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Herrick was a warrior, but with the way Hakon carried himself, he was clearly a noble.

Maude couldn’t put her finger on why he seemed familiar.

She was sure she had never met him before, but she had the nagging suspicion that she had heard mention of him.

Hakon seemed to be inspecting Maude just as closely.

If he found anything lacking, he did not say.

“We appreciate you agreeing to help us,” Hakon said to her, his voice saturated with the politeness that Herrick seemed to do away with.

“I haven’t agreed to anything,” Maude replied with a slicing tone.

“Of course,” Hakon nodded and looked at Herrick, light dancing in his eyes. “I’ll let you continue, brother.”

“Go ahead and ask your questions, Maude. I know they are burning inside you,” Herrick teased, but Maude ignored the taunt.

“Why do you want my help?”

“We believe you can help us in locating an item we need. We will say no more than that while still in Logi.”

Maude paused and put her utensils down to look at Herrick. “You want to leave Logi.”

“Yes,” he replied without hesitation.

“I’m not leaving until you tell me why you need me ,” Maude tried to keep the mixed panic and intrigue out of her voice.

“We can’t risk talking about this while in this city, but we can tell you more when there aren't as many ears around,” Herrick replied .

Maude saw the logic in that, but frustration rose as they danced around her question.

“ Okay ,” she ground out, “but why me ? Why should I trust you not to kill me once we leave the confines of the city?”

“Not everyone is trying to kill you, Maude,” Hakon said, a curiosity that mirrored his brother's evident in his tone.

She only barked out a humorless laugh. Herrick continued answering her question.

“We followed you for a few days after we saw you fight in the pits one night and saw what you tried to hide. We—”

Maude suddenly stood, the force of her movement knocking her chair back onto the floor. Gunnar tensed, Liv reached for the axe hanging from her belt, and Hakon kept eating as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

“You were watching me?” Maude was outraged, but she was more upset by what they might have seen, what they knew she was hiding.

“Don’t make it sound like that. We followed you to see what you might be like outside the pits. We watched during the day, saw where you went, who you talked to, and then at night, we followed you underground,” Herrick snapped at Maude, motioning for her to sit.

Maude remained on her feet but walked into the small kitchen and leaned against the counter, needing some space to breathe. She motioned for Herrick to continue.

“We saw you steal from nobles and soldiers on the streets, then turn and give it to the needy in the slums. We saw you cause fights between men to take the attention off the children who would’ve been caught stealing.

At this point, I figured were more than just a pit fighter from your movements, but I could tell you disdain for this kingdom’s hierarchy.

We hoped that disdain would extend to its ruler, so we followed you to Broken Bones and their fighting pits last night in hopes of getting you to speak to us. ”

The entire room seemed to have stopped to listen to Herrick speak.

Maude still leaned against the counter with her arms crossed, but deep inside, she was at war with herself to control what was rising from the depths of her nervous system, trying to force her into flight.

He had seen too much, looked too closely.

“I went up to you at the bar to see if you could be the person who might be willing to help us, but you wouldn’t say a word to me.

I knew I’d have to get your attention another way, so I spoke with Sigurd and put myself in the pit with you.

When I ripped that hood off you, I found out why you had stayed out of the light and knew you would help us when we told you about our plan. ”

Herrick paused and looked at her. She knew he was looking at her scar, even through the shadows her hood cast across her face. Her face burned at the attention, but she wouldn’t look away. Emotion crossed Herrick’s face but was gone before Maude could identify it.

Clearing his throat, he continued, “You were so angry with me when I revealed your face that you lost your grip on your galder, and I discovered why you went to such lengths to stay hidden.”

Maude held her breath.

“Your arms were burning with the flames you tried to hide. You are an illegal vitki , but you are rare because you have control over fire when so few remain. And we are asking for your help.”

Releasing her breath, Maude tried to focus on breathing slowly to calm herself. Turning her back to the table, she placed her hands on the counter and tried to breathe deeply a few times to gather her thoughts.

They didn’t know, not really. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe .

But her mind whirled with the story Herrick had just told, and it caused her concentration to slip.

