Page 67 of Kingdom of Embers and Ruin

“Liv!” A voice called out from behind her.

Hakon. Maude’s eyes shot toward Eydis, whose already flushing face seemed to darken further under the low lighting. Liv turned to the sound of her name, and surprise colored her features. Maude kept facing the bar, drinking from her horn once more.

“Eydis, I’m so glad you’re here,” Hakon said as he arrived at their spot at the bar, his dark azure eyes only on the fair young woman.

Hakon lifted Eydis from around her waist and pulled her up into his arms, spinning them both. Eydis’s wind-chime laugh sang in Maude’s ear. He put her back on the ground, and she turned in his embrace, smiling brightly at him. Liv cleared her throat, and they separated from each other, realizing that they were in public.

“Maude, it’s nice to see you looking more like yourself again,” Hakon joked, referring to their last run-in.

Maude finally turned and gave him a half smile.

“Yes, I never really was one to wear a gown and not end up ruining it somehow. Leggings and tunics suit me much better,” she replied.

“Ah, well, that’s not to say you weren’t lovely last night. It’s just that you seem much more comfortable now,” Hakon said as he motioned for the barmaid. "A round of mead!"

“What are you doing here? I thought you’d be busy at the palace today,” Liv asked, scanning the room forhim.

“We decided to skip the party planning, seeing as we’re not interested,” Hakon said quickly, avoiding Eydis’s eye.

“There’s going to be a party?” Eydis asked.

“Yes, a ball in three nights,” Hakon said before he quickly changed the subject. “Where is Gunnar?”

“He’s running interference so we could get away,” Maude said, placing her third empty tankard down and grabbing the mead that had been placed in front of her.

Her body felt light and bubbly when Maude realized she had only eaten thebulleat the market today.

This cannot possibly end well for me if Herrick is here, she thought.

Her tongue loosened remarkably with alcohol, and with Herrick asking questions the way he did, she knew she would tell him anything if he asked her. Already, she was bargaining with herself that she could let down her guard with him. Her rational self was already muddled into silence.

As if her thoughts had summoned him, Herrick appeared beside his brother. Memories of how she had pleasured herself to thoughts of his touch flooded her mind when she saw him. She was able to hide her flush quickly as she turned to order some bread. When she turned back, they made eye contact, but he quickly looked away. Disappointment flared in Maude, much to her surprise.

“We have a table in the back. Would you ladies like to join us?” Hakon said to them all.

Liv and Maude both snorted at the reference.

“We are not gentleladies,” Liv said with a snort. “We are warriors.”

“You boys would do well to remember that,” Maude laughed with her, tapping her horn against Liv's.

"How could we ever forget?" Hakon jested, wrapping an arm around Eydis's waist. "Try the mead, it's much sweeter."

Eydis joyfully chuckled as they all made their way to the table the brothers had been occupying. Maude and Herrick had been left in the back of the small group, awkwardly avoiding each other's glances. As Herrick stepped back to allow Maude to walk through the crowd first, her hand brushed his hand slightly.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or perhaps it was the stress of the day, but his touch shot arrows of ice up her arms that felt divine in her inflamed state. She shivered a bit before she kept walking, feeling his presence behind her.

Maude sat next to Liv at the round table, Hakon and Eydis next to each other, and Herrick opposite Maude. After some time passed and the conversation ebbed and flowed at the table, Maude noticed that Herrick had not spoken directly to her once. She must have finally pushed him away after her actions last night.

Good, she thought, but as soon as she thought the words, misery settled in her instead.

Sometime later, unable to sit still in her buzzed state much longer, Maude stood and asked if anyone else needed anything from the bar. Hakon volunteered to go with her. They made their way through the growing crowd, dodging drunk men and women unwinding for the night. A comfortable silence stretched between Maude and Hakon as they waited to be served. Maude could feel Herrick’s eyes on her, but she willed herself to keep her back to him.

“I brought Herrick here to get his mind off some news he received today, you know,” Hakon said, breaking their silence.

“I figured you would be the one who needed to get away for a while,” Maude said to him carefully.

“I’ll admit that my reasons for bringing him here weren’t entirely selfless. I’m sure you remember what it was like, the responsibility,” he said quietly, scratching at a mark on the bar counter.

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