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Years of rune interpretation lessons barreled into Maude at the sight— The Norns were, in fact, weaving her fate before hervery eyes.

Maude went to shake off the stranger's hand when they slipped a tightly folded note into her palm. They released her hand and turned for the door, leaving Maude unsure of what to do next.

Maude faced the bar as the barmaid placed five tankards in front of her. She flipped a gold coin into her hand and quickly opened the note from the stranger. Scanning over the words quickly, Maude snapped her fingers and brought forth a small flame, destroying the note.

Meet me on the roof, alone. I have news from Brynna.

Burn this.

Shock rolled through Maude at the words on the small paper. Hands shaking, she tried to slow the waves of heat that threatened to overpower her. Hergalderstirred, the air in this small tavern becoming hotter.

Bryn.

Maude had thought of her sister every day since she had left her behind. The longing to see Bryn overwhelmed her and drowned her in conflicting thoughts. What did she want with Maude? Why now? It couldn’t be a trap set by their father, could it? She had to find out what prompted her sister to reach out, but if her fire showed itself, Herrick would not leave her side.

Control it. Breathe.

Maude focused on the feeling of Herrick’s skin against hers, how his touch soothed a ragged part of her soul. She thought about her friends and how they made her laugh, accepting her sharp edges. Slowly, the room began to cool a bit as her wind breezed through the room to calm the fire in her veins. Maude went through her breathing exercises and found enough calm to stop her hands from shaking.

Not wanting to waste another second, she gathered up the ale and headed to their table. She placed the tankards on the table and pivoted to turn to the stairs, muttering about needing to use the washroom. Herrick gave her an odd look but nodded, sensing her need to be alone. Maude forcedan annoyed smile to her face, attempting to look somewhat normal in the moment. A lazy grin spread across Herrick’s face, the ridiculous dimple appearing once more before turning back to the table.

As she made her way to the stairs, Maude figured she had very limited time before he or one of their friends would come looking for her, so she quickly made her way up to their room, turning to place a chair under the doorknob. Wasting no time, she walked straight to the window and opened it so she could climb through.

The smooth surface of the gray stone building proved to be much more challenging to scale than Maude had thought, but she managed to find enough footholds that she could get up the roof of the building.

When Maude finally reached the top, the soft wind blew the scent of burning incense and smoke toward her. She saw the stranger, still cloaked and hooded, facing northwest.

Maude withdrew her dagger before she spoke. “Who are you?”

“A friend,” a deceptively light female voice answered.

The figure lowered her hood and turned to face Maude. Her deep onyx hair fell in long waves around her shoulders, framing her slender face in a way that was exotic even for Logi; her deep russet skin was smooth and ethereal in the moonlight. Maude had never seen this woman before, but on the roof next to her lay a shield with the symbol for the Kingdom of Flame imprinted on it.

“A shieldmaiden,” Maude nodded to the shield, raising her dagger in front of her in a defensive position.

“I am a friend to your sister Bryn,” the woman continued, keeping her arms at her side. “I came as a favor to her to deliver you a letter. My name is Revna; I serve under your sister in Logi.”

“Not the General?” Maude asked, not lowering her weapon.

“No,” Revna scoffed. “That fool has his days numbered.”

“Why would Bryn reach out to me,” Maude asked, finding herself reluctantly liking Revna already. “I haven't spoken to her in ten years. She hates me.”

Maude’s voice cracked. Revna’s eyes softened a fraction.

“She doesn’t hate you,” she said softly. “She’s angry, yes, but she doesn't hate you.”

Maude’s throat burned.

“How are you even able to get this far to deliver this to me?” Maude asked, suspicion still heavy in her words.

“The King sent me to bring you in. He’s known where you are the whole time. When the General's Flame Assassins failed to capture you, Bryn knew that he would ask her to send her soldiers out to finish the job. She sent me to deliver the letter instead to warn you.”

“Warn me about what?”

“The King. He’s planning to get his hands on thedalkr Hela,and that absolutely cannot happen,” Revna said, voice becoming serious. “We think you may have it. Don’t tell me if you do. I don’t want to know, but the King needs to be destroyed. You’re the only one who can get close enough to do it.”

Maude didn’t move when Revna held out a letter to her. The scent of dry, desert lavender drifted toward her.