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Two hours passed before Maude was able to see any town lights.

Throughout their hurried and stumbling escape to Engate, only the smallest of creatures made an appearance before the struggling duo.

The larger and more dangerous monsters— like the sand dragon sighogg, who tunneled under the feet of travelers to swallow them whole— never made an appearance above the sands.

Smaller sand trollen were easily kept away by Maude’s fire.

Once they were far enough from the city, she was able to utilize the fire in her veins to fend off any unwanted skirmishes.

Herrick remained quiet for their journey.

Whether it was worry for his friends and brother or pain that silenced him, Maude wasn’t sure.

She only focused on getting them to Engate in one piece.

Her dry throat was the only thing that kept her from trying to speak to him again.

She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this parched.

Just before the sky lightened from the rising dawn, Maude and Herrick crossed into Engate’s borders.

The rolling waves of the ocean slammed into the high walls surrounding the city as they made their way through the square.

The brine of the salt water mixed pleasantly with the scents coming from the bakeries, farmers stands, and butcher shops readying to open for the morning.

“Herrick, I need you. I don't know where to go from here. ”

Herrick, whose head had been hanging for the last stretch of the walk to Engate, lifted it weakly and pointed toward the eastern part of the center square where the sign for the town’s inn hung on display.

Maude nodded and started toward The Cask and Crow Inn, half-dragging Herrick with her.

They made it to the door and stumbled through the opening, both landing on their knees.

Herrick cried out and shifted the weight to his uninjured leg.

The small tavern that was housed on the first floor of the inn was empty except for one woman who sat at a table sewing a patch into a bed sheet.

At the crash of them entering her inn, the older woman jumped to her feet and examined them.

“Gods above, what’s happened to Herrick?” The woman cried as she rushed to the man in question, who was almost unconscious and hanging off one of the chairs in the room. Maude sat up, bracing her hands on her knees.

“Arrow to the leg. Walked here from Logi,” Maude replied, still attempting to ease the dryness of her throat. “He told me to come to this inn, that he was expected.”

The innkeeper was a short woman with a round face framed by straw blonde hair that was pinned to her head in tight curls.

Dressed in night clothes, her round form was deceptively strong as she hoisted Herrick out of the chair and supported his dead weight.

The stout woman eyed Maude suspiciously for a moment before her gaze landed on the rune swinging from her neck.

“Well, dear, he was right to bring ye to me. I wasn’t expecting him until tonight, but I do have one room to offer ye,” the older woman said to Maude abruptly. “Here, help me move him.”

They worked together to finish carrying Herrick to one of the bedrooms on the second floor.

Maude almost stumbled as she saw the single bed in the center of the small but cozy bedroom with a dresser by the window.

It looks like she would be finding other lodgings for herself once Herrick’s friends arrived.

“Just lay him down here. I’ll fetch some clean linen, water, and a poultice of turmeric and ginger to clean and dress the wound.”

Maude didn’t reply as they placed Herrick on the bed. She started to rip the pant leg off him when Herrick finally roused enough to say, “When I imagined my pants off in the same room as you, I didn’t picture it this way.”

“Leave it to you to be wounded and half delirious but still make a dirty joke,” Maude huffed a laugh.

“Mmm, I knew you could laugh,” Herrick said, an almost dreamy smile appearing on his face.

“Close your eyes and sleep, beast. I’ll take care of you while you rest,” Maude said gently, only because she knew he wouldn’t remember this. His eyes closed on a heavy blink, and he let out a soft snore.

Thinking he was finally asleep, Maude shook her head at the exchange and was glad that the innkeeper hadn’t reappeared when she had spoken to him.

She stood and started to remove the extra layers of her travel clothing so she could sit and finish dressing his wound when she heard Herrick speak again.

“I can take care of you too, Maude,” Herrick slurred as he drifted into a deep sleep brought on by pain and exhaustion.

Before Maude could react to his words, the innkeeper walked into the room, arms full of supplies.

“I didn’t catch yer name earlier, my dear,” she said, setting the clean cloth onto a side table.

“It’s Maude,” she replied a bit awkwardly. “Thank you for helping me get him settled so quickly.”

