Page 104 of Kingdom of Embers and Ruin

Grief clung to the atmosphere of the longboat as it sliced through the river Herrick and his friends traveled on, the moon casting silver light on the water. The shock of having seen Amsbrook’s people killed in the name of the gods was still rattling through most of the group. Maude had kept to herself mostly since she had burnt the town to ash while Eydis and Hakon comforted each other. Liv had only looked forward into the night while Gunnar steered the longboat, uncharacteristic exhaustion weighing on him, leaving Herrick alone with his thoughts.

His mother had told him that Amsbrook had reached out with news of their crops failing, but he hadn’t acted on it. He’d been so blindsided by the news of the treaty keeping him away from Maude that he’d stupidly brooded over that rather than put his issues aside to help his people. Guilt sat heavily on his shoulders, ever-present throughout the night. When something needed to be done about the town, Maude was the one to act.

Maudehad been the one to do right by his people and offer them a way to pass into the afterlife peacefully, while he and Hakon had been frozen with shock. He would have loved her just for that brutal act alone. Herrick knew what it was like to have to make the hard decisions and had always had to make them alone. He loved Hakon, but his brother had not really had a taste of what truly devastating decisions did to one's soul. Herrick knew that Maude understood.

The longer Herrick spent in Maude’s presence, the harder it was to control his own emotions toward her. They had crossed some barrier at the Betrothal Ball, and as soon as Maude had realized it, she had fled rather than deal with what Herrick knew she was feeling. He had always been excited in her presence, anticipating what she would say next or how he would argue with her. Even while they had all sat in silence through the night, Herrick had been comforted by her.

After she had broken the silence, however, he was only exasperated by her.

“How much further?” Maude whined from the stern of the longboat, arms crossed over her chest and one boot on the bench in front of her as she leaned back against the boat.

Her hood was now up, concealing her face as they traveled. Herrick thought he could never hate a fabric as much as he hated the shawl she used to hide herself from him and the world.

“As I said the last ten times you asked, we are looking for a safe place to stop,” Herrick said through his teeth. “Unless you wanted to swim for it. The river would not be so kind as to let you make it to shore.”

Maude grumbled something he didn’t catch but let it go. Liv chuckled at his side, scanning the riverbank as he was.

“Something funny?” Herrick asked, keeping his eyes on the water.

“You two are impossible,” she replied. “I’ve never seen two people more attracted to each other who also fight as much as you both do. Plant you in front of a raider or an assassin, and you two will fall into a dance. You move fluidly around each other like you share a mind.”

Herrick did not interrupt Liv as she was vocalizing the exact thoughts he had been having the day before.

“But as soon as you actually talk to each other, you do nothing but argue and bite at each other,” she finished.

The sun was starting to make an appearance over the horizon, indicating they were running out of time. Gunnar, silent as he had been since Amsbrook, only steered the longboat with a worn look on his face. The travel seemed to be wearing on him a bit. Maude had been forced to change the linen that covered the slice on his head from the Flame Assassin twice because it had been bleeding through the wrappings.

Maude had stated that head wounds bleed faster than other wounds, but Herrick had seen the look of worry on her face as she had packed the slice with a poultice from Thora and wrapped it for the second time.

Herrick felt Liv’s elbow dig into his ribs.

“Did you hear me? I see a spot we can stop,” Liv said, annoyance in her eyes as she pointed to a sandy strip of land along the western side of the riverbank.

Herrick motioned to Gunnar to steer the long boat, and as they got close to the shore, Liv and Hakon jumped out to pull it further onto the sands. Maude, looking antsy, jumped onto the sand and looked at the sparse land surrounding them.

Where Veter was lush with greenery and rolling hills, the lands surrounding Ljosa were dry and vacant; the green shrubbery that had once thrived here in the harsh sunlight was now brown and lifeless, the ground packed hard with dust. Unlike the desert surrounding the Kingdom of Flame, which was teeming with life, these lands were eerily silent.

“This place feels wrong,” Maude said quietly as she helped Herrick unload the boat, lowering her hood so she could look him in the eye.

Liv was charging ahead to assess the surrounding area while Hakon and Eydis were consulting a map with Gunnar, who sat on one of their packs and rested for a moment after steering the longboat for them through the night.

With everyone distracted, Herrick felt like he and Maude stood alone on the edge of the many changes ahead of them.

“I imagine this place used to be vibrant,” Herrick replied, unable to avoid her gaze. “With no Elven here to bring thegalderthey carry with them, these lands withered.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Maude replied quietly. “I just can’t shake the feeling we’re going in the wrong direction.”

“The Knotted Caverns lie south of Ljosa,” Herrick reminded her.

Maude was silent for a moment as she looked west, the sun rising behind her and casting her wine-red hair in a brilliant light that caused the strands to glitter like rubies. Her tanned skin was warm in the sunlight, the new day’s light highlighting the strength in her arms and shoulders as it traced her curves.

For a moment, Herrick was jealous of the sunlight that got to caress her skin when he could not.

The leathers she had traveled in were worn and dusty, the scent of smoke still clinging to them from when she had burnt Amsbrook to the ground. Herrick could only stare at her. Cast in the light like this, she could be a goddess.

“Yes,” she finally said, but her eyes remained on the horizon. “But I don’t trust it.”

Before Herrick could say anything, she walked away and made her way to Gunnar. Kneeling at his side, she inspected his bandage and spoke with him. Gunnar shook his head and gave Maude a thankful smile that she returned, the corners of her lips turning up slightly. Herrick turned away before he was rooted in place, unable to do anything but watch Maude move through the world.

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