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Leaving Veter so quickly after returning was hard for Herrick.

Being home came with the responsibilities of his title, both as General and as a son, but Herrick still found it difficult to leave the city he loved behind.

There is nothing quite like the feeling of returning home after a long trip and nothing as sweet as the melancholy when one must leave again so soon.

After Gunnar had found him and Maude in the gardens by the palace’s Temple of Odin, they had all quickly decided they needed to leave before morning.

Liv had shown up at the end of the conversation, moving to speak with Maude about what had happened, as Herrick and Gunnar ordered the soldiers to gather supplies while they changed.

“You sneaky bitch,” Liv chuckled after Maude told her about the metal plate under the leather bodice she wore.

Maude only gave her a half grin before it faltered slightly.

Liv didn’t seem to notice, but Herrick caught the slight change.

Maude was caked in dirt and blood, as he was.

The gore from his hands was still imprinted on her neck and face where he had grabbed her, thinking she had been cut through with a blade.

Her hair was disheveled from her fight, the silver threads all but dull in the moonlight, and her gown had seen better days.

Herrick thanked the gods that Maude was paranoid about being hunted and, therefore, dressed for the inevitability of clashing blades .

Herrick stared at Maude in the dim light of her fireball still hovering over them all and took in her stance.

Despite being attacked tonight, Maude still stood with her shoulders back and chin straight.

She was an imposing sight: her formal wear only enhanced by the blood and dirt smeared into it from her fight, her untamed hair still braided into a crown circling her head, dagger now in hand, and tattooed skin with the runes for patience and strength stretching with her movements.

Feeling his eyes on her, Maude turned to meet his stare.

While Herrick could usually decipher what Maude was feeling by looking into her captivating green eyes, now she was unreadable.

Frustrated by her refusal to admit her feelings, Herrick moved to speak with her again, damning the company that was present, but Gunnar snagged him first.

“Not now, Herrick. We need to find Hakon and Eydis, then leave,” Gunnar urged him.

Maude turned to Liv and nodded her head at something Liv suggested, and they both quickly headed to the palace. Maude didn’t look back once.

“Hakon. Right,” Herrick agreed.

The two men made it back to the palace, each changing out of their Kingdom of Rivers garb into something more pedestrian.

Herrick instantly felt more comfortable in the navy pants, brown boots, and brown leather vest over his faded linen tunic.

He strapped his battle axe to his back, abandoning the short sword he used only in his role as General, and belted on a few more knives before tying the leather band around his head to keep his hair from falling into his eyes.

Gunnar emerged from his room in a similar garb; the green and blue threads in his braids were more evident in this clothing. Herrick noticed that Gunnar was sporting a long cut down the one side of his shaved head, right up against the braids that ran down the middle of his scalp.

“What happened?” Herrick asked, nodding to his friend's new scar as they made their way to Hakon’s room.

“One of the Flame Assassins you had left in your wake of bloodletting snuck up on me when we passed them. It’s nothing.” Gunnar shook him off.

They made it to Hakon’s room and found it empty.

Deciding to pack up some clothes and weapons, they sifted through his brother's belongings. Soon, the sound of their friends jogging down the hall to them grew louder. Hakon and Eydis were clutching each other's hands while Liv and Maude were close behind, dressed in their travel clothes. Maude had wrapped her mother’s shawl around her and concealed her hair and face from the world once more, making Herrick’s heart heavy with sorrow.

“What the Hel is going on, Herrick?” Hakon asked quickly, showing Eydis the washroom so she could change into the bundle of clothes she was carrying.

Maude stayed outside the bedroom, keeping herself a healthy distance from Herrick. He tried to ignore the pain in his chest at her action.

“Flame Assassins attacked Maude in the hedges tonight after the ball,” Herrick said, swallowing his discomfort. “They tried to take her.”

“I’m sure they had a rude awakening when they realized Maude isn’t one to go down without a vicious fight,” Hakon said, shooting Maude a sly look as he stripped his formal wear and dressed in the plain travel clothes they all wore.

Maude replied with a fierce grin and winked.

“They took down a few of our soldiers, but our losses were minimal,” Herrick continued, hunting for paper and ink. “We still don’t know how they got through our borders, but I have Svend looking into it now.”

