Page 88 of Kingdom of Embers and Ruin

He withdrew his hand as he stood them both up again and rejoined the dancers. Her heart was beating in time to the chaotic music, and Maude was unable to tell if they were moving with the dancers or with her rapid pulse.

“I know you are enjoying this dance,” Herrick said with a smirk.

He supported Maude as she executed a series of spins that ended abruptly as Herrick caught her by the waist, her arms still raised above her head.Herrick pulled her closer to him as he lifted her into the air and spun them with the dancers. Maude's hands landed on his shoulders before she slid down Herrick’s front, feeling every hard plane of his muscular body. They stared at each other for a half moment before they launched into the complicated next steps.

The speed of the music increased, filling Maude with such intense emotion as she continued moving with Herrick, the only person who seemed to see through her bullshit. When she finally looked into his golden brown eyes, she saw the same intense emotion reflecting back at her, causing her breath to catch in her throat as it swelled.

“I know you push everyone away when you think they get too close. I know you are lonely, but you are terrified of letting someone else in.”

He spun her again.

“I know that you keep six feet of space between you and anyone who dares come close enough because you think you are dangerous. I know that you think the Kingdom of Flame is better off without you. I know that you are trying to outrun your fate,” Herrick said, voice thick with that emotion she had been feeling, too. “Because you feel like you’ve never had a choice.”

Maude stopped their spin abruptly and dropped into a crouch, her leg shooting out to the side in a half crouch as the other partners did. Herrick pulled Maude up by her wrists before launching them into the final steps of the dance, their faces brushing close enough to feel his breath on her face.

“But you have a choice with me, Maude. You can choose to let me in. You can choose us,” he said as the music built up into a crescendo, her emotions building with it.

“Please stop,” Maude whispered.

They continued to dance, finally entering the gardens that had darkened in the late hour. Lanterns hung around the perimeter of the dancers,casting dying light onto the last of the guests watching the final movements of the electric composition closing the night, the scent of hyacinth and lavender heavy in the air.

“I know that no matter what I do, I cannot stay away from you,minn eldr,” Herrick finished. “And I’m tired of pretending like I can.”

Maude took a moment to understand what he was saying. The music was building, the dancers continuing to move to the sensual and chaotic beat, but Maude felt like the world was moving in slow motion as the number finally came to a crashing finish.

She could only look at Herrick’s face, his kind eyes and strong jaw, the dark chestnut curls that she had been dying to run her fingers through. Maude knew then that she had gotten too close, had gotten too involved.

The dancers and remaining guests applauded the musicians who had stood, but Maude and Herrick only stared at each other, their breathing hard.

“This was a mistake,” Maude said, pulling away from him.

“Maude,” Herrick started, but she cut him off.

“You’re wrong about me.”

Maude slipped from Herrick’s grasp. She saw the emotion in his eyes during their dance, and she couldn’t handle it. So, she turned away from him and bolted into the tall hedges of the garden that had closed in the guests, away from all the feelings Herrick forced to rush to the surface.

Darkness enveloped her as she blindly escaped from what had been building between her and Herrick. Her ridiculous gown was trailing behind her as she pushed the air around her to increase her speed, not caring where she would end up.

Maude had spent years fighting in the pits of Logi, unafraid of what she might face. She had been raised to be strong, never run from a battle,slice first and ask questions later. She was a coward for running from Herrick. Every word he had spoken about her was true, but he had left out the horrid parts he couldn’t see. Her selfishness and temper, how she cut people off when they spoke, her impatience, her unending rage that threatened to consume her every single day. The things Maude had done would show Herrick precisely who she was. He would never look at her the same way again.

Slowing her pace, Maude looked around and found herself in a small circular pocket of the palace’s gardens where a tall ash tree was growing. A few benches were around the tree, but the heavy shadows under its leaves invited Maude in. The fatemark on her chest burned at the sight of the tree, how it was so likeYggdrasil.Unsure if there was a temple nearby since they were always built near the now scarce ash trees, Maude quickly scanned the area before making her way toward the center.

The wind picked up at her uplifted fingers as she waved them in a small circle, causing the fallen branches in the clearing to swirl in time with her hand until they landed in a small, neat pile in front of her. Maude gave herself a small smile before she crouched and blew onto the small pile, the golden embers of her fire catching on the dry wood quickly. With only herself for company the last two days, she had been focusing on controlling hergalder. Of course, she only lost control when her emotions were heightened, or she tried to smother them, but she still felt she was making better progress.

After a few moments of listening to the crackling fire, Maude heard swift footsteps echoing through the silent hedges. She closed her eyes, keeping her back to where she knew Herrick would appear.

Maude spoke before he could, annoyance dripping into her words, “You know, when someone runs away from you, you’re not supposed to follow them.”

“Oh, he’s still trying to follow,” an unfamiliar voice said. “But not for much longer.”

Maude remained still. Instinct had her using the wind around her to sense the stranger’s movements, his scent. The man continued speaking, “I’m glad you finally lost him; it’ll make this much easier.”

The air shifted around her as the man lunged for her, but Maude was ready for him. She opened her eyes and ducked as the stranger swung a hunting knife at her. As she pivoted under the swing of the blade, she unsheathed her dagger on her thigh and brought it up in a defensive hold in front of her face. Gripping the dagger in her fist so her thumb was closest to the blunt edge of the hilt, Maude spun to face her attacker.

The man was about as tall as she was and was clothed in the all-black uniform belonging to the Kingdom of Flame’s General’s assassins. The black hood around his head would only reveal the man’s head wrapped in black cloth to protect his identity. Recognition flared in Maude at the uniform belonging to her uncle’s best soldiers, the most brutal and hateful fighters in Logi.

“How did you find me?” Maude bit out the question.

---