He wasn’t sure why the sight of the symbol had resonated with him, but he knew to trust the feeling that hadn’t escaped him since he’d read the note.
Be ready.
Herrick was ready, but for what, he didn’t know yet.
Listening for any changes in movement from outside his cell, Herrick quickly tried to remember the layout of the palace. He knew that they would be coming to retrieve him from the cells for the sacrifice soon, but he wasn’t entirely sure when. The execution would take place when the sun was at its highest peak; only the King of Flame would pick such an ostentatious time to present a “sacrifice.”
Slow, steady footsteps echoed down the long hall leading to his cell. Herrick braced himself for who he knew was about to show his face beyond the bars of his cage.If his brother was coming to free him, he was running out of time. The mental countdown until Herrick would be standing on a podium, strapped to a pyre, and overlooking the nobility of Logi continued to inch closer and closer to his death.
“You two, clear the halls leading to the front gates of the palace,” Baldr’s smooth voice breezed over to Herrick. “We don’t want any mistakes when we escort our valued guest to his honored fate.”
“Yes, sir,” the two guards said in unison before turning and heading back the way Baldr came as the High General appeared before his prisoner.
Alone, they glared at each other. Herrick felt his rage swell in him, the ice in hisgalderturning his blood frigid as he looked at his torturer for all these weeks. He winced as the iron around his throat sapped hisgalderthe moment it froze over. Baldr smirked at whatever he saw in Herrick’s face.
“I see you are still resisting your fate, Prince,” Baldr crooned. “Not one to give up the fight, are you?”
Herrick bared his teeth in a grin, the movement uncomfortable as it stretched the unused muscles in his face. “Come to this side of the bars and find out.”
Baldr chuckled. With a lazy wave of his hand, he unlocked the cell and moved to step forward.
Shouts echoed from down the hall where Baldr had come from, the high-pitched screech of metal on metal distracting Herrick for a moment.
Be ready. You’ll know when to use it.
The hidden blade tingled against Herrick's skin as the clashing metal got louder. Guards shouted for help, finally dragging Baldr’s attention away from Herrick long enough for him to pull the dagger into his palm.
The soft click of a lock opening sounded behind Herrick, and the chains holding him prisoner to the wall by the iron band on his throat fell slack. No longer tethered, Herrick stepped forward once. Twice. Nothing held him back now.
He tried to summon his water, but the band around his neck still suppressed hisgalder. That was fine; Herrick preferred to fight this fight with his bare hands anyway.
Baldr turned to face him, his hand landing on the pommel of his sword right as Herrick lunged forward. He lifted his arms to block Herrick’s attack, but was too late. The dagger sliced down Baldr’s forearms, the blade cutting through cloth and leather armor like it was air.
Grunting in pain, Baldr threw Herrick’s weight off him. His back slammed into the far wall of the corridor, stealing the breath from his lungs for a moment. Scrambling to his feet, Herrick put the dagger back in its makeshift sheath on his arm and attacked the General again, his fists flying in a rage he didn’t know he possessed. The two tumbled through the dirty hall, further into the dungeons and away from the clash of battle that had distracted Baldr long enough for Herrick to attack.
Worry surged through him as they fought; his strength was leaving him faster than he thought possible. The iron around his neck seemed to be sapping hisgalderfrom him as well as whatever physical strength remained after his imprisonment.
The shouts down the hall grew closer as Herrick managed to get on top of Baldr, his knees wrapped in a tight vice around the bastard's chest. It occurred to Herrick then that Baldr had not used hisgalderagainst him yet. The High General had chosen to fight back with fists rather than the fire that had burned through Herrick’s skin so many times that the scent of his scorching flesh would never leave him.
“You won’t get away,” Baldr wheezed, blood dripping from the nose Herrick had just shattered with his fist. The words sounded hollow, like he didn't really mean them. Another mind game.“The palace is too well guarded. Whoever has risked their necks for you won't make it out alive.”
Herrick felt that icy rage overwhelm him again. He knew who would risk coming after him, and he would not allow them to fall today just for his worthless life.
“You know me, General,” Herrick said as he reached for the dagger again. “I’m not one to give up a fight.”
Herrick brought the dagger down over Baldr, aiming for his chest. Whether the reaction was out of instinct or self-preservation, Baldr lifted a hand to block the knife. Herrick felt the blade pierce Baldr’s palm before slicing through the bones and ligaments. His blood splashed across his face, the heat a reminder of all the times this man had held his flame to Herrick’s chest in an attempt to break him.
Baldr roared as Herrick pulled the dagger out and moved to stab him again. Before he could, though, a voice shouted his name from down the hall. A voice he knew as well as his own.
“Herrick, we have to run!”
Familiar caramel hair, longer than it had been before, was tied back into a tight knot behind his neck, and deep blue eyes found his. Herrick almost sagged from the relief of seeing his brother fighting to get to him. He nearly forgot about the bastard he had pinned beneath him.
“Leave him; we have to gonow,” Hakon shouted again as he felled the last soldier in his way and sprinted toward him. “Our window is closing.”
Herrick looked down at Baldr. He was so close to getting his revenge, so close to evening out the score between them. But he couldn’t let Hakon get trapped in the palace with him. His brother reached them before Herrick could act on the anger that had been riding him for weeks, pulling him off the High General.
“Now,” Hakon said again as he slammed an axe into his hand.
