Page 92 of Kingdom of Embers and Ruin (Heirs of Fate #1)

Hakon sat next to Maude without breaking the seal of his lips on the bottle, which Maude found mildly impressive.

Liv returned with two more bottles of the brown liquor and a few hazy glasses.

She sat on the other side of Hakon so he wouldn’t fall onto the floor once he was too drunk to stay upright.

Once Herrick and Gunnar joined them again, Maude poured out four glasses of whiskey. Hakon had come up for air from the liquor bottle for the second time, the bottle almost empty now, as Maude held up her glass slightly. When she finally opened her mouth to speak, her voice failed.

“To Eydis,” Herrick said quietly, his voice low and despondent as he looked into Maude’s eyes.

“Who was the best of us,” she whispered as she sank into his golden brown gaze.

Everyone drank deeply, but Maude and Herrick did not take their eyes off each other.

When Herrick finally brought the rim of the glass to his lips, Maude watched as they wrapped around the glass.

Unable to look away, she continued to watch the long column of his throat as he swallowed the liquor.

When he was done, Maude noticed his eyes sparkle slightly.

Finally able to pull her eyes away, she downed her whiskey in one drink and promptly poured herself another glass before tossing it back in one motion.

Herrick watched her from across the table, that same knowing look in his eyes that told her that he saw right through her.

Every cell in her body hummed when he looked at her like that. It stripped her bare, and he knew it.

Liv and Gunnar spoke about Eydis as they drank. Hakon offered his own slurred anecdote about her now and then, but mostly, he just listened to their stories. Maude and Herrick didn’t speak much, but she was keenly aware of how his gaze always came back to her, no matter who was talking.

Maude’s skin began to heat. The space around them started to close in around her as Herrick became the only other person in the room. The whiskey entered her bloodstream, sparking a fire deep in her belly as she eyed him from across the table .

His dark hair was loose around his face, the curls falling forward over his face a bit as he laughed at something Gunnar had said. Maude’s fingers twitched at the sight.

His jaw was beginning to darken with coarse hair from the last few days of travel, but his golden sun-kissed skin was vibrant in the low lighting of the inn.

Herrick smiled at something Liv said, his soft mouth curling up in the corner and forcing that god's damned dimple to the surface.

Maude knew if she got close to him, she would smell his rain-soaked earth scent that enveloped her senses whenever he was near, and she would drown in him.

A kick came from under the table, shaking Maude from her stupor. She turned to see Liv giving her a bemused look. Hakon, who had been sitting between them, was snoring softly with his head against the back of the booth they sat in.

“What was that for?” Maude hissed.

“You look like you're about to launch yourself across the table at Herrick,” Liv pointed out. “I was going to suggest you head up to one of the rooms we booked.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Maude brushed off, glancing at Herrick, who was also glancing at her as he spoke with Gunnar.

“Maude, have you not learned yet that there is no time to waste?” Liv asked harshly.

“I just—”

“He’s crazy about you, and you’ve been avoiding him after what happened between you two in Ljosa,” Liv cut her off. “It’s time you stopped hiding before it’s too late. Stop being a coward.”

Liv’s eyes glistened as she looked at Hakon pointedly before returning to Maude. She deflated a bit. Gods, she’s right .

After a slight hesitation, she nodded to Liv once before her face heated. She couldn’t believe she was agreeing to this.

“Follow my lead,” Liv whispered before sitting straight and poking Hakon in the chest, and speaking in a slightly louder voice. “Okay, it’s time for His Highness to lay down. Maude, help me carry him upstairs.”

Gunnar and Herrick shushed her before waving them on.

Maude, confused as to what Liv was doing, followed her and wrapped one of Hakon’s arms around her shoulders as Liv gripped his waist. They began to haul him up towards the stairs in the back of the room when Maude looked over her shoulder at Herrick one more time, his eyes burning into the back of her neck.

They locked eyes again, and heat enveloped Maude as she saw the intention sitting plainly in his gaze. He was going to follow her up to the room, and she did not doubt that. What she would say or do when he did, she didn’t know, but there was no hiding from him now.

Herrick’s muscles burned with the need to follow Maude up the stairs as she carried his brother’s unconscious form up to the rooms they rented with Liv, but by pure force of will, he remained where he sat with Gunnar.

