Page 68

As soon as the sun had set on that first day in Hilgafell, Bryn watched as, one by one, the members of their group split off into the shared sleeping space behind the thick tapestry at the back of the cabin they would be staying in.

First, Aeric and Dahlia offered to section out the back room into the four individual spaces before the Shadow King said goodnight.

He lingered as he brushed some of Maude's hair out of her face as she focused a little too hard on scrubbing the dried goat blood from her skin.

The way her sister tensed before relaxing into the sign of affection made Bryn's chest tighten.

Then Dahlia and Gunnar split off so the Elven healer could redress his wound and keep a close eye on it overnight. Hakon remained outside the cabin, seated on a large cushion against the wall with an almost empty bottle of Elven wine in hand.

As Bryn continued to stare into the fire that crackled in the hearth— looking for what, she wasn't really sure— Maude finally got up and disappeared behind the tapestry without a word.

She watched as Herrick followed her only a moment after the tapestry swung shut.

From the other side of the room, Liv snorted.

"They better throw up an air shield to mute the noises coming from their corner of the room, or I am dousing them with ice water," Liv said as she leaned against the wall opposite Bryn.

She chuckled before the silence descended between them again, less comfortable this time.

Her mind drifted to that quiet moment in the hall she had shared with the Elven, how close they had come to colliding as their clear attraction to each other overwhelmed them.

Bryn's skin heated as she remembered Liv's touch on her neck and her ribs, how the her skin felt soft and welcoming under her lips as she dragged them over cascading dark flesh that seemed to fizz like citrus on her tongue as Bryn breathed her in.

But then Revna had clawed her way to the front of her mind, the grief that seemed to hang around her closer than the air in her lungs.

Maude had told her earlier that she should be brave. At first, it seemed so simple to her. Now, the task seemed impossible.

Shaking her head, Bryn settled deeper into the pile of cushions that surrounded the hearth.

Just when she thought she might have found enough courage to speak to Liv and tell her what she was feeling, the female stood and hurried to the corner of the cabin where a small, makeshift kitchenette held a store of food and drink.

The rustling of cabinets being opened and closed, along with the suction releasing from the icebox that stored colder items for consumption, were the only other sounds in the cabin for a few minutes.

Finally, Liv plopped down onto the cushions next to her and tossed a piece of warm bread at Bryn before sliding over a plate of cured meats and hard cheeses, followed by a bottle of ale that smelled strongly of hops.

"What in the name of the gods is that?" She asked as she passed it back to Liv without taking a sip.

Liv grinned and took a long drink. "It's an ale that is only made on this island; the ingredients don't travel well, but they export the ale to Nida.

The mushrooms that are used for the pipe smoke that you've probably been smelling all night are also included in the fermentation process.

It's strong; you don't need to drink a lot of it to feel the effects. "

She held it out to Bryn again with a wide smile, shaking the bottle a bit until froth sloshed out the top.

Bryn laughed, a short and sparkling sound that made Liv's smile falter for only a moment before it surged again, wider than before.

Seeing no other option than to drink the strong concoction, Bryn brought the bottle to her lips, tipped the contents back, and swallowed quickly.

She never took her eyes off the Elven shieldmaiden, so Bryn did not miss it when that spark of something she couldn't identify flared in Liv's gray eyes .

Bryn coughed as the ale washed over her tongue, bitter and hoppy, before it bubbled all the way down to her stomach.

She used the excuse to avert her eyes, the heat building in her core forcibly being smothered to ashes even as the ale worked quickly to keep it ignited.

It was too soon after Revna, and she barely knew Liv, she reasoned with herself.

"Which spaces have been occupied?" Bryn asked as she handed the dark glass bottle back to Liv and took a bite of the bread in her hand.

"Aeric is alone right now, but there is space for another.

Maude and Herrick took the spot closest to the exit.

No surprise there," Liv said with a chuckle, her eyes on the fire in front of them.

"Dahlia and Gunnar took up the remaining middle space.

The last one against the far wall is empty for now… "

The unsaid words hung between Bryn and the dark beauty next to her.

She couldn't stay with Hakon; they would kill each other, but she also couldn't stay with Aeric.

It would be awkward to share a sleeping space with her sister's father.

Of course, the problem Bryn was facing wasn't bunking with either of those men, but rather that she wanted to stay with Liv in the last unoccupied space.

She took the opportunity to really look at Liv when all of her friends weren't around or when she didn't have to be the ruthless warrior she was to keep them alive.

With the bottle of ale in hand and her legs propped onto the edge of the hearth, the flames almost licking the bare soles of her feet, Bryn could see that Liv was trying to give off the persona of a non-caring and aloof fighter.

Though her long limbs looked relaxed, she knew that Liv was actually coiled tightly.

Bryn knew at the slightest threat that she would snap out of whatever mildly intoxicated state she was in to protect them all.

Looking past the casual exterior that was meant to lull unsuspecting killers and assassins of the night into complacency, Bryn really saw Liv for who she was: a fiercely loyal friend who would kill for anyone she loved, but also the softer side of who she might have been if her life hadn't taken this course.

On the long nights that Bryn sat with Maude while she was in stasis, the only company she kept was Liv when she brought her food or sat with her sister long enough for Bryn to relieve herself or sleep a few hours.

In those moments of quiet, Liv had told Bryn a lot about her life.

She suspected that her newfound freedom to talk about herself was hard to pass up, especially with someone who didn't know a thing about her. Because of this, Bryn felt like she could see the female beneath the exterior of a shieldmaiden.