Feeling her throat start to close, her breath increased.

She wrapped one hand around her throat as she tried to remember that she was safe and free .

Overwhelming forgotten feelings of dread rose in her swiftly like a tidal wave designed to destroy her sanity.

She couldn’t catch her breath, couldn’t distinguish safety from a trap. She needed to run, to fight —

Maude didn’t hear him stand up and walk toward her, lost in the torrent of her memories as she was. Then she felt him behind her, close enough to know it was Herrick by his scent: freshly fallen rain on the dirt. He didn’t touch her, though; he only stood close enough for her to know he was there.

“Pick a spot outside where the oasis is and hold it in your mind,” Herrick spoke softly behind her. For once, she listened and felt herself give a shaky nod.

“Now describe it to me as if I had no eyes of my own, every detail.”

Maude lowered her hand from her throat and placed both on the counter in front of her again to ground herself. Eyes on the oasis, she described the spot she was drawn to.

“Where the trees grow the tallest and closest together, there is a trunk of a long fallen palm tree that is shaded from the heat of the setting sun. You can see the edge of the natural bench from this house but would miss it if one glanced over it too quickly. In this little pocket of privacy, you could sit on the trunk surrounded by green palm fronds and tall grass, completely hidden from the world. A few feet in front of this private space is the water line, where clear blue water laps calmly on the orange sands that are soft and untouched by life around it. Some children play around the trees, but this break in between lies undiscovered by both children and the parents harvesting water from the oasis. There is peace and anonymity in the shadows of this small slice of greenery. It is…it’s like coming home at last.”

Maude trailed off, her breathing calm and her heart steady. She glanced at Herrick over her shoulder, unsure of what to say. Herrick only gave her a small, genuine smile and walked back to the table where everyone pretended the food on their plate was the most interesting thing in the room.

Home.

A foreign concept to Maude. Herrick had talked her down from her impending spiral, but now she felt too seen, too exposed.

Focusing on her ever-present anger, she needed to remind them what a wretch she was after this episode of intense vulnerability, so Maude said to the group, “You’re wrong about me.

Whatever you think you saw, it’s wrong. I’m not a good person, and I won’t agree to help you until I know what information you are holding back. ”

Herrick opened his mouth, surely to say something grating, but Maude held her hand up and continued, “However, I will leave the city with you so that I can hear about it and decide if I want to help or tell you all to fuck off.” She paused. “Right now, I need you to tell me why you need my fire.”

Liv stiffened while Hakon, Herrick, and Gunnar grinned at her.

Hakon spoke first, “I guess it would be no surprise to find that we are also vitki , except for Liv. Herrick and I can manipulate water, while Gunnar can control earth. With the addition of your flame, we would be a well-rounded team.”

“Also, you were the only person we found who would have the training and the power to help us on this mission, as well as an outward disgust for this kingdom’s laws,” Gunnar added after Hakon’s pretty speech .

Maude said nothing, attempting to keep her face neutral. They were leaving something out, but she suspected she wouldn’t discover it until they left the city.

It made sense, of course, that Herrick would be so grating to her when their elements opposed each other the way they did. It made them an even match if they ever came to blows with each other again.

“Well, it makes sense that you are all from the Kingdom of Rivers. Not many are bold enough in this kingdom to openly rebel against Helvig.”

They all laughed like she had said something hilarious when she only pointed out the truth.

“If I’m going to help you, I’m going to need my weapons,” was all Maude said before she turned for the front door to leave.

She heard movement behind her as Herrick caught up to her and grabbed her elbow.

She stopped and spun, fist already swinging up toward his perfect jaw.

He caught her wrist before it could make contact but didn't let go of her.

Standing this close to each other, Maude noticed that they stood almost eye to eye.

Her eyes betrayed her and trailed down the front of his muscular body.

She spied the necklace she had seen in the fighting pits.

The wooden runes were indeed each of the elements: fire, water, earth, air, shadow, and light.

“Let go of me,” Maude said, low and angry.

“Then don’t try to hit me again,” Herrick growled. “I told you I was going with you.”