Page 75 of The Daughter of the Scarred Elf

“And what are those feelings? I’m not imagining this, am I?” She waved a hand between them. “Do you flirt with me to pass time or is it more than just that? Because if it isn’t, then you need to stop. I don’t want to keep feeling like you’re stringing me along.”

“I feel …” He raked a hand through his hair, shooting her a grin. “All right, I’ll be honest. I think you’re gorgeous, and I love your figure.”

She almost stopped breathing. “My figure?”

“Yes.” He buried his face in his hands and she could see the tips of his ears were reddening. “Of course there’s the matter of your personality, right? That’s the thing I’m supposed to say. That you’re awkward and charming, and I love that, because I do, but damn, if I’m being honest”—Blár removed his hands, and his eyes met her again, deep and ice blue—“you’re beautiful. The way you fight, the way you get serious, the way you’re just so damned awkward—it’s adorable. I love it. I want to keep seeing it. And—” He clamped his mouth shut. “Damn it. I sound like a creep, don’t I?”

Chaotic. He was all over the place, and a part of her liked that. Liked the way he was being honest with her, the way he was acting somewhatshy.

“The thing is, I’ve been attracted to you since the Eventyrslot ruins,” he said quickly. “But I’m not really sure what to do withthis.” He flicked a finger between them. “I’ve never actually felt like this before.”

Kolfinna’s face flushed with color and she couldn’t respond fast enough. She didn’t even know what to say. This whole time she had thought he would reject her, that her feelings would be cast aside like they meant nothing. She had been mentally preparing for it, but to hear him say all these things about her made her feel all too warm. All too overwhelmed.

Blár Vilulflikedher.

“You’re not a creep,” she finally managed to say. She couldn’t meet his gaze and picked at the stitching on the edge of the couch, her heart hammering in her chest so loudly that he could probably hear it. She had never thought he would feel the same way she did, and now she didn’t know what to think or do.

The only noise between them was the crackling of the fire in the hearth. Kolfinna twiddled her bandaged hands together, her fingers grazing the rough gauze. Her chest felt too full in that moment, but there was a niggling thought in the back of her head that wouldn’t go away. It was the same thought that made her aware of how itchy her back was—where her scars were. And she wondered briefly what Blár would think if he knew about her elf blood, and all at once, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

Would he still feel the same?

Blár rested a hand atop hers, and the coolness of his touch brought her back to reality. He was staring at her curiously. The shadows of the room played across half of his face. “Are you all right? You look pale.”

She didn’t want to ruin the moment and wanted to relish in these warm feelings, so she cast her thoughts aside and nodded.

Kolfinna leaned her head against his shoulder and laced her fingers through his. She could worry about the elf later. About the heir, the half-elf commander, Sijur, these runes—all of it. At a later time, when she was ready to be burdened with her problems. But right now, she just wanted to hold on to his hand and forget it all.

She closed her eyes and breathed out deeply, the exhaustion suddenly weighing heavily on her. “Let me just rest my head for a bit, okay?”

“Take as long as you need.”

The flames continued to eat away at the logs, crackling and snapping, and warring with the coldness of Blár’s wintry aura. For the first time in a long, long time, she finally felt at peace.

16

A nightmare joltedKolfinna awake and for a moment, she didn’t know where she was. She didn’t recognize the bed, the walls, the couch—none of it. Until she eased back into the cushions and realized Blár and her were still on the couch, their hands intertwined. Blár’s head was lolled back against the backrest of the couch, and he was fast asleep. Kolfinna blinked at him in surprise. How had they both fallen asleep?

A quick glance at the window revealed it was night. Warmth flooded her face as she imagined what Herja and Inkeri would think when they realized she wasn’t in bed. How much time had passed?

She silently slipped her hands from Blár’s cold ones, and he didn’t budge an inch. Rising up to her feet slowly, she tiptoed to his door. Cracking it open an inch, she poked her head out. It was ominously dark, revealing that it was likely the middle of the night.

Kolfinna glanced back at Blár and hesitated. She could leave and go back to her rooms, or she could search for the elf woman right now. It was the perfect time, since it was so late. But wasn’t it better to go with Blár? He had seemed on board to help her, but now that she was awake here and contemplating leaving tosearch for the woman, she wasn’t so sure. She didn’t want to explain everything to Blár right now, and since he was sleeping, it was probably best not to wake him.

She bobbed her head to herself, her mind made, and quickly slipped out of the room.

After sneaking backinto her room, changing out of her blood-stained clothes and into a new uniform, Kolfinna traipsed through the fortress halls like a common thief. If any soldier asked why she was sleuthing down the halls, she could make the excuse that Sijur needed her for something and that she was still on duty. She kept replaying the words in her mind every time she caught a shadow of someone walking in the distance. But the fort was mostly asleep.

Kolfinna went to the lower level of the fort, her footsteps barely making a sound against the stony floor. Every rustle of movement, squeak of a bed, or creaking of a door opening had her on high alert. When she was on the second lowest level of the fort, she rounded the familiar corner that would lead to the doorway to the basement level that she and Joran frequented. But when she reached it, there was nothing there but a wall. Her mouth dropped open in surprise.

She had been positive that there was a door here. She and Joran came here every day, so what?—

She didn’t have time to think because she could hear two guards talking in the distance. If she opened up a hole in the wall right now, they could definitely hear her and run here. She hesitated for a split second before quickly making her way whereshe had come from. Her heart was lodged in her throat as they seemed to draw closer.

“—guard this place every night.”

“I don’t care. It’s a waste of our time, don’t you think?”

“Would you rather there be anything interesting going on? Think of it this way, this is the easiest job in the whole fort.”

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