collapse.

“Bryn,” Revna said, urgency in her tone.

“Hold on.” Bryn put two fingers to her temples and massaged the oncoming headache forming. Her mind raced with possibilities.

“Ulf won't let the assassin see the light of the new day if he finds out about their return,” Bryn began. Revna nodded. “So we need to get them into our confidence first.”

“How?”

Bryn spied her uniform scattered across the floor of her room and quickly stripped her shift from her body to dress as the Lieutenant General, a haphazard plan forming in her mind.

“Bring them to the furthest dungeon from the King and the General’s lodgings,” Bryn ordered. “Enlist two of your most trusted shieldmaidens to help.”