"But she didn't have the same mark on her, I would have remembered," Maude mumbled as her confusion flared.
"I glamoured it before she returned to Hallifell. Any time she stepped foot in Nida, the glamour would fall and reveal the identical mark on her left arm," he explained as he pulled his hand back and started to button his tunic again. "It tore me apart, but it was necessary."
Maude snorted as how he growled the word "necessary."
"I am an imperfect male," her father chuckled in response. "But I respected Sylvi's choice to complete her mission. There was more at stake than just our bond."
Silence lapsed as Maude tried to phrase her question without insulting him.
"How did you know that what you felt for each other was real and not just because your fates made it to be that you were a perfect match?" she asked quietly, the vulnerability in her voice betraying what she was really concerned about.
As soon ashjartparanhad been confirmed as real, Maude had suspected it. The very concept threw everything that had happened into doubt.
Aeric, seeing all of her fears play out on her face, answered kindly, "It was real because we chose it to be real."
She nodded, not entirely satisfied with his answer but choosing to let it go for the time being. They had bigger worries at the moment; her internal struggle against her fate and everything it chose for her needed to wait.
"When it is time for you to face that journey, you'll know what you choose."
With one hand, her father brushed her hair away from her face before leaning in to place a soft kiss on her temple as he held her tightly for a moment before releasing her. Unable to stop herself, Maude's eyes blurred even as her chest swelled at the parental affection.
Lighter than before, Maude gave her father a small smile that he returned before they each continued eating, their silence a comfortable one. Spine a little straighter and her heart lighter than she thought possible, Maude felt an ease that she had never felt before. Contentment spread through her like a wildfire on the bank of a deep-running river, like the wind that blew between the trees that bubbled with life, like the light that bursts through the shadows of doubt andgrief.
She couldn't name the feeling, but Maude thought it might be a little bit like happiness.
33
After her shared meal with her father, Aeric had mentioned that he needed to check in with the Elven soldiers he had left outside the gates to Hilgafell to make sure they were well and offer them the respite of the gods' temples if they would like it. Before he left, he placed a gentle hand on Maude's cheek that she might have leaned into slightly the way she had when her mother had done the same in her childhood.
She was alone for only a handful of moments before Gunnar entered the cabin, sweating with his face flushed from exertion. Maude raised an eyebrow at him before giving them a sly smile.
"What were you up to so early this morning?" Her tone was teasing, but the question was real enough.
Gunnar stuck one middle finger up at her before responding, "I've been sparring with Herrick, hand-to-hand, so that I can build my strength up again. I need to be ready."
Maude could not fault him for that; the similarities in his words to her father's words this morning about training were not lost on her.
"If you feel like having another sparring partner, I'm happy to teach you a few things," Maude said to Gunnar. "But only if you feel like helping me with my earthgalder."
Gunnar's eyes widened slightly before he snorted. "I guess I should have known you'd have control over all the elements now that your true parentage is out."
Maude winced. "Control is a strong word for it, but yes, I can access all the elements. My earthgalderis shaky at best."
"I would be happy to help," Gunnar finally said, causing Maude's shoulders to relax slightly.
They were quiet while her friend finished washing up and headed toward the rest of the porridge that sat over a low burning flame that never seemed to die out. When he held out a bowl for her, she declined it.
"I've already eaten," she replied, even as her thoughts swirled around the man still missing from this breakfast. Unable to hold out any longer, she asked, "Where is Herrick now?"
Gunnar had already started shoveling food into his mouth, but between bites, he managed to say, "I think he said he was going to wash up in the baths the Soothsayer had mentioned, the hot springs in the caves behind the temple."
Maude made a noncommittal sound of interest before standing and heading for the door.
Before she could leave entirely, she said over her shoulder, "You'd better wake Liv, Bryn, and Dahlia before all the food is gone. I wouldn't want to stand between those women and breakfast."
She walked out into the bright day, ignoring the unease about Herrick's avoidance. As soon as the blinding light skimmed over her skin, her blood lit up with the same sparks she had grown accustomed to over her life. All around her, the small camps that had been densely packed together throughout the forest of Hilgafell were stirring to life. Flames sparked in the smoking piles of their previous piles as Maude passed them.
While she slowly made her way up the path to Odin's temple, Maude tried to focus on reaching for hergalder.
