Maude wasn’t sure which statement was better. If her father— if Helvig— believed that Herrick was important to her in any way, he would spare him to lure his Heir in, right? But did he know that she was even alive? She couldn't be sure.
Through the thick darkness, Maude could hear the melodic voice of the Shadow King arguing with her sister.
Half-sister.
No, her full sister. Bryn was her blood.
Gods, what was going on? She had died and happily fallen to the welcoming embrace of death, and now she had woken to a convoluted family tree she never asked for.
“She needs time to process this,” her sister argued. “She has known nothing but a hard life in the grips of Harald Helvig. Believe me, this is not going to be well received.”
A pause.
“I understand that this is a lot to process for you both; you shared a mother and spent your formative years together. That is not a bond that can be broken, nor is it one I am trying to break,” the voice of the Shadow King said. “But she needs to understand her heritage before she makes any decisions.”
“Your Majesty, my sister and I grew up with very different lives,” Bryn said, the bitterness in her voice reflecting Maude’s feelings. “I love her with every fiber of my being, but our formative years were spent apart.”
The Shadow King— Aeric, herbirth father— remained silent.
“The bond you are speaking of comes from blood but also from shared trauma,” Bryn continued, her voice becoming hollow in a way that Maude wanted to soothe away. “Until she can free the man she loves from Helvig's bonds, Maude will not be willing to hear a word you speak or even begin to accept the truth.”
Her sister's words held a ring of finality to them as she uttered them to the Elven King of Shadow. Refusing to deal with the blood connectionthe Shadow King proclaimed, Maude chose this moment to drop her hold on hergalder. Quickly, words ceased as she emerged from shadows she did not know she could control and looked up at Aeric.
“We go after Herrick before anything else,” Maude stated, her words leaving no room for argument even as they left her on a breath of air.
“Maude,” Bryn began, but she quickly silenced her.
“No,” she said with a ring of finality. “Herrick comes first. And you, Shadow King, are going to help us.”
When she looked back at her self-proclaimed father, she expected him to be angry at her demand. Instead, he looked amused. In the glint of his humored, silver eyes, Maude saw an expression so familiar she had to look away. She had given others that same look in her amusement, only recently discovering she could feel that way without the bitterness of disdain leaking into every action.
He really must be her kin.
“So like your mother,” the King said, that humor turning to sorrow in a flash.
“I don’t want to hear about my mother,” Maude whispered, her eyes closing as the memory of her death threatened to swallow her whole.
The king was silent for a beat.
“Of course, I’ll help you,” he finally said softly as he looked at her. “When you’ve regained your strength.”
He strode out before Maude could argue. Bryn shot her a look that saidYou Know He’s Right, So Shut Up About It.
As soon as the door closed, she said to Bryn, “I need to leave this room. I need to move. Can you show me around?”
“I haven't seen much of it myself; I’ve been in here every day,” Bryn replied, sheepishly avoiding her gaze.
Maude’s chest swelled at that, the feeling foreign but not unpleasant.
“Well, let’s go then,” Maude said as she tried to stand.
Her knees buckled beneath her weight again. Bryn caught her and all but shoved her to the bed again.
“Will you stop that? You haven't been moving for almost three weeks; give yourself some gods damned time to recover!”
She let out a frustrated growl before slumping in temporary defeat.
“This is so fucked,” Maude said, dropping her head into her hands.
