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The wind blew out from her palms and propelled her up into the air, where she began to twist, her body moving in an arcing motion over Eydis.

This was where she struggled, however, because as soon as she was upside down in midair, her legs would flail, and she would be unable to reach down to snatch the “dagger” from Eydis’s hand without touching her, which was exactly what happened for the forty-sixth time.

Maude’s shoulder slammed into the ground again, and she bit down on her cry again.

“If you can’t snag the torch and land on your feet to take off at a run again, we’re not doing it,” Herrick said, voice strained.

The need to go to her and help her vibrated within every cell of his being, but Herrick knew she wouldn’t allow it— the stubborn creature that she was.

“Again,” she groaned as she got to her feet and jogged back to her starting point, shaking the pain from her limbs.

When Maude explained her plan and this stunt she would have to pull, she recounted that during her training, her father had her execute a series of similar moves using her air galder .

She said that in her childhood, she struggled with controlling the air, so these exercises were supposed to help her hone her skill with the wind she controlled.

Though Maude had run from the palace before she could perfect her control, she believed she could do it now.

So Herrick only nodded to her next attempt.

“Try twisting a little less and allow the natural projectile of your body to do most of the work,” Eydis offered, searching the air above her like she knew just how Maude should move to execute this stunt. Maude nodded, eyes focused on the torch.

Her feet would need to hit the ground so she could continue running for the exit that Herrick would be standing in, ready to freeze over the doorway.

“This isn’t going to work, Herrick,” his brother said from behind him.

“It has to,” he replied, eyes on Maude the entire time.

Maude bolted once more, sprinting for Eydis’s outstretched hand. Once more, she propelled herself into the air and began to twist, arm outstretched.

“Yes!” Gunnar called as Maude wrapped her fingers around the torch, finishing her arc in the air as she got closer to the ground.

Hakon and Liv whooped as Maude’s feet touched the dirt, and she continued sprinting toward Herrick. He braced himself, arms outstretched to stop her momentum.

Maude collided with him as their friends cheered. Righting her, Herrick looked down to see Maude grinning at her success.

“It’ll work,” she panted, her smile stunning Herrick into silence.

Instead, he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her, spinning in a circle before dropping her again, surging forward to kiss her on instinct.

He could spend a lifetime kissing Maude.

Her lips were the softest shade of blush, the velvet texture of her mouth fitting against his like she was made for him.

Surprise flared through her for one moment before she sunk into his embrace, arms wrapping around his neck and curves melting into his hands with ease .

Too soon, he pulled back.

“It’ll work,” he echoed.

Maude breathed heavily but smiled before she ran back toward Eydis and tossed her the torch.

“Again.”

Maude executed the move again and again, perfectly each time after that first success. She was ready. Hope bloomed in Herrick’s chest.

Absolute silence rang in Maude’s ear as she nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Across the cavern, Herrick stood in the doorway that would lead them back to the entrance she had opened with her blood, ready to throw up a solid wall of ice once she was clear.

She wasn't sure how much time they would have once she snatched the dagger from the altar, but she knew that every second would count.

Calming her breathing and going through the exercises Gunnar had taught her, Maude found her peace.

Nerves were beginning to creep up on her, the entire weight of the task falling to her shoulders.

Eydis and Liv were already scouting ahead with Gunnar in the tunnels to find their way back quickly while Hakon stood with his brother to seal the cavern entrance together.

Before Liv and Eydis had left with Gunnar, Maude had embraced each of them.

“We’ll see you on the other side, wretch,” Liv had said to her, a confident smile chasing away the harsh words.

Maude grinned. “Till Valhalla, asshole.”

“Gods save you both,” Eydis chuckled as she gripped Maude’s forearm, her slender fingers almost translucent in the moonlight cascading through the water. “I’ll see you soon, friend.”

Maude tilted her head at the kind woman’s choice of words, going against the traditional farewell between warriors.

She tried to chalk it up to Eydis being unaware of warrior farewell, but something prickled against the back of Maude’s neck as the delicate woman turned from her to head down the pitch-black tunnel with Liv and Gunnar.

Eydis, Gunnar, and Liv left Maude and the Kolbecks behind, but not before saying a small goodbye to each of them.