“Then we leave for Ljosa now,” Hakon finished, tying the last of the ties, keeping his leather vest in place. “By horse or by boat?”

Maude whipped her head around.

“Boat?” she asked, curious.

Herrick noted her discomfort and answered, “Sometimes we take a boat down the river that meets with the one that doubles as a border for Veter. It bypasses the bridges and narrow exits, so we keep our departure a secret.”

“We should go by boat to Tafeld, pick up some horses, and make our way to Amsbrook. Once there, we can discuss how we get to Ljosa,” Gunnar suggested.

Herrick and Hakon nodded in agreement.

Finding the paper and ink he had been searching for, Herrick wrote out a short letter to his mother about their departure, including the instructions he had left with Svend about the Flame Assassins breaching their walls.

Herrick made no mention of Hakon joining them again this time.

He sealed the paper into an envelope, addressing his mother and father, and left it on Hakon’s bed.

Eydis emerged from the washroom in a similar garb to Liv and Maude: tight-fit leather pants, boots, and a long-sleeved linen tunic with a leather vest over the top.

Belted on her hip was the knife from Maude, and in her hand was the long staff she had fashioned for her.

Unsure, she looked over to Hakon, who gave her a wide smile.

She relaxed and walked over to Maude, who handed Eydis a long strap to tie the staff to her back.

Herrick nodded to his friends, saying that they were all ready to leave. Liv stopped them with a hand, peering around the corner.

“The Queen’s soldiers are heading this way,” she warned.

Hakon peered out to the dark balcony that looked out over the ocean and then at Herrick. He shrugged before addressing everyone else.

“Looks like we are scaling down the wall,” Hakon said, motioning for Eydis to come to his side .

Gunnar went over first, then Hakon and Eydis.

When Liv had swung her legs over and climbed down, Maude moved to follow.

Herrick grabbed her arm and spun her toward him quickly, mimicking their dance just hours before, and brought her close.

He reached to pull down her hood, exposing her beautiful face to him again.

“We’re not finished with our conversation from earlier, minn eldr ,” Herrick said, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

“Now really isn’t the time, Herrick,” she deadpanned before looking over his shoulder at the door.

“I know,” he said. “But I forgot to tell you something.”

Before she could respond, Herrick quickly leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her soft mouth.

He felt Maude’s surprise tense her muscles and then loosen as she moved into the kiss.

Maude fit perfectly into his arms this way, and he damned the gods who put them in opposite kingdoms, unable to commit to the feelings he knew they both shared.

She tasted like the darkest part of the night and smoked cedar. Her lips were as soft as Herrick had always imagined, her movements sharp like her tongue and just as sinful. She sunk into him, pressing her tall form against his. For one moment, the world around them dropped away to nothing.

Feeling himself hover on the edge of his minimal restraint around her, Herrick pulled back just as quickly.

“I’ve been wanting to do that since you dragged me to Engate through the desert, half dead, but I knew I needed to when your anger caused you to detonate, sending your fire cascading out of you. You may not believe it, but your rage matches mine, minn eldr , and it is beautiful.”

Surprise lit up her features, but she remained silent. Herrick released her and gently guided her to the balcony railing when Liv was almost halfway down to the ground .

“We have to go, or you’ll get us caught,” he jested, kicking a leg up over the rail.

Maude stared at him for a moment in disbelief before she rolled her eyes and followed him.

They scaled down the wall swiftly to find Gunnar already leading them to the small boathouse behind a hill that they utilized for these secret flights.

Making it to the small boat before his mother’s soldiers could spot them in the dark, Herrick let out a breath of relief as they all climbed into the boat.

Similar in shape to their navy’s longships, this vessel was longer than it was wide and had two curling dragons at the bow and the stern, like the dragon that was inked into his chest. Dotting the sides were the holes to put the oars, which were currently withdrawn, and no sails, as this boat was used to ferry goods from Veter to the small villages down the river.

Gunnar and Hakon were preparing to push off from the boathouse when Herrick finally hopped in. Maude had settled herself at the bow of the longboat and eyed the dragon before looking at him.

“This is your boat,” she commented, no evidence of the short kiss they shared lingering on her face.