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“I’ve been wanting to speak with you about this since we were in Ljosa,” Herrick began, the formality of his words not lost on him.

He cringed at himself before he continued.

“I think that we’ve been traveling and fighting together for a while now, and we’ve had some moments together that I am extremely fond of—”

“Herrick, spit it out,” Maude said, a smile playing in the corner of her lips.

He relaxed at the sight. He was being ridiculous. This was Maude, the person he never had any trouble talking to, even if she was more likely to throw punches than exchange words .

“I think we both know how I feel about you, minn eldr ,” he said, inching closer to Maude.

At his words, she went rigid. Herrick took a few more steps into the room, into her space, until he stood right in front of her. Her jasmine and burning cedar scent washed over him, emboldening his words.

“I know that you don’t mind my touch,” he continued, running his fingers down the side of her face where the scar stretched from her temple to her jaw. Maude closed her eyes and leaned into his touch slightly.

Herrick decided to lean over her and get close to the shell of her ear to whisper, “And I know that you positively respond to my touch. I would even go so far as to say that you like it when I touch you.”

Herrick put his other hand on the side of her neck as he placed a soft kiss under her ear causing Maude to let out the most delicious groan.

Moving to cup her face between his hands, he lowered his forehead to hers for a moment as Maude stood and put her hands on his chest but didn’t push him away.

His breathing became heavier, matching the rapid speed of Maude’s breathing as he leaned down and gently kissed her.

The whiskey they had drank was still on her breath, mixing with her smokey scent. He felt Maude go molten at his touch, her flaming skin almost radiating heat as she reacted to him.

Before Herrick could do or say anything else, he felt Maude pull away. He let her go, prepared for the possibility that she might do something like this.

“Herrick, I don't know if I can do this,” Maude said, beginning to twist her fingers as she always did when she was anxious.

“Do what exactly, Maude?” he asked carefully, watching her begin to pace in front of the window she had stood against.

“This.” She motioned between the two of them. “It’s not a good idea. The people closest to me get killed. ”

“We’ve talked about this before, minn eldr ,” Herrick began to say.

“No, that was before Eydis,” she cut him off. “There are things you don’t know about me.”

“You can tell me,” he said softly.

He was aware that he didn't know all there was to know about her, but it wouldn’t stop him from feeling the way he did.

“But I can’t because when I do…” Maude took a deep breath and looked him in the eye with a vulnerability he had never seen on her face before. “When I do, you won’t look at me like this anymore. And maybe that's selfish, but I don't— I don’t want you to stop looking at me like that.”

Maude motioned toward him and the expression that must have been on his face. Moving quickly, before she could stop him, he grabbed her hand and brought it to his face.

“Nothing you could say would stop me from feeling this way, minn eldr . I will still lo—”

She put her other hand over his mouth to stop him from speaking the words that had been burning inside of him for longer than Herrick would have liked to admit. The terror in Maude’s eyes was the only thing keeping him from speaking further.

“Don’t say it,” Maude whispered before removing her hand from his mouth. “Not before I tell you why I left.”

Herrick nodded once and moved to sit on the bed. Leaning forward, he rested his forearms on his knees and motioned for Maude to speak.

If she wanted him to listen to her story, to listen to what she needed him to know, of course, he would take it seriously and hear what she had to say. Herrick knew that Maude had a temper and that she acted impulsively sometimes, but those were some of the things he adored about her.

He was not afraid of her or her galder . She was his Maude, his warrior, his fire .

She began to pace, seeming to have an internal argument about where to start.

When she finally stopped and faced him, Maude’s face was twisted with grief and anger so palpable that he felt her galder begin to react.

The last time he had seen her face like this was when they had met with his mother for supper, and she had brought up how Maude’s mother died.

Maude had brushed her off, and they all knew it, but he hadn’t pushed on the topic. He guessed tonight was the night he would get the full story.

Flicking his fingers to create an ice bubble in case her emotions ran away with her, he nodded once more to tell her he was ready. Maude gratefully looked at the ice around her and swirled her fingers twice, causing a shield of air to form around them, blocking any sound from leaving their bubble.

Herrick braced himself for Maude’s story.