Page 134 of Kingdom of Embers and Ruin

“Why?” she whined.

“We are not going to build a ladder to climb out of the cavern through the ceiling when the water will be pouring out of it, crushing us all if we tried that route.”

“Well, you haven't come up with any other ideas,” Liv grumbled as she crossed her arms and leaned against one of the far walls.

Maudehadcome up with something, but she wasn’t sure it would even work. It was simple but had too many variables attached to it. She would have to practice the maneuver she would need to execute a few times before she tried to snag the dagger.

Herrick was circling the cavern and looking up at the hole in the ceiling, trying, as she had, to determine if the water really would rush down to greet them on the removal of thedalkr Helafrom its resting place.

They had been in this cavern for an hour now, brainstorming. Maude didn’t see what other reason there would have been for someone to place a giant hole in the ceiling above the weapon if it wasn't meant to drown whoever attempted to remove the dagger. Rather than sit through another suicidal scheme of Liv’s, Maude stood and walked over to Herrick to try and talk through this plan she had stewing in her brain.

“Hey,” she said softly, reaching his side.

Herrick met her gaze, and she saw the same worry that lay in her own heart.Maybe this was all for nothing.

“Hi,” he said, giving her a brilliant smile.

“Any luck?” Maude looked up at the water rippling over the invisible barrier, which was keeping their deaths at bay for now.

“Nothing, you?” Herrick sighed.

“Maybe something,” she said, meeting his eye again, a sly smile playing around the corner of her mouth. “Will you help me?”

“Hold on, I can do it,” Maude insisted from where she stood across the room from Herrick.

“You’ve tried a million times,minn eldr,” he called back. “I don’t think this is going to work.”

“One more time,” she said between her teeth.

“Fine,” he agreed and then nodded to Eydis, who was crouched in between them, holding an unlit torch flat on her palm.

When Maude told Herrick about her idea, he began to feel some slight hope for their success. She had said she needed to practice a few times to get the movement right, but that had been forty-five tries ago.

Maude took off at a run toward him, concentrating so hard he thought her head might explode from the pressure. Once she was a few feet from Eydis, he saw her bend her elbows and then straighten them, palms facing the floor, like she was pushing herself off it.

The wind blew out from her palms and propelled her up into the air, where she began to twist, her body moving in an arcing motion over Eydis.

This was where she struggled, however, because as soon as she was upside down in midair, her legs would flail, and she would be unable to reach down to snatch the “dagger” from Eydis’s hand without touching her, which was exactly what happened for the forty-sixth time. Maude’s shoulder slammed into the ground again, and she bit down on her cry again.

“If you can’t snag the torch and land on your feet to take off at a run again, we’re not doing it,” Herrick said, voice strained.

The need to go to her and help her vibrated within every cell of his being, but Herrick knew she wouldn’t allow it— the stubborn creature that she was.

“Again,” she groaned as she got to her feet and jogged back to her starting point, shaking the pain from her limbs.

When Maude explained her plan and this stunt she would have to pull, she recounted that during her training, her father had her execute a series of similar moves using her airgalder.

She said that in her childhood, she struggled with controlling the air, so these exercises were supposed to help her hone her skill with the wind she controlled. Though Maude had run from the palace before she couldperfect her control, she believed she could do it now. So Herrick only nodded to her next attempt.

“Try twisting a little less and allow the natural projectile of your body to do most of the work,” Eydis offered, searching the air above her like she knew just how Maude should move to execute this stunt. Maude nodded, eyes focused on the torch.

Her feet would need to hit the ground so she could continue running for the exit that Herrick would be standing in, ready to freeze over the doorway.

“This isn’t going to work, Herrick,” his brother said from behind him.

“It has to,” he replied, eyes on Maude the entire time.

Maude bolted once more, sprinting for Eydis’s outstretched hand. Once more, she propelled herself into the air and began to twist, arm outstretched.

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