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But Maude had enough experience to know those soldiers were coming for her and would stop at nothing. This was where their journey wouldend.

Maude turned to face Herrick again, trying to make him understand that she wouldn’t jeopardize more people for her selfishness in wanting a free life. She could hear the others already riding away on their horses. Hakon and Eydis hesitated, looking back and forth between them to see which struggle of wills would win out.

Herrick was silent for a moment as he assessed the look in Maude’s eyes. She saw him come to a decision and knew that she would disagree with whatever he had decided for himself. When he spoke, it was to Hakon.

“Go to Veter. I’m staying with Maude.”

“No,” Maude said immediately. “You have to go with them. I will be fine on my own, Herrick.”

Maude tried to push him away. She would not allow him to throw himself in the line of fire because of her own choices. She had known when she ran away all those years ago that hers would be a lonely existence, and she couldn’t let Herrick throw his own life away, too.

“I said I was never letting you go,minn eldr. I meant it,” he said, his voice quiet as he lifted a hand and ran his thumb along her cheekbone.

Maude quickly ran through the scenarios in her mind.

If she left, Herrick would come with her, and they would both either die or be captured. The sheer panic that rose in her at the thought of Herrick in their clutches shut that route down for her. She shoved her surprising reaction down to reexamine later.

If she went with them into the Kingdom of Rivers, the soldiers would have to stop following them, but that didn't mean they wouldn’t camp out and wait for them to reappear.

What caused her anxiety to intensify was the possibility that she would be found out if she stayed in Veter too long. Someone could recognize her; Helvig had eyes everywhere. The brothers were clearly nobles, but Maudehad lived on the outskirts of society for years, so maybe she could get by unrecognized.

Something had changed in her over the last few days with Herrick. She remembered the promise she made to Herrick about ending him if she was forced to go somewhere she couldn’t go and realized she had changed her mind as soon as she knew she could trust him.

The idea of Herrick being captured by Helvig because of her selfishness made Maude feel sick. She was reluctant to admit her feelings had begun to change, but this man had an unrelenting grip on her. She wouldn’t let Helvig capture him. It was unacceptable.

Herrick watched her decision unfold in her eyes, and he gave her a small nod, understanding in his eyes, as he pressed his lips to her forehead and said, “We live to fight another day,minn eldr. I know this is hard for you, trusting me.”

“It’s dangerous for me to stay in one place for too long; we have to leave as soon as we can.”

“We will leave for the Knotted Caverns as soon as the Flame Soldiers stop pursuing,” Herrick said as he boosted her into the saddle.

She knew he couldn’t promise anything once they were in the hands of those who ruled him, but she knew he wasn’t lying to her either. That absolute certainty rang clear through her, and she trusted it. He had been willing to face down the Kingdom of Flame soldiers with her rather than let her go on her own to certain death. In her heart, she knew going to the river kingdom was the only option. She knew that had the soldiers not shown up, Herrick never would have pushed her, and they would never have gone to Veter.

The skin on her forehead tingled where Herrick’s lips had been pressed, and she ran her fingers over the spot. Her mother’s words rang in her earsagain as she thought about all the intimate touches and moments Maude had shared with this man she couldn’t stay away from.

Love, like the ones in the stories, does not have a place in your reality.

Pushing the harsh reality from her mind, Maude looked to see their group had taken off into the distance, but Herrick spurred their horse into a sprint to catch up with them. The line of soldiers intent on catching them, on hurting the people she had grown fond of, were making quick progress in their hunt for her.

She had made the decision, but deep in her soul, Maude felt her fate had pushed her in this direction. By agreeing to go with Herrick to the Kingdom of Rivers, Maude knew her life would be irrevocably changed.

Their horses had sprinted through the last stretch of barren earth to the dense edge of the Lamenting Woods before they needed to break and rest for a time. They had not slowed their pace all through the evening and night since they had begun their escape at the Bone Chasm, so they each took turns sleeping in shifts for a few hours each to combat the rising exhaustion their arduous journey was causing.

The path to the edge of the Lamenting Woods had been grueling, but now, in the early morning light, they were able to pause before continuing to the Kingdom of Rivers.

Gunnar stood watch at the edge of the woods, eyes to the west to spot the Flame Soldiers if they appeared. Maude was bent over at her hips, hands latched onto her calves to pull her upper body closer to her legs so she could stretch out her lower back. She had spoken with Eydis to see how she had been doing during these last few days since they’d left Engate, and she had expressed excitement about entering the new kingdom but was sore from the riding.

Maude went through some stretches, adding to the ones Hakon had shown her, to loosen the tight muscles Eydis was describing. Maude thought she was handling the discomfort well, considering Eydis had never experienced much extraneous movements like this in Logi. Once her stretches were complete, Eydis launched into her exercises with the staff Maude had found for her. She was learning exceptionally fast for someone with no training, and Maude was impressed.

Herrick had mentioned that they would follow the lesser-known path through the woods. She had never met anyone who had been through the thick barrier that guarded the Kingdom of Rivers beyond it, but from what she could see on the outskirts of the woods, the trees were packed in closely. There was no discernible path leading to the kingdom.

She and Herrick had ridden in silence after she had reluctantly decided to go to Veter to outrun the Kingdom of Flame. Still, she knew it had been from the tension of imminent capture and not because of any awkwardness between them. She had kept her hood up for the ride to hide the bright red from the soldiers, and it had provided a barrier between her and Herrick that allowed her to think through all the possibilities she could face in Veter.

The brothers had been arguing quietly amongst themselves a few yards away since they had stopped, but Maude couldn’t hear what they were saying. When she stood and twisted her upper body a few times to loosen the muscles in her back, she noticed Liv had quietly made her way over to where she was stretching. Liv tentatively handed her and Eydis some torn bread from a loaf Thora had sent with them.

Maude accepted the peace offering, and they sat together on the grass in quiet companionship for a time before Liv spoke, “Eydis, do you mind running some of this food over to Gunnar? I needed to speak with Maude for a moment.”

Liv held out some bread and apple slices drizzled in honey that were wrapped in a cloth to Eydis, who nodded and ran the goods to Gunnar, sitting with him while he ate. The sounds of Gunnar’s booming laugh echoed over to where Maude sat with Liv, breaking their awkward silence.