Page 28 of Kingdom of Embers and Ruin

The smoky atmosphere and noise from the patrons in the busy tavern worked well to drown out the wave of frustration building in Herrick’s head, but Maude’s words still echoed in his ears.

There's nothing here for us.

Why should he care that she continued to push him away? She was here because Herrick and his friends needed her help to retrieve the rumored weapon hidden in Ahland. Maude was right; they had a mutual goal, and that was all. It didn’t matter that she only thought of him as a means to an end. It didn’t matter that she infuriated the Hel out of him during most of the interactions. It didn’t matter that Herrick was about to act on this unexplainable pull she felt toward the insufferable woman seconds before Gunnar opened the door.

As if his thoughts summoned his friend, Herrick felt Gunnar sit down next to him. Instead of listening to whatever he was about to say, he downed the entire first tankard before setting it down and picking up the next one.

“Do I even want to know what happened?” Gunnar asked, sipping from his ale.

Herrick didn’t respond; he only stared into his ale as if the divine rune for patience would be floating amongst the froth. Having no such luck, Herrick opted to continue drinking instead. Liv was nowhere to be seen, and Maude had not followed him out of the room after her speech.

“I can sit here with you if you want to get completely pissed, but you have to at least listen to me,” Gunnar said, but Herrick still had no words for him.

Herrick put the tankard down and motioned for his oldest friend to say what he needed to.

Gunnar had been orphaned very young but had only come to live with Herrick’s family when he was fourteen. Herrick was eight years younger than Gunnar, but as they grew up learning their letters and swordplay together, they always felt as close as brothers. Now, he had a severe look in his light blue eyes that seldom made an appearance unless he felt he had something important to say.

“Yesterday, I told you that you wear your heart for everyone to see, and I meant what I said. I’ve known you for a long time, my friend. We grew up together, we trained together, and we’ve fought together. I have seen you go through some of the highest and lowest points in your life,” Gunnar said to him, his words ringing clear through Herrick’s haze.

“I’m sitting here now and telling you I was wrong to say that you needed to remember what we were working for. You are not one who loses focus on his goals, and I was wrong to insinuate that Maude would be the reason you got distracted.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I see a lot of you in that woman upstairs, but I also see what you would’ve become if you didn’t have the support of your friends and family.Maude can help us find thelaevateinand can help us get close enough to Helvig.”

Herrick didn’t reply. Maude had told him that she would help them as long as it helped her; this much was made clear to him tonight. Taking another long drink, Herrick listened as Gunnar continued, needing no encouragement.

“Once Hakon gets here, we need to tell her what we know so she won’t slip out in the middle of the night because the two of you can’t seem to find common ground on anything.”

“She’ll help us once she knows about the dagger, I'm sure of it. Once this is all over, she can go off on her own for all I care.”

Gunnar only eyed him for a second before he ordered two stews and some bread. The barmaid placed two steaming bowls of beef stew in front of them and half a loaf of sourdough in between them. Gunnar ripped into the bread, splitting it between them.

The only other sounds were from other tavern patrons and the trio of musicians in the corner playing fast-paced music that encouraged a few of the patrons to dance.

“I’ve seen the two of you when you don’t think anyone is looking, you know. I’ve seen how she looks at you, and I’ve seen you look at her the same way,” Gunnar said as he ate a large spoonful of stew. “Looks like the ones she was giving you upstairs aren't faked, but she has had a tough time in her life. She won’t open up easily. Maude doesn’t regulate her emotions very well; I think she was too young to be taught when she escaped what she’s running from.”

Gunnar paused to eat a few bites of his food, keeping Herrick in anticipation of his next words.

“She has built a fortress around her that is unyielding to everyone,” he continued. “Including you, which means she is an implosion waiting tohappen. This is not a woman who lets just anyone in, and you need to be ready to catch her in the aftermath because when she starts to rebuild her walls, you’ll want to be on the inside with her.”

“You still haven’t told me why you’re telling me this,” Herrick grumbled as he shoved the stew into his mouth. His blood loss must've still been affecting him because the ale was making him drunk much quicker than usual.

“When I had to stitch up her cut from Liv, I saw her fatemark. I know who she is,” Gunnar said quietly.

Herrick choked on his stew, and Gunnar had to thump on his back to help him cough up what he had inhaled in his surprise. Reeling from the words he just heard from his friend's mouth, Herrick could only stare at him.

“Who is she?” Herrick asked Gunnar, still stunned from the revelation.

“That is not for me to answer. She needs to be the one who tells you. Her story is her own, and I would not do it justice.”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” Herrick snapped but did not push Gunnar anymore because he knew he was right. His friend stood up and patted him on the shoulder.

“Be patient, my friend,” he said before he walked up the stairs to the room he shared with Liv.

Herrick mulled the words Gunnar had said to him in the crowded noise of the tavern he sat in for the next few hours, avoiding the bedroom upstairs with the woman who had so many secrets and held Herrick’s mind captivated no matter how hard he tried to shake himself loose. Herrick’s thoughts turned to his own fatemark, thevegvisir.

Among the Kingdom of Rivers nobility, it was a symbol of protection, a compass for those who needed help to find their way home, but he always thought of it as his moral compass and how to follow his fate.

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