Page 12

With that, Hakon placed a tentative hand on her shoulder as he half smiled at her and stood, walking back to the stairs.

Her thoughts drifted back to Bryn, wondering what words she would have to say about Maude.

She knew they would not be kind. With thoughts whirling more viciously than before, Maude sat on the roof until the pale rays of dawn shone in the east.

Once the sun had risen fully in the sky, Maude finally made her way back into the house.

She had remained dressed only in the harem pants, boots, and band across her chest. Opting to keep her only shirt clean from the training she had planned to put herself through that morning, Maude made her way downstairs.

She had just reached the second floor when she heard the front door open from the outside.

She edged her way over to the stairs to listen for who might’ve entered.

Heavy booted footsteps made their way to the kitchen, and the sound of bags being settled on the counter made their way up to Maude.

The rustling of things being unpacked followed quickly after, and Maude decided to see who was awake.

She had not noticed if Herrick had returned to the house, but all the bedroom doors were still closed.

Unsheathing her dagger, Maude silently made her way down the stairs.

When she rounded the corner into the kitchen on the first floor and saw who stood at the counter unpacking food from the early morning markets, she almost dropped her weapon.

His broad back to her, the silver hair belonging to Sigurd was twisted into a bun at the nape of his neck, and a heavy cloak hung on his shoulders as he continued to place fruits and vegetables in their rightful places.

Her mouth was still partially open with shock when Sigurd looked over his shoulder, no doubt sensing that someone was staring at him, and said to her, “Are you going to help me or just stand there?”

Maude continued staring for a moment before she found her words.

“What are you doing here?”

Belatedly, she remembered what Herrick had said about an earth vitki who had lived here with his family before the Kingdom of Flame’s soldiers took them.

He had said she’d known him, and she had dismissed the idea because she didn’t know anyone.

She had been wrong. She had one constant in her life, and that was Sigurd.

“I think you know the answer to that question, Maude. Now, help me unpack this food before those fools sniff it all out and gorge themselves.”

He must’ve seen the realization on her face.

She only sheathed her dagger and moved forward to help him.

Working in companionable silence, they unloaded his packs quickly.

Maude walked to the table and sat on the edge of it once they were finished.

With nothing left to do, the silence grew awkward and heavy.

Finally, she said, “I didn’t know you had a family.”

“You never asked.”

No, she had never wanted to know. She had kept everyone at more than arm's distance these last ten years, including the only person she could consider a friend.

Sigurd wiped the surface of the counter down with an old rag before placing it in the wash basin in the corner of the kitchen.

He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, facing Maude.

“Would it have mattered to you?”

She wanted to argue, but she stopped and realized that would’ve been a lie.

She would’ve shut down the conversation for fear of triggering her own emotional spiral, selfish as she was.

Maude looked at how he seemed to be bracing himself for what she was going to say.

Apparently, she had done a thorough job of making herself into a difficult and unpleasant person to be around. Just like her father had said she’d be.

Shaking the thought away before it settled too deeply in her, she said to Sigurd, “I’m sorry that I never asked, but I’m sorrier that they were taken from you. I don’t know how you can stand to be in this house.”

Sigurd didn’t relax like Maude thought he might; his tension only increased. Was it so unbelievable to people that she could apologize? She dug that grave for herself, she figured.

“I grew up in Logi; it’s always been my home.

I came here from the northern town of Hallifell, which borders the Lamenting Woods, when I was very young.

This whole block consists of the townspeople from Hallifell who came here looking for work and instead found a city where their galder was illegal to have because they were lowborn,” Sigurd said as he shook his head and let out a hollow laugh.

He looked behind him toward the hidden oasis. Maude didn’t dare interrupt his story. She had done enough damage to their relationship.

“It's never been an easy existence, as I’m sure you know, to be a vitki living in a city that doesn’t accept you, but I met my wife here and had a family here.

They were taken from our home after my daughter had an incident when she was playing with the other children on the block.

