Page 25 of Kingdom of Embers and Ruin

“Don’t the healers from the Kingdom of Rivers have some awareness of illness in the blood because of their watergalder?”

Herrick kept his face neutral as he remembered what she had said about wanting to be a healer in her youth.

“Yes, they do. What does that have to do with me?”

“Well, I’d imagine if your thick head could try hard enough, you might be able to detect illness as well,” she said matter-of-factly.

“I never received training for that; I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“Seems like a wasted opportunity.”

They sat quietly for a while before Herrick asked, “Have any of the others shown up yet?”

Maude shook her head and looked out the window where the sun was at its highest point.

“I don’t know if you have any idea of where they might’ve gone,” she said to him, collecting his bowl and placing it in hers. Herrick’s mouth tightened as he ran through the possible places they could’ve gone instead and came up blank.

“No, they would’ve come here,” he finally said.

“Then we just have to be patient. They must show up here eventually. I’m sure Thora will send them in the right direction,” Maude said as she sat in the chair next to the bed once more and closed her eyes. Herrick took the break in conversation to study her once more.

She had bathed since they’d gotten here, and someone had removed his clothes when he had passed out from exhaustion and blood loss. He was sure it wasn’t Maude, though there was really no way to know unless he asked. Maude looked exhausted, and Herrick felt his manners start to overrule any sense he might have.

“You can sleep in the bed for a while,” he started and quickly continued at the argument forming on Maude’s face, “I mean, with me in the chair and you sleeping in the bed alone.”

He stressed the wordalonea bit too much. Maude shook her head and said, “You need the rest. Besides, you are the one who took an arrow through the leg. The least I could do was take the chair while you recovered from your delirium.”

Her face tensed a bit at her last comment, and he wondered if she was thinking about the joke he made to her about taking his pants off. She averted her eyes and fiddled with the hem of her shawl while he lay back against the headboard and tried to recall what he had said when he was out of his mind with pain and exhaustion.

It wasn’t until he had drifted into a semi-sleeping state that he remembered that she had said she’d take care of him while he slept. He remembered he had been pleased by it, and a base need in him had wanted to do the same for her, so he said he would take care of her, too. He opened his eyes to look at Maude, but she had fallen asleep in the chair again, mouth slack and quiet snores rolling through the room. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling of the rented room.

This cannot possibly end well,he thought to himself.

The hours of the day slipped by slowly. Maude was in and out of consciousness in the chair, her exhaustion evident in the tense lines on her face. She had carried Herrick down the wall of Logi and then through the desert to Engate and hadn’t balked. Herrick couldn't understand why she was so set on keeping people at arm’s length but then didn't hesitate to help him.

It was clear her behavior was a defense mechanism for someone who had always had to depend on themselves for survival, but what he couldn't seem to put together was why she had the speech and training of a noble who had been more than happy to be assumed a lowbornvitki.

Herrick had been paying attention to her mannerisms, and she was no lowborn girl. There was a deeper history behind why she acted the way she did when it was clear she was a good person in her heart. Sigurd had said she had built walls around herself, but Herrick was finding it was more of a fortress. He was curious by nature, so he told himself that was why he was working so hard to break down her barriers,not because of whatever feeling had been lingering in his chest since she had grabbed his hand in the barren fighting pits below The Broken Bones Pub.

Maude finally woke once the sun was almost set and looked at him, quickly inspecting his state before she excused herself to the small washroom. Needing to stand and move, he waited until she had closed the door before he made his way to the side of the bed. He felt stronger now that he had rested a bit, sure that thegalderin his blood was healing a bit faster than those who weren’t magically inclined.

Herrick wrapped the sheet around his waist and tentatively stood, testing the weight on his leg. The washroom door opened before he could take a step, and he waited for Maude to intervene, but she only stood there and watched as he tentatively moved. She had removed her shawl, which she usually kept wrapped around her, and stood only in her sleeveless shirt and leggings, his necklace still hanging around her neck.

Herrick felt good enough to keep trying but, ultimately, his body forced him to slow down and his leg gave out. He was bracing himself to hit the floor when he felt Maude rush toward him and catch him before he could fall. She had placed her hands under his arms and around his chest to stabilize him while he had gripped the backs of her arms. They both tried to catch their breath, but when Herrick looked down at Maude, he realized how close they were. His heart took off at a rapid pace as she looked up at him, her dark eyes sparking with heat.

Herrick impulsively took a half step toward her, still being braced by her, and moved his hand to her face so he could cup her cheek. When she didn’t push him away, he did what he had been dying to do since the first time he saw her mouth tense up in anger: he ran his thumb along her bottom lip.

He felt her shiver before she closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, which had moved to cup her jaw. Herrick had taken another step closer to Maude when he realized that he was still only wearing a sheet around him.Maude seemed to also become aware of the fact as she stiffened slightly and her cheeks took on a faint pink tinge to them. Seeing that color blooming on her face triggered something in Herrick’s very being.

Damn it all to Hela herself, Herrick thought as he leaned in to close the distance between them.

Herrick gripped the back of Maude’s neck and felt her loosen for a second before her fingers dug into his skin, almost pulling him down to her. Before his lips could touch Maude’s—before he could find out if they were as soft as he imagined them to be despite the harsh words that came out of them— the door to the bedroom opened, and Gunnar and Liv walked in. Alive and well. Herrick pulled back from Maude quickly, but she was faster, having spun out of his reach but lingered close enough that should he fall, she could help again.

When Herrick looked at his friends' faces, he saw that Liv had fury in her eyes, all focused on Maude. Before Herrick could open his mouth to settle the tension, Liv had lunged for Maude with her fighting daggers out.

Maude jumped back at the slash of Liv’s daggers, pushing Herrick out of the way. He fell onto the bed, Gunnar rushing to his side to help him while Maude faced Liv. She had a problem with Maude, but now it seemed they would finally come to blows. Having only her dagger strapped to her thigh, Maude unsheathed it and fended off two more slices from Liv. She refused to fight back because she felt it would only worsen whatever issue Liv had with her.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Maude shouted at Liv as they circled each other.

---