“How much longer are you going to avoid each other, Herrick?”

Gunnar’s voice cut through his thoughts of Maude, making Herrick turn to face his friend. Gunnar looked at him and then the stairs expectantly.

“I’m— what?”

“Boy, go after that woman and tell her how you feel once and for all. I’m sick of seeing the two of you staring at each other,” Gunnar said, waving one hand at him dismissively before he took the last bottle of whiskey and poured himself another glass.

Unsure of what to say or do, Herrick stayed rooted to the seat he sat in.

“But the treaty,” Herrick began to say before Gunnar cut him off.

“To Hel with the treaty, you’re in love with the girl. Go tell her,” Gunnar said, sipping on his whiskey as he motioned for another bottle.

When Herrick still didn’t move, Gunnar shoved him on the shoulder just in time for Liv to reappear and sit down in front of them.

“She’s waiting for you,” Liv said, reaching for the bottle Gunnar held out to her.

“She said that?” Herrick asked, getting to his feet when Gunnar wouldn’t stop pushing him.

“Of course not,” Liv chuckled. “She didn’t have to, though. It's written all over both of your faces. I’m sick of it.”

“Hear, hear,” Gunnar said, clinking his glass against Liv’s.

“You two are insufferable,” Herrick muttered and began walking toward the stairs.

“Funny, I was going to say the same about you two,” Gunnar laughed before winking at Herrick and turning to Liv.

Herrick shook his head, a half-smile appearing on his face as he made his way up the narrow stairs. When he got to the top floor, the nerves began to set in.

On this floor, there were only the two rooms they had rented, the last two available because they were generally smaller than the rest of the inn, but they suited their needs fine now.

Herrick had not imagined this moment with Maude would arrive so soon after he had decided on this path, choosing to stray from the one he had always believed was his.

He also just realized he had no idea which room Maude was in .

Listening for any movement to discern which room she could be in, Herrick was silent. A few moments later, he heard the scuffing of boots on the wood floor to his left, so he moved toward it and reached for the handle.

That was the moment Maude decided to open the door, however, to find Herrick standing with one hand outstretched toward her. She was wearing only her leather pants and a white tunic that was too big for her.

Face slightly flushed from the whiskey, her deep moss eyes were bright as she stared at him in surprise.

Her boots were off to the side on the floor, and she had let her long tresses out of its braid, which was normally pinned behind her head.

Hanging over her shoulders, the sheer volume of her hair hung to her waist, and Herrick pictured it wrapped around his wrist. He felt his face flush slightly.

For the love of the gods, you’ve already had your tongue between her legs; this shouldn't be so difficult , Herrick scolded himself.

“Herrick?” Maude asked, her voice unusually quiet.

“I came to see if you were okay,” he said lamely.

“Oh,” she said as she twisted her fingers in front of her.

“Were you just leaving?” Herrick asked.

“Yes,” she said quickly, Herrick deflated for a moment before continuing. “I mean, no…”

Herrick remained silent, not wanting to move or speak too quickly in case she changed her mind.

“Did you need something?” Maude asked instead.

“I actually wanted to talk to you. Do you have a few minutes?” Herrick asked.

Maude hesitated but then stepped back and motioned for him to enter the small room .

Immediately to the right of the door was a small dresser that already had Maude’s weapons laid out in a neat row, only her dagger missing.

Directly across from him was a small window that looked dirty both inside and outside the glass, with a single candle burning on the sill.

In the corner, there was an old chair that had some of their packs on it and Maude’s hood, which she usually kept wrapped around herself.

Herrick tried not to look at the bed to their left, the narrow mattress becoming its own presence in the room. The door closed behind him, and Maude moved to stand in front of him, her arms hugging her chest as if it were armor that would protect her from any blows, either verbal or physical.

“What’s this about, Herrick?” Maude asked, moving the candle on the windowsill so she could lean against it.

Herrick noticed that Maude had a knack for finding the other single escape from a room and standing by it casually.

The sight broke his heart. What kind of life did she have that would’ve prompted her to find the closest exit so she could escape in a pinch?

Herrick reminded himself that this was the daughter of the Tyrant King Helvig.