Hakon, curious about their change in topic, rose from his chair and walked to where they were seated. He traced the silver tattoo with his eyes, but no recognition appeared.
“It’s a blood oath,” Liv said as she looked at the sisters. “Did you swear something to each other?”
Bryn nodded as Maude spoke, “We swore revenge on our father and that we’d do it together.”
“What do you know about blood oaths?” Bryn asked Liv. She walked over to the table and sat across from her, the tight braids of her copper hair a deep, burnt color in the low lighting of the room.
“Not much,” Liv admitted as uneasiness slithered over the back of her neck, sending chills down her spine. “I know enough to recognize it, but Aeric might know more.”
Maude stiffened but quickly recovered and nodded, returning her attention to her food. Liv knew that Maude still hadn’t accepted that Aeric was her birth father, so she let the moment pass, unwilling to add more stress to her plate. The lighthearted air she had brought down the stairs with her had evaporated, the tension of their upcoming task looming over them with every second the dawn neared.
“Then we’ll have to ask him when we return to Nida,” Bryn said, ending the subject. She looked at her sister, and such tenderness flooded her eyes that Liv could only stare for a moment.
Bryn was gorgeous; the pale complexion of her skin complimented the bright copper tint of her hair, and the deep tan freckles splattered across her nose framed her hazel eyes. Though her face was the same heart shape that Maude had, her slender form made her chin more pointed than her sister's, and her neck was longer and more elegant. Though she resembled her father in many ways, the emotion that poured from Bryn’s eyes when she thought no one was looking set her apart from the cruel King of Flame.
Liv was gawking now. She caught herself before Bryn could notice, tearing her eyes away from the unrecognized Heir of Flames.
“We all need to get some rest before we set out,” Liv said quickly, pushing up from her chair and hastily gathering her weapons. “Sigurd is going to give the signal when the patrols have passed us, and then we need to be on our way.”
She vanished up the stairs before anyone could speak, but could feel heat trailing her on the back of her neck. She knew if she turned around, hazel eyes would be following her retreat.
Maude sat at the kitchen table for hours, watching as the moonlight trimmed the tall trees and bushes of the oasis behind Sigurd’s house. Everyone had trickled out of the shared space to get some rest after Liv had suggested it. Hakon had shot a quick look at her before heading up the stairs, the suspicion he had for her intentions still present, though it grew smaller each day that she didn’t bolt.
She wasn’t angry with him for it; she just hoped that it wouldn’t get in the way tomorrow. He played a big role in getting them out of Logi safely; he needed to be focused, and he needed to trust her with this mission. At least, above all else, he trusted her not to hesitate when it came to killing her way through the palace to get them to Herrick's side.
Though Maude had wanted to be the one to melt the bars that held him imprisoned, they had all agreed that Herrick might not trust that it was actually her and not some trick of the Flame King. She had died in his arms— Maude appearing healthy and healed with no explanation would be hard to explain while also coaxing him out of the cell. Arguing that he would react poorly no matter who freed him from the cell didn't sway any of her friends. Bryn had been the one to finally put her foot down and tell Maude to stop being stubborn about it.
Begrudgingly, she had relented and agreed that Hakon's presence would be more readily accepted. Herrick’s safety came first.
After Bryn had gone upstairs—withdrawn after Liv went to bed—Maude had rushed to the bookcase and searched through the pages of the untouched books, the thick layer of dust over the covers an indicator that their mother’s journals had been untouched. The books with the least dust caught Maude’s eye, and she quickly found the small, leather-bound black books.
They had been sitting in front of her for an hour now, the worn black leather covers taunting her with the secrets that were held beneath their flimsy barriers. Maude drummed her fingers on the wooden table as she eyed the journals, their restless cadence betraying her anxiety about the rift that was yawning open in front of her. Her mother had so many secrets, it seemed, and she had written them down in spellbound journals so they would be ready for her daughters when the time came.
She expelled a breath and reached for the journal on top of the pile. Before Maude could open it, however, Sigurd came in through the back door as quiet as a passing shadow.
His boots were almost silent on the worn floors. The cloak he wore flickering around his legs gave his movements away in the dark house. Maude snapped her fingers, and the lone candle in front of her burst to life, the flame flickering tall in the shadows of the living space.
“Shit!” Sigurd exclaimed, his hand going to his axe briefly before he recognized who sat in front of him.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Maude said quietly, her feet still propped up on the chair next to her. “Is it time?”
Sigurd shook his head before he removed his cloak. “Not for another few hours. I’m heading down to the fighting pits to recruit somevitkifor the morning.”
Maude nodded absently as her eyes rested back on the journals.
“Has Liv told you her plan for the morning?” Sigurd asked as he poured out some ale into two horns for them.
Maude nodded again. Liv had explained the loose plan she and Sigurd had thrown together right before she went upstairs to find Bryn on the roof. It had shamed Maude at first that she had not thought of it sooner. Selfishly, she had only focused only on freeing Herrick. She needed him to be free before she could do anything else, Maude knew how wrong that was. Herrick would have thought of the othervitkitrapped in the dungeons; he would have found a way to free them first.
But she was not going to put Herrick second.
“It’s a good idea,” Maude said when Sigurd placed the horn in front of her. “Nida will be able to offer them sanctuary until we can end this war that’s brewing.”
“This war has been coming for some time now,” Sigurd sighed before he took a long drink.
Maude also took a long pull, the bitterness of the ale hitting the back of her tongue as she swallowed. Unbidden memories from the tavern in Veter rushed back to Maude. The sweet bread calledbullethat Liv had brought her and Eydis, the ale that had been so refreshing since the hops had been grown by earthvitki, the long hours of the night filled with laughter and jesting.
Despair overwhelmed her at the thought of how simple that moment had been, how her self-fortified walls had begun to wither away.More than anything, she missed Eydis. Early in their adventure, she had been a bright spot in Maude’s gloom even when she hadn't been able to recognize it yet. The woman had been sheltered most of her life, hiding a secret from the soldiers who claimed to protect her, and when the time came to fight, she didn’t hesitate. Eydis was a singular force that could not be replicated and her loss would continue to impact their world every day. Her optimism in the face of danger was already missed.
