Page 117 of Kingdom of Embers and Ruin

“I felt that again when I met Maude. I was an insufferable asshole the first few days with her because I thought that maybe I had been wrong before. But the more I got to know her, the more I realized that it's the two of you together that will lead us all down the right path.”

Herrick, unable to form any words in response to her revelation, only stared at Liv.

“So make it right,” she continued, voice hard. “Talk to her, listen to her side, instead of being an equally stubborn asshole.”

Liv turned over and put her back to Herrick, ending their conversation.

Herrick’s mind turned over again and again at Liv’s story when he realized the quiet rumbling of snores belonging to Maude had stopped at some point. He sat up abruptly, looking over to where Maude slept, but found her bedroll empty. He didn't know when she had crept away, but he knew he couldn’t wait until tomorrow to speak with her. Herrick got up and started to search for her in the small space.

A flash of red came from a side entrance overlooking the ocean. Herrick would make it right with Maude. He wasn’t sure if it was Liv’s story about losing her loved ones or if it was that Hakon was right about him feeling upset with Maude for pushing him away, but Herrick knew he needed to talk to Maude so he could make this right.

The last thing she saw of him was anger and disgust at her saving his life. She needed to know that he had been the ass who couldn't look past his nose to see the big picture, the gray between the blurred lines of right and wrong.

There was nothing to forgive her for, and she needed to know that. Maude made hard choices for the good of other people, choices that Herrick had always struggled with. She saw the world for what it was and tried to make it better, even if that meant taking out a legion of raiders to protect her friends.

With little consideration as to what he would say, Herrick moved through the open archway and into the cool night air to find the woman who continued to show him a better way to live.

21

Maude stood on the small overlook that was nestled against the temple’s southern side, attempting to slow her racing thoughts. From where she stood, Maude could see the ocean crashing against the rocky shore, the water pitch black as far as she could see. Moonlight beamed on the sea foam that bubbled up at every violent crash of the waves and then washed away.

She wanted to wash away with the tide and disappear into the Void that lies between their world and Hela’s.

The small patio overlooked the ocean and sprawling city below the temple. It had a long stone railing that would prevent someone from toppling over the steep edge, which was where Maude stood now. The archway that opened into the patio was tall and narrow, and the tiles surrounding the arch were an eclectic collection of gold, silver, and bronze. To her left, there was a small patch of grass that seemed to serve as a small garden at one point in time but was now wildly overrun with clover.

Opting to wear her harem pants from Logi in hopes they would be cooler than the leather leggings she had been wearing, Maude was desperate for a breeze. She had come outside in the hopes that the night air would cool her heated skin, but the air was as hot and humid at night as it was during the day. Even the linen shirt she had torn up to make bandages for Gunnar was stifling to wear, the cropped length of it stopping just above her waist, leaving her stomach and waist exposed to the night air.

She tore her gaze from the violent ocean and turned from her spiral before it consumed her. Hoping to find solace in the night sky instead, Maude tilted her face up and closed her eyes.

You killed them all.

Ever since she had woken in that tub to see Herrick’s face twisted in disgust, Maude hadn’t been able to stop thinking about what had happened with the raiders. She did not regret what she had done; they would have killed Herrick and taken her to her father. While Maude would have gone down trying to fight them alone, she could not allow Herrick to be killed. She had snapped, but she did not regret it.

What she felt ashamed about was how Herrick had looked at her afterward. She had burnt herself out today to protect him and his friends. While she didn’t expect Herrick to be overjoyed at her actions, she had not expected him to be so angry about it either.

She had gone to bed sooner than everyone else, opting to sink into oblivion rather than talk about her destruction. Except, the look on Herrick's face was burned into the back of her mind like he was finally seeing her for who she actually was and didn’t like it. Just like she knew he would feel when he finally saw her true colors.

Maude had woken when she heard Liv and Herrick speaking. Her heart had shattered for her friend when she eavesdropped on Liv’s story, but she could not react if she wanted to stay unnoticed. Once Liv had trailed off, and Herrick was silent, she crept out of the temple and ended up on this overlook, needing to feel open air around her before the swirling hatred for herself drowned her.

There was only silence, but Maude felt Herrick behind her before she saw him, her body tensing to turn toward him before she stopped herself. Rather than having a repeat of the disastrousnight in the gardens when the Flame Assassins had cornered her, Maude breathed in and turned to face him before he could get too far onto the overlook.

“Did you need something?” Maude asked, biting through the aches that racked through her with the movement as she pulled herself up onto the low wall acting as a barrier.

Her burnout was still working against her. She should be sleeping, but Maude had never been one to sit still for a long period, even if her body was aching and screaming at her to listen.

Herrick stood in the archway, not quite crossing over the threshold that would put them alone together on the overlook, shadows concealing most of his features from her. His dark hair was loose around his face, the curls falling forward onto his forehead, and he wore only the black pants he had brought with him, opting to stay bare-chested in the heat of the night, his necklace of runes in their perpetual resting place. All runes were present except for one for water, as it was currently hanging in the hollow of Maude’s throat.

Even in the moonlight, she could see the tattoo that covered his entire upper body, the ink matte in the bright light. The dragon head resting over his chest with its tail circling his left arm was so beautifully detailed that Maude had been desperate to trace it with her fingers. Or her tongue. The scales that covered the rest of his chest looked like permanent armor in the dark, the runes blending into the art seamlessly.

“I needed to talk to you,” Herrick said, his voice softer than she expected.

“I figured you wouldn’t care to,” Maude replied, bitterness heavy in her voice. “You seemed thoroughly repulsed by me earlier.”

Herrick sighed and walked toward her, stopping at the barrier beside her and leaning his forearms on it. She tried not to notice how the muscles in his back rippled with the movement.

“Tell me what happened,” he said quietly. “Please.”

“You said it best,” Maude bit out, forcing her eyes from his strong back. “I killed them all.”

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