Liv’s entire life had been about survival: hiding her identity, spying for the Elven in a world that believed them extinct, following the fate the gods had laid out for her, and protecting the Kingdom of Rivers because it was the first place outside of Nida that had given her any hope for their continent.
But Hakon had been raised in a society that only prepared him for one secluded area of their world. He had been cloistered in the comfort of that bubble for far too long, hidden away to learn how to rule by the Queen of Rivers, who had not stepped outside of her kingdom in decades.
Liv’s features softened. Hakon was strong— a warrior like the rest of them— and he didn’t need someone to hold his hand through these struggles, but perhaps a swift kick in the ass would be enough to shake him from his internal spiral.
Liv extended her arm to Hakon, who grasped it briefly after hesitating. His fingers were like ice when they gripped Liv’s warm skin.
“You can count on me,” Hakon said roughly. “Not just in this, but from now on until we fix this.”
Liv nodded once before she squeezed Hakon’s forearm and released it. Hakon let out a shaky breath.
“You know, I still haven’t been able to reconcile the Liv that I know with the Elven I met in Nida,” he said, deflating some more beforeslumping into a comfy chair next to the bookcase. “It feels like everyone has been lying. I can't take another betrayal.”
“I’m still me,” Liv said, leaning against the long table where their weapons were laid out. “I’m the same person who can dance circles around you in the training yard. I just have pointier ears now.”
She grinned as the insult landed, forcing a quick bark of laughter out of Hakon. The sound was uncomfortable, as if he had never done such a thing before.
“I suppose you’re right,” Hakon laughed, a dim sparkle returning to his eyes. He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the thick locks. “I’ve been a real ass, haven’t I?”
Now Liv laughed, but the sound quickly died as she thought of Eydis. “You’ve had every right to be out of sorts after everything with Eydis in the Knotted Caverns. No one is asking you to stop grieving, Hakon. We just need you to be the strong and reliable friend that you are until we fix this.”
The smile disappeared from Hakon’s face and Liv regretted bringing Eydis up again, but it needed to be. They all grieved her, Hakon more than the rest of them, but Ahland had to come first.
“She haunts me, Liv,” he said, his eyes closing. “Every time I close my eyes, I see her. I still feel her with me, like she hasn’t left this world entirely.”
The wind picked up through the open window, and the dry breeze was gentle and comforting as it wrapped around Liv and Hakon. He opened his eyes, and the vacancy there brought chills to her skin.
“But you’re right, and so is Maude. Eydis would be furious with me for acting as I have,” he continued. “You’re both just looking out for me.”
Liv let out a chuckle. “Don’t let Maude hear you say that.”
“Too late!” Maude called from the top of the stairs, where she and Bryn started making their way down to them, a smirk on the former’s mouth.
Liv’s eyes lingered on Bryn, the red-rimmed eyes that she was clearly trying to hide. In the few weeks that Liv had known the younger Helvig, she had never seen such a direct show of emotion on her face before. Even when she sat at Maude’s side, her face had been stoic.
Now, however, the warrior looked vulnerable.
Liv wanted to find out what weighed on her so heavily that her sister was making a spectacle to draw attention. Still, she hesitated, uncertainty flooding her as Bryn brought those unreadable, bright hazel stare to Liv.
In two hundred years, Liv had never been struck silent by just someone’s eyes. Before she could pull herself together, Bryn had moved on toward the kitchen.Maude had just stopped in front of Hakon, the Heir of Rivers looking exasperated already. Liv chuckled.
“I knew some tough love would snap you right out of your gloom,” Maude said as she patted her hand on Hakon’s cheek a few times.
Hakon swatted her hand away. “I already regret speaking.”
Maude smirked, the twist of her lips feline as she turned to join Bryn in the kitchen, reaching around her to snag the bowl of cooled stew out of her hands and claiming it for herself. Bryn sighed and went to work pouring out another serving, her hands wreathed in flames to warm the bowl.
Liv knew Maude well enough to know she was deflecting her rising tension and anxieties about freeing Herrick through irritating everyone else, but she couldn’t find it in herself to stop her friend. They all needed the distraction, especially Maude and Hakon. Just when Liv had settled to finish sharpening her sword and dagger, she noticed the silver ink on Maude and Bryn’s arms.
And froze.
“What did you do?” Liv asked, her voice grave as she pointed to Maude’s arm.
“We were hoping you could tell us,” she responded, her eyes on the silver ink. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“That’s because it is very oldgalder,” Liv said as she reached out, her fingers itching to trace the swirling patterns.
“What is it?” Bryn asked from where she leaned against the counter. It was as if she was trying to keep herself separate from the rest of them, much like Maude had done when she first joined them.