In her anger, she forced vines to shoot out from the ground and trip a boy who had been teasing her.

Flame soldiers came and took them all away in the night when I was in the fighting pits; I had no idea… ”

Sigurd trailed off and was quiet for a moment before he turned back to look at Maude.

“I searched the city prison for them, but no one would help me find them. I had been afraid to do more than brush my daughter’s outburst under the rug, thinking it would resolve itself. Clearly, I was wrong, and they suffered for my cowardice.”

Sigurd’s pale blue eyes, which had been glassy, filled with shame.

“So you ask how I can stand to remain in this house? I can’t stand it, but this was our home, and foolish as it may be, I still hold onto hope that I’ll be reunited with my family. Until that hope fades, I’ll stay in Logi.”

Maude’s throat thickened as she heard the veiled optimism in his voice.

“I stay next door in the pub now, but lending this space to the people who want to make a difference in this kingdom feels like the right thing to do. I bring them food and offer them sanctuary when they need to avoid capture.”

Sigurd took a deep breath, his face stony in a way she had never seen before.

He continued, “The people upstairs from the Kingdom of Rivers? They will smuggle vitki out from under the nose of Helvig to smaller towns where they can hide. I do what I can now because when it mattered, I didn’t do enough. ”

His words struck something profound in Maude’s soul that she didn’t want to examine too closely. She didn’t know what to say, so she remained silent, stuck in her selfish thoughts as they spiraled with guilt.

“I have to get to the pub to set up. Tell the others I brought them food and will stop in again tomorrow with more for your journey,” Sigurd said as he walked to the front door.

“You’re opening the pits again so soon?”

“Not yet, but some are showing up for instruction, so I need to open the pub above ground to give them a safe space to hide.”

Maude opened her mouth to offer her help but remembered how he had looked when she had apologized, so she said nothing as he walked out. It was better that he still thought of her as the selfish, difficult woman who was always looking for a fight .

She had been exhausted since her fights the other night, but the discovery of who this house belonged to and its tragic past caused Maude to feel its crushing weight becoming unbearable.

She thought about the bright yellow room she was destroying with her presence, knowing it probably belonged to one of his children who was now imprisoned or most likely dead at the hands of the king.

Nausea swelled in her empty stomach. She couldn’t sleep there anymore, couldn’t sully the room any longer.

Maude swiftly removed her belongings from the room and made her way to the roof again.

She managed to erect a tent out of her ruined shirt and pants that she had ripped the seams out of with her teeth, some heavy bricks, and two long sticks she’d seen up there the night before.

She had built makeshift shelters plenty of times before she’d had enough money to rent a room in local inns, so it was quick work.

Settling against the low wall separating her from the stairs to the roof, she closed her eyes to the early morning sun and spent the next hour trying to calm her racing thoughts. The last thing she thought of before she finally drifted was what Sigurd had said to her.

I do what I can now because when it mattered, I didn’t do enough.

Herrick had slipped into his shared room with Hakon before the first rays of dawn had slipped over the horizon and finally found sleep.

His dreams were of deep green eyes, flashing fires, and Valkyries scouring over a smoking battlefield.

When he woke, the sun was at its highest, so he rose and shook off the strange feeling of dread from his dreams. He quickly dressed in a simple white tunic and black pants before heading down to the kitchen to see if Sigurd had dropped off more food like he had promised .

Gunnar had splayed out on one of the chairs by the bookcase and was snoring loudly while Liv sat at the table sharpening her axe.

Hakon was outside by the oasis, cycling through his sword exercises, sweat soaking his shirt from the midday heat.

Daydreaming of green forests and running water, Herrick walked out to the stretch of desert grass with his two-handed battle axe, where his brother completed first through fifth position with unflinching focus.

He looked out to the rest of the oasis and saw no sign of Maude.

“She’s not out here,” Hakon offered, never taking his eyes off his imaginary opponent.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about. Want a partner?”