Page 6 of Kingdom of Embers and Ruin

Throwing her weight behind her block, she threw off the soldier's attack and slashed. Her sword slicedthroughhis belly easily, his insides turning out. Blood sprayed out and arced across her face, painting it red. Her face stung, but she couldn’t think about her pain right now. She couldn’t think about the emotion bubbling up inside her. She refused to give it a name. Sheathing her sword and placing her axe back at her side, she ran and jumped up to grasp the first vine sticking out.

Her frustration and anger had boiled over, and the tears she had been trying to hide fell freely, stinging the open wounds and causing the drying blood to run down her face again. Everything hurt. Her arms, her ribs where an open wound wasfreely bleeding, her ankle that had twisted in the fight. Her heart. Her soul.

Gaining a foothold, she started to climb, fingers jamming between the bricks and lifting her to freedom. It wasn’t until Maude reached the top of the wall that she heard her scream Maude’s name. Grabbing the bow she had hastily hung over her shoulder, Maude drew an arrow from her quiver in one fluid motion and turned towards that lovely voice. But what she didn’t know was that it was already too late.

If Herrick hadn't already been watching Maude intently for a few days now, he might’ve missed it. Maude carried herself in a way that was confident and easy on the outside. Unruffled and calm. If one paid close enough attention, however, they would see that she moved very carefully through the world and was loath to disrupt her illusion. To see her grow this preternaturally still was impressive, Herrick thought. He wasn’t sure if she was even breathing, but Maude was no longer present; that much was obvious. Herrick had triggered her so violently that she was now reliving some horrific part of her past if her scar was any indication, but he needed to find a way to get her to agree to work with him before their window was closed.

She saw her hands begin to dance with flames again and knew he was running out of time before she lost her shred of control and his plan collapsed. It seemed that this woman did not have any power over her emotions.

“Maude, are you with me?”

She looked up at the sound of his voice. It took all of Herrick’s training not to fall backward at what he saw in her eyes. Flames burned behindher black eyes so hot they almost glowed. Rage and retribution flickered in those flames; she was lost in her trauma, and they were all running out of time. And while Herrick knew that what he should be focusing on was the plan he and his friends had discussed, all he could do was get sucked into her wrath.

Pulling him from the brief trance, he heard the signal: a whistle that was so out of tune it could only be Liv’s, announcing the shift change of the guards.

“Maude, I need you to be here. I need you to agree,” he practically pleaded with her.

She stirred at whatever she heard in his voice, her eyes clearing a bit.

“Swear it,” Maude said, voice cracking.

“What?”

“Swear it. Swear that you know of something that will remove him from this place permanently. That he will suffer in Hel for all he’s done.”

Herrick considered her quickly; her anger and hatred seemed to fuel this ever-growing fire in her.

“I can only swear to tell you what I know. The rest we can figure out together,” Herrick promised.

She eyed him before answering, “It’s not enough.”

“It will have to be. Put your pride aside and trust someone!” Herrick snapped, his never-ending patience at last broken.

“Trust gets you killed.”

“For the love of the gods, just trustmethen.”

Maude studied his face. For a long beat of silence, it was only the two of them.

“Fine,” Maude said between clenched teeth, finally conceding to whatever she saw in him. The look in her eyes told Herrick, however, that this would not be the last of this conversation. “Now get me out of here.”

“With pleasure, shieldmaiden,” Herrick smirked. Maude rolled her eyes.

Sounds of a struggle echoed down the hall outside her cell before the deafening crash of the cell door exploding off its hinges cut off any words that might have been said. Through the hole that had been blasted to Maude’s right, Liv and Gunnar appeared, bloodied and bruised but whole.

“I hope she agreed to help us because there is no going back now,” Liv grumbled, loud enough for Herrick to hear.

“I am right here; I can hear you,” Maude growled.

“I know,” Liv said flippantly.

“Regardless, we might as well finish what we started. Even if she doesn’t help us, it’s been fun getting to fuck with Helvig’s soldiers,” Gunnar said with a grin.

Even Maude’s lips lifted in the corners at his friend's comment but quickly disappeared. At his nod, Liv and Gunnar undid the chains binding Maude to the wall of the cell. She stood quickly but swayed as her eyes began to roll backward. Gunnar caught her before she hit the ground and swore.

“She’s not in any condition to be running through the streets of Logi.”

“Fuck you,” Maude slurred before she passed out.

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