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Her lessons with Dahlia rang through her mind absently as she dove into the hateful soul of the Flame Sergeant.

Those who could work with water could train to work with the water in the blood. Healers use this talent to locate illness, to heal traumas of the flesh.

But in her rage— the darker side of her soul— Maude took that healing power and turned it inward on the man.

It wasn't until the bloody mixture of brain and spinal fluid began to leak from his ears that she knew she was successful.

But she didn't care; she pushed further into his body, into his very being, and tore through all of his organs until blood ran freely through every opening.

When she was finished, she stepped back from the limp form, back to the safety of the stone floor.

She didn't need to turn around to know that the faces she would see— the faces she loved— would all reflect the horror that had just played out.

Maude didn't care; Helvig wasn't going to take anyone else from her or anyone else ever again.

The damp room grew chilly. She was freezing, her skin breaking out into ripples of goosebumps as the silence descended on her. Detached from her body, Maude watched as Herrick released the man from his shackles of foliage, his body splashing into the water before the current dragged him under.

Unable to find the controls to her body, Maude stood on the edge of the water, her eyes fixed on the spot he'd disappeared.

On the outside, she must have looked like a statue— her body stiff, frozen.

But inside, panic started to swell in tidal waves that threatened to pull her under.

She was trying to control the onslaught of her anxiety, trying to compress it until it was a constant, annoying, but manageable buzzing in her chest. Her mind and body were trying to fight against an attack, trying to kick her into action against an unknown danger.

Except she was the attacker. She was the danger.

The room started to spin. She couldn't get enough oxygen into her lungs, into her head, to clear the remaining panic that spurred to life when Herrick was threatened.

All she could see was how he had looked when they'd freed him.

Then, how tormented he had been from what he'd gone through; it was slowly changing him every day she spent at his side.

"Maude, come back to me," a voice sounded from far away, as if someone was screaming the words at her from three rooms over.

She felt her body turn, but fear shot through her when she realized she was not the one in control anymore. Something else was. When the voice came again, it was closer.

"You have to let go of your galder , or you'll burn out!"

Let go? But how?

The deep rumbling of the words leaving someone's chest vibrated against her back.

She tried to move her arms, tried to fight off this new assailant, but found herself bound.

Maude thrashed against her restraints until gold flashed in front of her eyes, consuming her as the color grew until it surrounded her in a soft glow.

Everything stilled— the wind that had been ripping at her ceased, the heat in her veins becoming steam. Soft pressure on her lips was the last thing she remembered before nerve-splitting pain wracked her body, her limbs shaking with exhaustion going out from under her as the darkness swallowed her.

Terror.

Soul shaking terror. That was the only way Herrick could describe what he felt as Maude imploded after she killed the prisoner .

She stepped back onto the stone as he released the dead man from his restraints with the snap of his fingers.

Of all the things Herrick expected Maude to do, turning his brain into nothing but blood and fluid with just her galder wasn't one of them.

He didn't even know that could be done. The act was brutal and so callous that it shocked him.

As soon as the thought entered his mind, he realized that he had done just as bad, if not worse, things to the sergeant.

And for once, he understood why Maude could be as harsh as she was sometimes.

But now, something was building in the air that did not belong to any of them— even Maude.

She didn't turn to face them. All she would see was stunned silence. Dahlia and Hakon were pale, but Bryn only pressed her lips together into a thin line, worry etched into her features.

He called out Maude's name, but his eldr didn't respond—only remained still as death with her back to them.

Then the wind picked up, swirling around them all faster and faster until the only sound Herrick could hear was his racing heart.

He tried to reach for her, tried to claw his way over to her, but the wind was too strong.

Golden flames sparked from the turmoil Maude had to be feeling, her galder still firmly gripped in her control.

Herrick and the rest of them ducked low to the ground to avoid the wild flames that spun with the whirlwind she created, the licks of fire that would shoot out from the violent winds of the twister, feeding the fire to sweltering levels.

Behind him, Dahlia and Hakon shot up shield after shield of water to slow the burning cyclone that was starting to enclose them all, the radius growing smaller and smaller with each pounding beat of his heart.

