Page 75

Heat started to race up her spine in rapid bursts, causing sweat to break out as she tried to contain her irritation within her shell.

Her patience had been worn incredibly thin in the short time she'd spent with the Soothsayer.

Her grating and rough way of speaking to someone, the way she cut off what the other person was saying as if she already knew—

As if she knew what she was going to say.

"Would you rather I call you the Heir of Shadows, Your Highness?"

Her words brought forth a wave of darkness that descended on her like instant night, extinguishing any heat she had and replacing it with a coldness that felt foreign.

Was it the water galder turning her blood into icy slush or something else?

Unease pricked at the back of her neck like there were invisible eyes on her. Watching. Waiting. But for what?

Her vision began to darken, the edges filling in with shadows so deep and cold that it made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

They were unfamiliar to her, so unlike her shadows that would swirl around her arms and legs like the stray cats of Logi when she bent to scratch behind their ears.

Through a wall of thickness, her voice distorted and distant, Maude heard Hildr say to her, "Hand me the dagger, Maude Vilulf."

Her eyes were open, and yet she could not see. There was only darkness, only the cold. Only the unending rage.

"Maude," Hildr said again, sternly this time but never quaking with fear.

She reached inside, searching for the flames that burned in the very depths of her soul.

The warmth and comfort that walked beside her every single day and pulled her from her misery when she felt lost. Then, as if she had blinked, her vision cleared.

The small living space that belonged to the Grand Soothsayer returned to its semi-lit state: the high noon sun shining through the cracks in the birch wood, the wafting incense that burned her nose, the multicolored cushions with furs thrown over them circling the fire that now roared with life.

Maude looked down to see her arm extended in front of her, the edge of her dagger pressed to Hildr's pale throat.

She shook as she took a step back, removing the blade from the seer's skin enough to see she had not cut her.

Hildr only stood there with her palm up, her face expectant.

When she tried to place the dagger in the seer's hand, the darkness started to creep in again around the corners of her eyes.

"Focus, Maude," Hildr coached, her raspy voice softer than usual. "Fight the darkness; you have the power here."

Power ? She breathed deeply and reached for the fire in her veins.

Every second that passed felt like an eternity, every muscle movement a marathon.

Slowly, she regained control of her spasming hand, which was clenched around the dagger.

One finger at a time, she lifted them until she was able to drop the weapon into Hildr's open hand.

With surprising dexterity, the seer caught the handle and flicked it away, sending the dagger into a post that stood as a support beam in the center of the hut.

The pressure that had been clamping around Maude's chest instantly lessened, her shoulders drooping from exertion. She caught herself with her hands on her knees, breathing heavily as she looked up to the seer.

"What…the Hel… was that?" she huffed.

"What indeed…" Hildr replied quietly as she pulled her hood up to rest over her head and conceal her face. "I have to return to the temple. The Kolbeck General is waiting for you. Carry on with your day, and tell no one about what has transpired here."

Maude straightened as Hildr began gathering up an assortment of items that had been strewn about the room, her fingers rapidly twisting in front of her as she spoke. Before she could take a step toward the dagger that was still sticking out of the wooden post, Hildr stopped in front of her.

"Leave it for now," she whispered as she reached for one of the thin braids in Maude's hair. "It'll be returned to you tomorrow. For now, you need separation."

Hildr wove sprigs of rosemary and mugwort into her braids, repositioning them in a halo around the crown of her hair before taking a step back and blowing a small pile of ground sage right in her face. She coughed and sputtered as the cloud of sage cleared, but Hildr was still a blur of movement.

"Go," she said, ushering Maude out the front door .

Hildr slammed the door shut in her face before she ask what had happened to her in there.

Away from the incense and dim lighting, Maude took a deep, clean breath of the mountain air before slowly backing away from Hildr's door. She had wanted answers, had wanted to find out why she was given this fate.

Instead, she had more questions and a deeper fear of what the Allfather had planned for her.

Trying to embrace her fate had been difficult to begin with.

In moments with Herrick, it all seemed so clear to her— so easy to face the known and unknown.

But something was changing within her, something out of her control.

Leaving behind her dagger should have made her throat close with anxiety and should have made her feel vulnerable.

So why was running away from Hildr's cabin easing the tightness in her chest rather than worsening it?

There was only one person who could help her sort through the chaotic thoughts swirling in her mind. The vortex of her emotion could only be tamed by the one person she wasn't speaking with. But he had left her a small token that morning that said he was ready to talk if she was.

Lost in the haze of her encounter with Hildr, Maude started walking with no clear direction. It wasn't until the air grew heavier with humidity and the sun was being blocked by thicker trees that she realized where her legs had brought her.

The hot springs.

Sitting in a neat pile by the entrance of the cave where the hot springs were ready to welcome her aching bones were Herrick's clothing, his petrichor and summer scent still clinging to the cloth.

Wasting no more time, Maude stepped over the threshold into the caves and started to undo the laces of her vest as a wall of fire sprung up behind her to block the entrance to anyone else wishing to dip into the hot water.