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Everything hurt.

Every breath, every movement of her eyes behind closed lids seemed to send waves of aching across Maude's body. She tried to sit up but found she was weighed down around her waist.

When she finally was able to open her eyes, Maude could see she was inside a tent she didn't recognize.

While the carpets that covered the ground and the privacy screens were similar to the tent she shared with her sister and Dahlia, the furnishings were a little more sparse in this tent.

There was also a large table set up with a map of Ahland pinned across it with small figurines to represent both armies.

This must be Herrick's tent, she realized, dazed. But how did I end up here?

Swirling darkness, hostile anger that didn't belong to her, her heart racing in her chest, and then, finally, golden hues everywhere.

She'd run toward the gold, run toward that feeling of safety. Then, there was nothing— until now.

She glanced over her shoulder to find Herrick asleep, his breath tickling her ear as his dreams held him under for a little while longer.

Turning slightly in his arms, Maude traced his features with her eyes before gently running her fingers over his cheekbones and then over the coarse hair that he'd started keeping a bit longer than usual on his square jaw.

She rested her fingers on the pulse in his throat, the steady beating under her fingertips matching the cadence in her chest as threads of gold seemed to swirl around them.

Hjartparan . Could she and Herrick really be bonded by fate? And if they were, was any of what she felt for him real ?

She tried to categorize how she felt about him, how her chest seemed to swell whenever he made her laugh or when he gently tousled her hair or when he stood at her back, ready to defend her if she needed it but always letting her handle it first.

She thought about how in their shared moments of quiet, the warmth of comfort would overwhelm her to the point of tears burning at the back of her throat.

She thought about how he would grip her fingers in his when he noticed she was picking at the skin around her nails when her nerves overwhelmed her.

She thought about how he would always give her the last piece of cheese when they shared a meal without her asking because he knew she developed a deep love for the chunks of herb and garlic cheddar her father had served them in Nida.

Maude loved him. At least, she imagined she did. She had never loved someone who wasn't her family, had never wanted someone to stick around long enough for her to love them.

But Herrick had burrowed his way under her skin and into her heart.

He knew her; every quirk, every tick and habit she had, every preference and love. He understood her.

When she brought her eyes back to Herrick's face, she found him watching her. She ran her thumb over his lips, and he parted them, catching the soft pad between his teeth and biting down gently.

"I didn't mean to wake you," she whispered.

The afternoon sun was grey and dreary as the storm from earlier finally passed, casting the inside of the tent into darkness that only the small hearth in the center of the space kept lit.

"I will never mind waking up to your touch, minn eldr ," Herrick whispered as he leaned forward and caught her lips with his.

Even when just waking, he still tasted like bright berries and sunshine.

She opened for him, his tongue sweeping into her mouth to taste her.

She groaned, the sound reverberating through him as he greedily tasted her.

Just when her body started to relax, the aches disappearing from her muscles, Maude remembered what had happened in the cave with the prisoner before everything went dark.

She pulled back, her eyes widening in alarm. "What happened to me in that cave? "

He pressed his lips together in a tight line like he was deciding how much to tell her.

"Herrick," she said quietly, feeling small. "Please tell me what happened. All I remember was rage and then cold nothingness."

Before he answered, he sat up from the cot they were asleep on and scrubbed his face with his hands a few times.

She followed his lead, sitting up slowly as the aching had returned.

When he still didn't respond, she got to her feet as her body buzzed with nervous energy.

He watched her pace for a few moments before he finally responded.

"Hela's grip on you is getting stronger," he explained gravely. "Bryn seems to think it has something to do with the number of kills; I think it has more to do with the fact that she feeds on your rage. I'm not sure we'll ever know the how behind her interference, but we need to know the why."

"What did I do?" Maude asked, keeping her eyes on the ground as she pulled her leggings on.

"You tore up the sergeant's brain with your healing galder until he bled from every opening, then you created a vortex of wind and fire that was ready to take us all out. I got close enough to stop you, but you broke my nose first."

