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They'd worked out a plan as they'd headed here— Dahlia would monitor, Bryn would question, and Maude would control the water around him in order to… persuade him to answer. To put it delicately.

"This can all end soon," Bryn cooed as she crouched in front of him so they were at eye level. His face was damp with sweat, and his features twisted in pain as she traced his cheek with a lick of her fire. "All you have to do is tell us Helvig's plans for this invasion."

The sergeant only bared his teeth at them in response, so Maude flicked her fingers up, pulling a stream of water from the pool he stood in and directing it down his throat. The sword seemed to pulse at her hip as the sounds of the drowning man echoed on the camp walls of the grotto, happy to be swallowing his pain. Nausea rose in her throat, but Maude quickly swallowed the sensation before withdrawing hergalder.

Ever since Dahlia and Herrick had managed to coach Maude into reaching her watergalder, it had become easier and easier to do. She despised that her connection to the water had grown stronger the longer she used it to torture the Flame Sergeant. If anything, it was proof that nothing good ever came from hergalder.

"His body is reaching a breaking point," Dahlia murmured, her eyes still closed in concentration. "He needs a break."

"He can take it," Herrick said as he appeared in the dark tunnel.

The hard lines of his face were set in a blank mask that Maude had never seen before, and he'd changed his clothes since she'd seen him. She couldn't help but stare at the fearsome aura he was displaying.

Dressed in a deep navy uniform, Herrick was every bit the General of Rivers. Across his chest, overtop a navy tunic, lay a black leather vest that had scale-like plates similar to the tattoos on the skin beneath them. The insignia for his family runes were printed on the front with the blue and sage swirls that were present on every Rivers Soldier uniform. His sleeves hung down to his wrists where black leather gauntlets with silver scales over the top had been tied to protect his forearms. Slung across his left shoulder was a black fur-lined cloak that fastened on the right side of his chest, where Maude could see a two-handed battle axe peeking up from behind him.

This was who Herrick was at the very center of his being— a warrior, a fighter, a leader. And he washers.

"You're drooling," Bryn whispered in her ear, the laughter in her voice clear despite the weak words that skated across her skin. Her sister was drained, and it was starting to show.

Interrogations were rigorous work.

Maude cleared her throat before asking, "Did everything go well with your parents?"

He nodded roughly but did not answer further. He turned his attention to the sergeant in the water as he continued to vomit up the water she had just forced down his throat.

"Why don't you all take a break for the night," Herrick suggested, his golden eyes darkening to an almost amber color. "Your tents should be up and furnished by now if you'd prefer to stay away from the palace."

All three women hesitated at his words, clearly sensing that he was in a dark headspace. Maude glanced over her shoulder at Bryn and tilted her head toward the exit. Her sister nodded, the weary lines of her face growing tighter as she glanced at the General of Rivers before breaking for the tunnel with Dahlia in tow, leaving Maude and Herrick in the grotto alone with their prisoner.

For a moment, the tide rushing into the small cave was the only sound besides the captive's heavy breathing.

"Is everything okay?" she finally asked, her voice surprisingly soft.

Placing her hand on Herrick's shoulder, she gently turned him to face her. All she saw was a bitterness in his eyes that she had only ever felt herself before. The type of bitterness that stemmed from childhood frustration and neglect. Whatever had been said between him and his parents had clearly sparked this side of him that Maude had never seen before.

Except, she didn't fear the slow churning rage that stared back at her. If anything, she finally felt seen. Even Bryn had never fully understood her feelings about how they'd grown up.

Stifled. Forced to fit a mold not created for them.

"I'll be fine," Herrick finally responded, his gaze softening a bit as she watched him. "Go rest."

She only nodded before reaching toward him and placing her hand on his cheek, her thumb tracing the line of his sharp cheekbone until she felt him shiver. Before she could respond, Hakon entered the grotto with the same darkness in his eyes. It seemed the Kolbeck brothers were going to have some blood repaid to the Kingdom of Rivers tonight.

Turning to the tunnel, Maude entered the darkness again and left them to it.

After washing up in the tent that had been set aside for them, she sat down with the Elven to practice more healinggalderas Bryn snored from one of the cots.Though she was more successful this time around, knowing what to look for in her mind's eye, Maude still struggled with the finer points of what she could actually do.

Dahlia said that the healing ability manifests differently in everyone, but Maude had been unable to stumble on what hergaldercould do yet. The smaller types of healing were easier than she expected once she was able to tap into them— sealing an open wound, stopping a fountain of blood from pouring out of someone's veins. They kept their practice session private as no one knew her true heritage yet, and Maude didn't want a River Soldier to run to Alva with information in an attempt to gain good favor.

As if the thought had summoned the Queen of Rivers, a soldier announced her arrival at Maude's tent.

Quickly donning her glamour again, Dahlia stood and retreated to the back of the tent, where a privacy curtain had been hung as Alva entered the space. Still dressed in her fighting leathers with plates of black armor over her chest, arms, and thighs, the Queen looked as much a warrior as any other fighter would. Though her crown had been switched out for a diadem that was weaved into her braids, her golden eyes that she had passed on to Herrick glowed with that regal air that was unmistakable in nobility. An entitled look that spoke to years of never being turned away.

The modest tent they had been given to share was large enough to house three cots to sleep in, along with a metal fire pit in the center that had a low burning fire to ward off the chill of the night. Being so close to the ocean made the temperature drop just as suddenly as the desert did when the sun set, much to Maude's delight. With plush carpets beneath their feet and thick furs on their beds, the tent was as comfortable as their lodgings in Hilgafell.

Maude inclined her head with her fist over her heart before saying, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Your Majesty?"

The words left her mouth as sharply as the double-edged meaning. Alva gave her a tight smile.