“Ah, well Maude, ye can call me Thora. And don’t thank me; I have a soft spot for this boy and his friends. I assumed they would be with him, though.”

Maude wasn’t able to discern any suspicion in the woman's voice, so she felt comfortable replying.

“We got separated; the others still plan to meet here. They should be here soon.”

“They’ll know where to go then. Now, help me bind this poor man’s leg before it gets infected.”

Together, they worked silently and efficiently.

Maude cleaned the wound of any leftover splinters of wood, and when Thora wasn’t looking, she cauterized a few more newly bleeding spots with her fire before Thora packed the poultice into his leg.

Wrapped up in new cloth, Maude inspected their work and, satisfied with how it looked, stood to get herself cleaned up.

Sand was pouring out of places she had never expected sand to be, and the gritty texture was irritating her.

“If ye want to get washed up, I have more water in the washroom just behind that door. It’ll be cold now, but it’s clean enough. I can finish cleaning Herrick up here.”

With a nod of gratitude, Maude headed to the attached washroom, which was more of a closet with a chamber pot, a wash basin on a small table next to clean cloth, and a small window that looked out over the desert.

Maude shook out her clothes and hung them from the window, seeing the first rays of morning appear before she quickly washed herself with the cold water in the basin.

The chill of the water on her skin would have normally been exquisite, but now only reminded her of Herrick.

She thrust those feelings away from herself with a force she didn’t think she was capable of, her mother’s words ringing in her ears.

Love, like the ones in the stories, does not have a place in your reality .

She knew nothing of love but did understand the needs of the flesh. This was lust; he couldn’t possibly feel any other way about her, the monster that she was. She pushed everyone away. He would be no different.

Deciding to leave her hair unwashed again dueto her lack of charcoal, Maude braided it into a long rope and then twisted it behind her head.

She inspected her body for any new bruises or cuts and found a few gashes from where arrows had skimmed her.

They’d stopped bleeding, so she only dabbed at them with water before unwrapping the band from around her chest. Her breasts felt unbearably heavy after wearing the band for so long, and her back ached from the weight, but she quickly washed the band out before wringing it dry and wrapping it around herself once more.

The wet band was uncomfortable but worked well to cool her scorching skin.

Searching through the small pack she had, Maude withdrew the leggings that had been drying at Sigurd’s house before their hasty departure.

She inspected the cloth before pulling them over her legs, strapping her dagger in place swiftly.

After she finished washing her hands and face, Maude donned her sleeveless black shirt that crossed her chest in a way that accented her curves but was tasteful, followed by her shawl.

Thora had already seen her face, as her hood had fallen back when she had stumbled into the tavern and had not said anything when she spied her scar. Maude felt it would be silly to wear her hood up now that she had already been seen.

Uncomfortable with the exposure, however, Maude pulled the hood forward and exited the washroom.

Thora had cleaned Herrick to the best of her ability and had stripped him of his filthy clothing, pulling the covers over him.

She now stood by the dresser with the stack of cloth they’d used to clean Herrick’s wound, separating the bloody from the clean.

“Thank you for your help. I don’t think I could’ve done that on my own,” Maude said to Thora as she placed her weapons on the dresser .

“No worries, my dear. I can have some breakfast sent up for ye once the cook arrives for the day.”

Maude wordlessly nodded while Thora eyed her moving the chair next to the bed to inspect Herrick’s leg dressing before sitting back and kicking her legs up at the end of the bed.

“Ye have a nice touch for healing, Maude, very gentle,” Thora said as she finished gathering her supplies. Maude didn’t look at her, but she felt her face heat. Thora noticed her silence and looked over her shoulder to see Maude’s beet-red face.

“I didn’t mean to make ye uncomfortable; I only meant ye have some skill and wondered if ye were a healer in the city.”

“I’m not,” Maude replied a bit too quickly, but she felt an uneasy sense of comfort with Thora, so maybe that influenced what she said next.

When Maude would think back on this conversation, she wouldn’t know why she admitted what she did to Thora.

She would only remember the burning desire to tell someone .