Her eyes flashed up to his face again as he moved to stand in front of her, his large hands gripping her elbows. She eyed his nose, its straight bridge as perfect as it had been before. He must've seen the question in her eyes because he snorted.

"Dahlia healed me up afterward," he explained.

"I must have gotten you good if she had to step in and fix it before your galder could," Maude huffed, a small chuckle leaving her despite the horrifying news.

"Eh, it was only a small fracture," Herrick replied as he smiled at her.

He was radiant when he smiled this way, fully and completely at ease.

It usually worked to rid her of her worries, not that she'd ever tell him that.

The goddess of Hel was quickly worming her way into complete control over Maude with every moment that passed, all because she'd been carrying and using that dagger for ten years since her mother gave it to her .

She tried to be angry about it, tried to place the blame on her mother for not explaining what it was and how dangerous it was, but found that she couldn't do it. One of the last journal entries from the time that Sylvi had spent with Aeric flashed into Maude's mind.

The time to act on my plan has arrived, and I'm not ready for it.

This time that I've spent with Aeric and the things he has shown me in the short months we've known each other have been the greatest and most exciting months of my life.

This was the last trip I'll ever take to Nida— the hunting ruse has worn out its worth to the citizens of Hallifel, and there have been reports of Flame Soldiers in the areas around the Chasm. It's time to draw them in.

But I don't want to. I want to stay wrapped in Aeric's arms forever. I want to live out my days among the Elven. I want to raise our child here.

As we were saying our goodbyes, Aeric gifted me a dagger. When I asked him why he felt I needed the weapon, he seemed just as puzzled.

"Evil has been growing in Logi and you need something that will protect you.

I can't explain it, but this dagger presented itself to me and it feels…

right to give it to you," Aeric explained as he cradled my face in his palms, lowering his forehead to rest against mine.

"I don't know when I'll see you again, and if that is our fate, then I'll send you away with any protection I can offer. "

The only thing happening in my chest at that moment was my heart shredding to pieces while screaming Don't Go!

I rested a hand on my abdomen, over the life that had taken root inside of me that belonged to me and Aeric alone.

I was out of time; I needed to leave now and infiltrate the court, so Helvig believed this child was his.

I had never planned for this to happen and had never imagined I'd need to work on such a tight schedule.

And the worst part of it all was that Aeric had no idea.

I'd left a letter for him in his room; he'd find it when I was already too far away for him to chase after me. This is the way it has to be— this was always to be my fate.

Maude blinked as the image of the tear-stained journal page vanished .

"My mother must have used the dagger when she was pregnant with me," she breathed. "And then when she discovered which blade it was, she gave it to me, but she never got the chance to explain any of it."

"That would explain why she has such a hold on you," Herrick mused as he stepped away to pace. "It also explains why she interfered with your fate. The Allfather must have seen this when he had Hildr pull the dagaz rune, giving you a fighting chance at beating her control."

She tried to let that information sit with her, but her head was spinning with all the revelations.

How would reanimation help her fight off Hela?

If it meant she had to die to beat her, Maude wanted to find another way to stop this possession.

She needed her sister— Bryn would be level-headed enough to find a way.

Searching for her leather vest, Maude gathered her weapons before pulling on her cloak. Herrick, dressing in a spare General's uniform, started buckling numerous blades onto his person.

"I need to talk to Bryn," she said as she tied the dalkr Hela to her leg gingerly. "She always knows what to do."

A knock came at the metal post holding the tent flap open. "As flattered as I am, sis, I have no idea what to do in this situation."

Bryn entered the tent, her worried eyes tracing over Maude quickly before relaxing slightly. She nodded her greeting to Herrick, who returned it before he strapped his two-handed axe onto his back.

"We have bigger problems, though," Bryn continued; she walked over to the map on the table, moving the figures representing Helvig's army further into the forest. "Father's armies have already started to move.

It looks like the information you got from the sergeant was accurate. At this rate, they'll be here by dawn."