Page 128 of Kingdom of Embers and Ruin

Unsheathing his hatchet from his side, Herrick spun to face the presence that had made itself known to him only to find a large mural on the side of one of the homes depicting the god Tyr.

The mural told the story of how Tyr lost his hand to Fenrir, the betrayal Fenrir felt, and the sacrifice Tyr made, knowing Fenrir would one day be responsible for the death of their world.

Herrick took a few steps toward the mural, left hand reaching toward the gruesome rendering of Fenrir’s jaws clamped over Tyr’s arm. The air around Herrick thickened, the silence of the city pausing long enough for the image to settle into Herrick’s very soul. Unable to tear his eyes from the painting, Herrick felt the overwhelming presence of a celestial being pressing into the space around him.

This moment, the placement of this painting, was a warning from Tyr, the god of war. Herrick had always felt closest to Tyr in his life, understanding the difficult expectations that come with the position of leading armies. Herrick had felt himself straying from his own set of values since Maude had entered his life, and Tyr was telling him the same thing.

“Herrick!” Gunnar called from ahead of him. “Let’s get back this century, please.”

Shaking off the heaviness Herrick had begun to feel at the sight of the mural, he turned his back to the omen and rushed to catch up with his friend. They quickly came up on the path that led to the temple, and Herrick could see the fires inside were already burning hot, the scent of roasting boar drifting out.

“Something else has occurred to me the more I think about it,” Gunnar said, continuing their conversation. “There is a raging fire under her skin that was provoked when they threatened you. Maude thought she would’ve hurt you; her lack of control in the past is all she's known. Her failures were beaten into her rather than her successes.”

“How do you know?” Herrick asked though he could already guess the reason.

“With a father like Helvig, it kind of explains why she is so closed off, doesn't it?”

Gunnar’s words were beginning to cause a red haze to creep into his eyes. He was going todestroyHelvig for even suggesting that Maude wasn’t good enough.

“Their threats to you dissolved whatever mercy Maude might’ve given them, and she most likely didn’t want you to see her like that.” Gunnar shrugged. “Talk to her when she stops hiding from you, but do it soon. We go into the Caverns tomorrow night, and we are going to need all our focus on that.”

His friend turned away, but not before adding over his shoulder, “The mercy she would have shown would have come from respect for you, Herrick. Don’t be so hard on her when you’ve made a bigger difference on her than she would ever admit.”

Gunnar headed into the temple, leaving Herrick with all he had said about Maude turning over in his head. After last night, Herrick had felt that he knew why she had thrown him from the fight and was no longer angry about it, but the hurt still stung in his heart.

Maude had said to him on the overlook that she had always been alone, and he had only taken what she said at face value. Having never felt alone in his life, Herrick couldn’t possibly understand how Maude felt in this.

Throwing him from the fight to take care of things on her own was a decision based on years of conditioning. Suddenly, all the hurt he felt vanished in the wake of his understanding. He had thought to himself yesterday that Maude had been only looking out for herself, and now shame washed through him at the childish thought.

Gods, I really am an idiot, he thought to himself, not for the first time in the last two days.

Maude couldn’t look at Herrick without feeling her entire face flush after last night. She had woken early, her muscles still pleasantly sore, and remembered what madness had come over her with Herrick. She had bolted straight up, the band covering her chest still in place, and looked around to find everyone but Liv still asleep.

Her friend raised an eyebrow at her and then motioned to the door with her head. Maude picked out her leathers from her pack before going outside to join Liv in front of the temple, relieving Hakon from his watch. Sleepy-eyed and dragging, Hakon went to his bedroll next to Eydis and collapsed into slumber quickly.

Liv had suggested Maude go hunting with her instead of working on the longboat, and Maude gratefully nodded while she changed into herleathers, dropping her clothes that still smelled of Herrick at the base of Freyja’s statue.

She had practically sprinted out of the temple when Liv brought Eydis to the front to take over the watch for the morning, her moonlight hair still mussed and caramel eyes heavy with sleep.

Hours later, they returned to the temple to find Herrick and Gunnar had gone down to the shore to finish the longboat, to Maude’s huge relief. The two women had not spoken much during their time hunting, which Maude had appreciated, and rather focused on their tasks. By the time they had returned, Liv had killed a wild boar on the outskirts of Ljosa, while Maude had found a few small goats closer to the Kingdom of Flame borders. Hakon got the boar cooking while Maude took over the watch from Eydis.

Once the sun had begun to set, the mouthwatering scent of roasting boar drifted out of the temple toward Maude. Liv brought her some of the cooked pig and vegetables Hakon had grown to eat while she sat at the entrance of the temple.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Liv asked her, taking a seat next to her.

“Not really,” she grumbled, biting into the skin of the animal. Grease dripped down her chin, which Maude promptly wiped away with her forearm.

“Okay,” Liv said, laying on her back with her arms behind her head.

“There just really isn’t much to say,” Maude continued, staring down at her mostly full plate.

“Sure,” Liv agreed.

“It was a moment of weakness.”

“It happens.”

Maude continued to eat while Liv lay next to her, quiet. The sun began to sink behind the cliffs, signaling the moment Maude had been dreadingall day. Soon, Gunnar and Herrick would be back, and she would be stuck greeting them.

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