They all tried to avert their eyes when Hakon kissed Eydis so thoroughly that her face flushed when they came up for air.

Then they disappeared down the dark alley, vanishing until they would reunite once Maude was successful.

She hoped, anyway.

Shaking the last hour from her mind, Maude tried to focus on her task at hand: retrieving the dalkr Hela without killing them all.

A series of whistles came from the tunnels, and Maude knew it was time.

Breathe in.

Herrick looked to his brother, who nodded once and took a wide stance.

Breathe out.

Maude flexed her hands at her sides, eyes on the altar and the salvation that lay atop it.

Breathe in.

Maude looked up to see Herrick’s golden eyes staring back at her, his trust in her shining there.

Breathe out.

A second whistle, short and sharp. Maude sprinted forward, eyes on the dagger. She felt the air moving around her and pushing her forward, her feet carrying her as fast as she could go toward the dagger. She almost glanced up at the ceiling but stopped herself. No distractions.

Thirty feet.

Twenty feet.

Fifteen.

Now.

Maude used the atmosphere around her to push herself up into the air ten feet from the altar. She began to twist, extending her hand out above her head.

Closer, she needed to get closer.

Her fingers brushed ice-cold metal, and Maude reflexively closed her hand around the dalkr Hela’s black handle as she finished her arc through the air.

The dagger was heavier than she ever could have predicted.

Shit.

Shit .

Maude’s entire balance was thrown off. Herrick shouted her name.

She was going to land on her hip, just like when she had practiced.

Distantly, a loud crack echoed in her ears.

The heavy rush of water falling came from above her, but she couldn’t think of that right now.

She saw the ground coming for her, so she tried to shift in hopes she could maybe roll and take off at a run.

Millimeters before she hit the ground, ice flashed underneath her. Herrick had shot out a long path of ice from where she landed to where she needed to be. She spared a glance up to see the water rushing in from above the altar, fast. Impossibly fast. If she didn’t move, she would be dead.

She continued to slide toward Herrick, but her momentum was running out. Twisting in place, she got to her knees and threw one hand behind her, blasting wind from her palm and sending her flying forward on the slick surface.

“Maude!”

She didn’t take her eyes off Herrick; his hand outstretched to catch her and pull her into the tunnel.

Only a bit further , she thought. Come on.

“Hurry!” Hakon shouted, looking past her.

Herrick’s hand wrapped around hers, pulling her to safety. She looked over her shoulder at what Hakon was looking at and saw pure white forms in tattered clothing cutting through the water at impossible speeds just as Herrick and Hakon froze the entry.

Draugr .

Terror washed over Maude as she got to her feet, heart pounding, and sheathed the dalkr Hela in her boot.

“We have to go,” Maude said to Herrick, grabbing him by the arm and reaching for Hakon. "Now."

A scream splintered through the dim tunnel, loud and clear as a wind chime in a storm.

“Eydis!” Hakon called, taking off at a sprint and following the sound.

Herrick and Maude quickly chased after him. The draugr behind them began to pound on the wall of ice, trying to break it.

“I don’t know how long that ice will hold,” Herrick said to her through his labored breathing.

“It just has to hold long enough,” Maude bit out.

She grabbed the bow from Herrick’s outstretched hand and nocked an arrow, ready to fire if they came across any more of the undead creatures.

Hakon disappeared behind the bend where the sounds of clashing metal rang out.

Maude glanced at Herrick and pushed more wind behind them both, increasing their speed .

When they turned the corner, all Hel was breaking loose.

A large group of draugr was attacking their friends.

Each of them were engaged in a fight with the undead creatures, swords and axes flashing while Eydis’s staff cut through the air, its sharp, metal end cutting into the dead flesh of the monster in front of her.

The focus that was etched into her friend's face had pride swelling in Maude’s chest.

Dodging a low blow from a draugr’s rusted axe, Maude joined Liv in her fight against the beast in front of them.

“Help Gunnar!” She called to Herrick, who had become her shadow once more. “I’ll help Liv.”

Herrick nodded, sprinting to the widest part of the path where Gunnar was facing off two draugr at once, his pale skin beading with sweat as the effort wore him down faster than she was comfortable with. Quickly, the fight between the living and the undead began to weigh in favor of the living.