Maybe she was the only person who could see this side of Liv; she didn't know what her relationship with the Kolbecks was like other than what it seemed to be at face value, but Bryn would wager that it didn't go as deeply.

Liv had been forced to be closed off for so long it would be hard for the Kolbecks to see anything but the woman they knew and fought with for years.

Extending a hand toward the bottle Liv was drinking out of, Bryn said quietly, "I'll probably be sitting out here for a while longer since I'm assuming we won't want to hear Maude and Herrick tear each other apart."

Hearing what Bryn was actually saying, a small smile reached Liv's eyes, softening her already brutally beautiful face.

Bryn's breath caught in her chest as her lips parted slightly.

When Liv handed her the bottle, their fingers brushed, sending licks of fire up her arms until her heart was racing in her chest. Her long fingers lingered there a moment before she pulled them back to push herself up off the cushions.

"I suppose we'll need another bottle then," Liv said breathily before clearing her throat.

Perhaps the unshakeable Elven warrior was as affected as Bryn was.

As soon as Liv turned away, a frigid breeze entered the cabin through the open, thatched ceiling, sending chills up Bryn's arms as the scent of juniper surrounded her.

Bryn stood and walked to one of the windows that lined the walls.

She cracked one, the wood sliding against itself smoothly as she raised it high enough for her to stick her head out into the cold night.

It wasn't until she breathed in the brisk air that she realized the ale with the mushrooms brewed into it had taken hold of her faster than any other drink could.

While it was not unusual for the scent of juniper to float in the forest this far north, the way it swirled around her as she thought of Revna made her hair stand on end. Was she still here on this plane of earth, or had she moved on to whatever afterlife awaited them?

Bryn tried to shake the thought from her mind as she remembered the letter that Revna had left for her in her room.

She withdrew the folded letter from her dead lover from her pocket, her hands shaking as she traced Revna's soft scrawl.

Every night since she had found this letter hidden in her room, Bryn held it in her hands in hopes that the courage to open it would find her.

She held this letter in her hands so often now that the edges had become soft, the ink on the front a little more faded than before.

A hazy memory from one of her last nights with Revna flashed to the surface, blinding Bryn for a moment as her drunken mind released the memory from her subconscious.

"Are you a seer?" Bryn asked.

"I could have been."

"And now?"

"No, not anymore. The gods bless me with visions from time to time, but I don't have the training to interpret them," Revna sighed.

The bottle slipped from Bryn's loose grasp, tumbling to the floor and spilling the brown liquid onto the thick carpet as another memory was pulled forward.

Bryn looked up to see Revna with afar-off look in her eyes. They seemed almost glazed over.

"Revna?" she asked.

She snapped out of the trance she was in.

"It would work," she said excitedly.

Revna had been having visions, even when Bryn had known her and worked closely with her. Taking her confidence for granted when they had hatched their scheme to contact Maude, she never thought about the odd pauses her lover would take occasionally.

"Gods above," Bryn whispered as her hands clutched the letter, the last words from Revna that she would ever receive .

Before she could decide what to do with the letter, Liv returned with more food and ale in her arms. She quickly took in Bryn's expression and dropped everything onto the small table in the corner, rushing to her side.

Her eyes dropped to the letter still clutched in Bryn's hands before she met her eye, the gray softer than Bryn felt she deserved.

"Are you okay?" Liv asked quietly.

Bryn, unable to answer right away, just stood there as numbness spread from her fingers to the rest of her body. "It's from Revna. I found it when we were in the palace."

Her voice sounded far away, even to her.

During those nights that Liv had told her about her life, Bryn had shared what glimmer of happiness she'd had while serving as Lieutenant General.

She spoke of her shieldmaidens and her duties, mentioning Revna more than enough times that Liv became aware that she was more than just a friend.

But she had never shared the gory details of how she had mutilated or how she had sworn in blood to kill Ulf. And yet, Liv seemed to know anyway.

"I don't know if I can read this right now," Bryn whispered, unable to find her voice. "I'm not ready to say goodbye."

Understanding flooded Liv's gaze before it shuttered for a moment, making her think she had said the wrong thing.

What was happening between Bryn and Liv was unknown— it was new and scary— and Bryn wasn't sure she was ready for it.

But she also didn't want to ruin it so soon, the way she ruined everything close to her.

"Then it isn't time to say goodbye yet," Liv said softly, handing the other bottle of ale to Bryn and gently grasping her elbow to pull her back to the cushions they had been lounging on.

Liv uncorked her bottle and motioned for Bryn to do the same. Once Bryn obeyed, Liv lifted the bottle into the air.

"To Revna."

Bryn swallowed hard, her eyes filling with the heartache she had refused to allow to surface. She copied Liv's motion, sliding the letter back into her pocket .

"To minn raven," Bryn choked out before a laugh escaped her. "Who is surely dining with Odin as we speak and drinking mead much better than this shit."

Liv smiled as she touched the bottom of her bottle to Bryn's before drinking.

Though the ale that washed over Bryn's tongue was spiced and tasted slightly of bitter hops, she could swear she tasted juniper instead.

She wasn't ready to say goodbye to her just yet, but now Bryn knew that when she was, she could turn to Liv, who had become more than just her friend.

The idea made her warm, her cheeks flushing slightly with the thought.

Rather than shun it, Bryn embraced it. She and Liv spoke long into the night, only deciding to sleep when the sun had started to lighten the skies.

Liv claimed one of the cots, and Bryn settled down in the cot next to the Elven's, their bodies closer than decent but never touching as they drifted into a spinning unconsciousness.

And wasn't it just the best sleep Bryn had had in weeks.