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“You’re too soft.” He rubbed his face like he was tired of the conversation. “Man, everyone’s going to be dead by the time we get out of here.”

“No, they won’t. I’ll make sure of it.” Her tone hardened and she tightened her hold on the spoon. “If you don’t eat, though,youwill be dead before we even get out of here.”

“I’m not eating this shit.”

“Are you seriously scared?” Kolfinna pointed at his soup with her spoon. “A black rank like you, scared of eatingsoup? Losing your powers has really stripped you down, hasn’t it?”

Blár’s eyes narrowed. “Shut it.”

“Oh, but it’s true.” She broke a piece of the soft and fluffy bread and took a bite of it. It melted in her mouth and she ignored the guilty thought that everyone in the party was likely starving and dying. “You’re scared of food. You’re scared ofher.” She pointed up the stairs where Revna had disappeared. “You’re not so tough without your ice.”

“I’m cautious, not scared. We know nothing about this place and it’s not like we can trust her. What if she’s the monster we’re supposed to slay?”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“Am I? Really?” He glared at her. “After all the weird stuff we’ve been through the past week, I’d say I’m being reasonable.”

Kolfinna drank water in response.

After what felt like forever, Blár finally took a piece of cheese and turned it over, inspected it, and took a bite. He chewed, swallowed, and took another bite. In seconds, he had a piece of cheese in his hand and a slice of bread in the other. He devoured it in seconds, scowling at her the whole time.

“It’s good.” He ate a spoonful of soup. “Damn it. I hope this doesn’t anchor us here.”

“Are you talking about the story of Gertrude?” Kolfinna shoveled spoonfuls of soup into her mouth; it sounded like a ridiculous story to teach children not to trust strangers. “You think demons will eat us?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Revna entered right then, her hood pulled down to reveal her midnight locks and pointed ears. She smiled warmly at Kolfinna. “The bath is ready.”

“Oh, thank you,” she said, rising.

“Would you both like to join?”

Kolfinna’s mouth hung open and she glanced at Blár, who didn’t look as alarmed, but who had gone still. “N-No!” she said. “We’re not, um, at that stage.”

“Yet,” Blár added.

Kolfinna wanted to smack him across the back of the head, but she simply stood there while her face grew redder.

Revna chuckled and waved her forward. “I understand. Come this way.”

Kolfinna quickly scurried after her, looking once over her shoulder at Blár, who sat eating his soup with the spoon in his mouth. Their eyes met, time slowing, but instead of the predatory glimmer of her nightmares, there was a hint of mischief in the harsh blue. He looked good when he smiled genuinely, she thought, and she felt her blush deepening.

18

The smellof lavender clung to Kolfinna’s skin and as she pulled the blanket over her chin, a breezy, clean smell tickled her nose from the blanket. The bath helped ease the tension in her body, but it did nothing against the guilt expanding in the pit of her stomach. While everyone else was suffering—maybe even dead at this point—Kolfinna had eaten a full meal, bathed, and now was going to sleep in a cozy living room.

Kolfinna closed her eyes, willing those thoughts away, but she was all too aware of Blár’s glare set on her. Silence spread thickly across the room, suffocating them like a plush blanket on a summer night. She gingerly opened one eye to find Blár silently fuming against the wall, the blanket draped over his legs.

Kolfinna turned on the couch so she wouldn’t have to face him. Staring at him for too long made her stomach twist and tingle like she had a host of butterflies caged in her belly.

She still felt his eyes on the back of her head, as if drilling holes into her skull. She gritted her teeth together and squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to think about nature and trees and everything that helped calm her nerves, but she couldn’t shake his stare.

“Okay, what?” Kolfinna jerked up into a sitting position and shot him a hard look, ignoring the way the moonlight danced silver streaks over his midnight hair. “Why are you pouting like a child?”

“Why are you cozying up to that freak?” he hissed between clenched teeth. “And I can’t believe you actually took a bath.”

Hearing him talk so harshly made her forget how brilliantly his blue eyes shone in the dark room.