Bryn tried to reach Maude but was picked up by a strong gust of wind and thrown backward.

Hakon, thankfully, had seen her go flying and reached out to grab her by her waist and pull her into his hold.

Herrick kept pushing once he knew Maude's sister would be okay, his strength at its lowest after his night with the soldier.

"Maude, come back to me!" Herrick shouted.

Slowly, she turned to the sound of his voice.

Herrick sucked in a breath. Her eyes were pitch black, the white around her shocking green irises swallowed up by the rage that was eating her alive.

There was a flicker of fear in her face before it smoothed out again.

The wind picked up, her flames growing impossibly larger.

Finally, Herrick managed to reach her side, but as he stood, the wind pulled him past her toward the wall of fire she was controlling.

The only way to stop himself was to throw his arms around her and anchor his feet into the ground the best he could.

Standing with Maude's back to his front, he could feel the tremors starting to set in.

Even if she couldn't burn out in the traditional sense, something was pulling on her galder too fast.

"You have to let go of your galder , or you'll burn out!" he shouted into her ear, hoping his words would break through whatever trance Maude was in.

She started to thrash in his arms, her nails carving deep gouges into his skin and her head connecting with his nose until the resounding crack of a broken bone echoed in his skull. He only tightened his grip, grunting at the shock of pain that was now ebbing into his bones with a sharp bite.

"Knock her out before she brings this whole place down on us!" Bryn shouted from across the room.

"Fuck," Herrick growled as he turned Maude in his arms so she faced him.

Gripping either side of her head, Herrick looked into Maude's eyes, the black pits swirling with something other than his eldr . He could drown in her darkness and be happy to do it, he thought with a chuckle. But this was not her fury that churned in his eldr's eyes.

Doing the only thing he could think of to pull her from her storm, Herrick pressed his lips roughly against hers.

The wind stopped, and the golden fire froze around them as if time had stopped.

Maude was stiff for only a moment before she melted under his touch, her body reacting to him the way he hoped it would.

They stood there, pressed against each other for a brief eternity before Maude slanted her mouth against his and kissed him back.

Her eyes widened, clarity shooting through them as the deep tinge of her green irises started to peek through the black for a second before they rolled to the back of her head, and she collapsed.

Her galder retreated instantly, clearing the small room .

They all breathed heavily for a few minutes.

"Every life Maude takes brings her closer to Hela," Bryn huffed out as she rose to her feet.

"We don't exactly have the luxury of another option," Hakon replied as he helped Dahlia to her feet. She released his hand quickly, nodding her thanks while avoiding eye contact. "She's the best fighter out of all of us."

"I resent that," Herrick said dryly, trying to find some humor in their bleak situation as he scooped Maude into his arms.

"She won't be able to fight her off for much longer," Bryn continued, her eyes on Herrick. "I know you haven't wanted to face the reality of her situation because you think it will all work out, but I am not willing to let Maude fall into Hela's hands just because it's the easiest way to do this."

"I'm not letting her fall into her grasp—," he started to say, but Bryn cut him off.

"I will not let the goddess of Hel possess my sister."

"Neither will I," he reaffirmed but internally shuddered as he realized that Bryn had been right to call him out.

He had been avoiding the thought that Hela might be trying to take over Maude's body. Hildr had said as much when they were in Hilgafell.

The dalkr Hela has been burrowing its way into Maude's fate. It has her in its grasp now.

The dagger she'd killed with for years was channeling Hela into Maude's consciousness, slipping further and further inside until it would be almost impossible to remove her.

When her eyes blacked out, and that warmth that belonged to his eldr disappeared, it was Hela staring back at them.

But why Maude? And why interfere like this…

The gods can interfere with someone's fate. Any of the gods.

"Damn it," Herrick breathed as he held Bryn's eye.

She nodded, understanding where his thought process had taken him.

"Come on," she said, waving for him to follow her into the tunnel. "You both look like Hel and could use some rest. We have time. "

"No, we don't," Herrick bit out as he readjusted his hold on Maude and followed Bryn into the darkness. "We have until dawn."