“How am I Elven?” Liv asked, a smirk playing at the corner of her lips. “You’ve grown philosophical in your imprisonment.”
“Don’t fuck around, Liv. I'm tired,” Herrick said, exhaustion weighing on him as he took the chair she offered him, dragging it to Maude’s bedside. “Do they know?”
Herrick motioned to the two burnt-out Helvig women who had helped him escape his execution.
“Yes, Hakon knows too. Though he isn't handling it well,” Liv said roughly. “You’re doing much better than everyone else.”
Herrick chuckled, the sound more broken than he’d like. “The woman I love died in my arms and then came to free me from imprisonment. You being Elven is actually the most believable thing about today.”
He remembered how Maude had ripped open a new tear in the ground with hergalder. Not even he had ever managed to do that.
“Maude had earthgalder,” he said to Liv, though he knew she had seen it.
His friend hesitated for only a moment, but it was enough for Herrick to know this wasn’t news to Liv.
“She has to be the one to tell you,” Liv said apologetically. She eyed the iron around his neck. “In the meantime, we need to get that off of you.”
Herrick brought a hand to his throat to feel the iron that sapped away at hisgalder.
“It doesn't seem to have any key or lock on it, just solid metal,” Herrick said as he tried to grip the band but lost it when it flared with icy heat. “It also burns incessantly.”
Liv came over to him and inspected the metal methodically.
"What does it do?" she asked.
She tried to touch it a few times but snatched her hands back enough that Herrick knew it had burned her.
"I can't access mygalder; I think it's blocking me from reaching it. Almost like it's sucking the elements out of my body," Herrick explained quietly. Baldr never explained what it was the day he clamped it onto his neck; he only felt hisgalderslip away from him.
It was so unlike the spellbound iron that only nullified a person'sgalder— this iron band not only blocked his reach but seemed to be siphoning it elsewhere. He couldn't explain how he could tell the difference, only that it felt similar to when one enters a room and something feels off but they can't quite grasp what it is only for them to realize something is missing. Except, the feeling of something missing gets further and further away from him the longer he tries to hold on to it.
Liv twisted her fingers next, and a cool breeze that smelled of bright citrus swirled around him. She was quiet for a bit longer before she expelled a breath in frustration.
“I can feel thegalderthat’s keeping it locked in place, but I can’t get around it,” Liv sighed, her annoyance flaring in her face as she flicked her braids over her shoulder. “Whatever it is, it’s ancient. I can’t get through the enchantments, but I think Aeric might be able to.”
“Aeric?” Herrick asked.
Maude stirred again next to him but lapsed back into a deep sleep. Liv took a deep breath.
“He’s the King of Shadow and the last Elven King. This is his ship; he lent it to us so we could rescue you,” Liv explained."We're headed back to Nida now."
When Herrick didn’t even flinch at the confession, he knew he had met his limit on surprises for the day.
“I want to hear the whole story,” Herrick started but quickly waved off Liv when she opened her mouth to speak. “I want to hear it from all of you. In the meantime, I’m staying down here.”
“I’ll go get Hakon so you two can catch up,” Liv said as she nodded and stood to exit the room.
Before she could leave, Herrick snagged his friend's arm and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Thank you for coming after me even when I lied to you,” Herrick said quietly.
Liv pulled back and shoved his shoulder back. Her new strength had him staggering back half a step before he could catch himself. “You're an ass for that, by the way. But of course, I came after you. Who else is going to smooth everything out between your brother and me when he’s acting like a prick?"
They laughed together, a short and uncomfortable sound, but it signaled to Herrick that maybe things weren’t all that different after all. He found the courage to ask about the missing person from their usual group, afraid of what the answer might be.
“Gunnar?” he asked quietly.
Liv’s features tightened. “Alive, but being kept asleep by the Elven healers in Nida. They’re trying to repair the damage the poison caused, but it’s taking longer than usual.”
