Page 26

“I can feel the galder that’s keeping it locked in place, but I can’t get around it,” Liv sighed, her annoyance flaring in her face as she flicked her braids over her shoulder. “Whatever it is, it’s ancient. I can’t get through the enchantments, but I think Aeric might be able to.”

“Aeric?” Herrick asked.

Maude stirred again next to him but lapsed back into a deep sleep. Liv took a deep breath.

“He’s the King of Shadow and the last Elven King. This is his ship; he lent it to us so we could rescue you,” Liv explained."We're headed back to Nida now."

When Herrick didn’t even flinch at the confession, he knew he had met his limit on surprises for the day.

“I want to hear the whole story,” Herrick started but quickly waved off Liv when she opened her mouth to speak. “I want to hear it from all of you. In the meantime, I’m staying down here.”

“I’ll go get Hakon so you two can catch up,” Liv said as she nodded and stood to exit the room.

Before she could leave, Herrick snagged his friend's arm and pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Thank you for coming after me even when I lied to you,” Herrick said quietly.

Liv pulled back and shoved his shoulder back.

Her new strength had him staggering back half a step before he could catch himself.

“You're an ass for that, by the way. But of course, I came after you. Who else is going to smooth everything out between your brother and me when he’s acting like a prick? "

They laughed together, a short and uncomfortable sound, but it signaled to Herrick that maybe things weren’t all that different after all. He found the courage to ask about the missing person from their usual group, afraid of what the answer might be.

“Gunnar?” he asked quietly.

Liv’s features tightened. “Alive, but being kept asleep by the Elven healers in Nida. They’re trying to repair the damage the poison caused, but it’s taking longer than usual.”

Herrick nodded, the relief in his bones palpable that his oldest friend was not dead.

Liv left the room, and he sank into the chair by Maude’s side once more, his gaze tracing over her sleeping form.

He was staring, and for once, he didn't care if she woke up furious at him for it.

For longer than he ought to have, Herrick watched as the delicate pulse point in her neck pounded along with her heartbeat.

The same heart that had grown still under his touch.

Herrick tore his gaze from her and dropped his head into his hands.

He tried to remember how to breathe and how to slow his heart, but the memories of Maude taking a final breath flashed in his mind.

Then, the endless days of torture from Baldr in his cell.

The two traumas alternated in his mind until Herrick couldn’t catch his breath anymore, the air in his lungs escaping faster than he could draw more in.

He stood and stumbled to the large window, shoving open the glass so that fresh air flooded the small cabin.

Open air. Salt from the ocean. The dry breeze from the desert.

He was free. He was not under the palace anymore. He had escaped.

It took a few more breaths for Herrick to finally calm down enough to pull his head back into the cabin.

The small space began closing in on him again, but it was more manageable this time.

When he took his seat next to Maude, the door opened, and Hakon entered with freshly caught fish and some bread.

His brother quickly put the food down and walked over to Herrick, grabbing him and pulling him into a tight hug. He threw his arms around his older brother and held him as he trembled.

“I missed you too,” Herrick said, his voice rough.

Hakon chuckled and pulled back to look at him for a moment before looking at the two unconscious women asleep in the bed.

“Gods, what happened to them?” Hakon asked as they sat at the desk together and tore into the food. It was simple, but after weeks of watery broth and hard bread, Herrick savored every bite.

“I think Bryn got knocked out in an ambush. Liv carried her in,” Herrick said between bites. “And Maude did the impossible and wielded earth galder to split the ground so the soldiers couldn’t get to us. She burnt herself out pretty badly.”

Hakon’s eyes widened for a second before he controlled his features.

“This is really annoying,” Herrick grumbled. “Just tell me what I missed.”

“I can’t,” Hakon said, keeping his eyes down. “It’s Maude’s story, she'll flay me alive if I tell you before she gets the chance.”

“Trust me, Kolbeck,” a deceptively feminine voice said from behind him. “You’ll want to hear it from her. Mostly because she isn’t all that accepting of the story yet. She’ll want to be the one to tell you.”

Bryn sat up, massaging the side of her head where a nasty bruise was already beginning to spread from her hairline.

“Bryn, glad to see you’re alive,” Hakon said, his voice strained.

She snorted. “That almost sounded believable. Got any water?”

Herrick watched their verbal volley for a moment, unable to decipher why his brother was being such an ass.

Hakon tossed a wineskin to Maude’s sister, who caught it easily and took a large gulp before wiping her mouth after she swallowed.

Her face quickly turned green as the rocking of the boat increased.

“Fuck, I better go above deck,” she said, taking off for the door. “We’ll catch up later, Herrick!”

She was gone before he could process what he’d just seen. Hakon chuckled at the look on his face.

“She’s not one for the sea,” he said. “She gets sick pretty easily. It helps her to stay above deck and keep an eye on the horizon.”

Herrick couldn’t skirt around the topic anymore despite the almost normal way Hakon was speaking to him.

“What’s going on with you?” His tone was serious enough to make Hakon freeze for a moment before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“I'm fine,” Hakon responded, averting his eyes.

“I’m being serious,” Herrick said. “You’re different from the last time I saw you. Harder, somehow.”

“I’m fine,” his brother repeated through his teeth.

“I know you are still grieving,” he began, but Hakon cut him off.

“Herrick, just drop it.”

Strained silence stretched between them, distance growing with every moment they remained quiet.

“You’re angry,” Herrick finally said, his voice quiet as he observed his brother. “Angry with Maude for who she is, angry with me for getting captured. But you’re also angry with yourself, why?”

“I don't want to talk about this,” Hakon said, pushing off from the desk and heading for the door. “Get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us.”

With that, his brother left and closed the door roughly .

Herrick deflated, the food in his stomach turning to lead. The walls of the small cabin began to creep in on him the longer he sat in silence, so he turned to open the windows again before washing up with the small basin of water that Hakon had brought with him.

Once Herrick had scrubbed the last of the dirt and memories of his cell from his skin, he settled on the small bed next to Maude.

He had sifted through the trunk of clothes and found some of Hakon’s trousers to put on, opting to throw his clothes out the window into the roiling sea.

He watched as the water swallowed up the proof of his imprisonment.

Absently, Herrick ran a hand over his chest where the worst of Baldr’s burn marks scorched his skin.

The ink was ruined in some places, the skin unable to repair itself because of the iron around his neck, but Herrick knew he wouldn’t fix them.

They would remain a constant reminder of what he’d suffered.

To protect his family and his kingdom, to protect the innocents in Logi, he would do it again.

His chest tightened painfully, the air in his lungs leaving him too quickly.

Before he could spiral further, Herrick lay down next to Maude.

Wrapping one arm around her waist, he pulled her back to his front and held on tightly like she might slip away in his sleep and he would wake up to remember that she was dead.

He buried his face into her clean hair, the red tint bright in the afternoon sun as he focused on the heavy smoked cedar and jasmine that wrapped around him.

In her sleep, Maude nestled closer to him and breathed deeply before settling again.

Eyes closed, Herrick allowed himself to drift into the first deep sleep he’d had since Maude had left him in Dagsbrun. He told himself that he didn’t care what had happened before; she was here with him now, and things finally felt right.He lied to himself.