Contender, page 16
“Are you seeing this, too?” I whispered, edging instinctively away.
Erik stopped beside me, nodding his head. “That’s convenient. It’s nearly nightfall.”
I snorted under my breath, thinking he must be joking. But at no point, did I raise my voice to anything above a whisper. He must have been crazy to say it so loud.
“Hang on, I know this story,” I muttered, backing further away and reaching blindly for his wrist. “There’s a witch inside, not fond of children. Let’s take the long way around.”
“It looks empty,” he said loudly, avoiding my grasp. A second later, he was pacing towards it, pulling a knife from its sheath as he jogged up the front steps of the porch.
I rooted behind him, waving frantically for him to come back. “Erik, seriously...that’s precisely what they did in the story.”
“It’s empty,” he declared, like I hadn’t spoken. “There’s a layer of dust on everything, no one has been anywhere near this place.” He peeked tentatively inside the nearest window, before sliding his knife back into its sheath. “Come on, this is as good a spot to sleep as any.”
My jaw fell open, he must be mad. “I let you pick the village,” I finally answered, “even though the bird and I thought it was a bad idea. Under no possible circumstance am I setting foot in that house.”
He trotted down the steps again, flushed and grinning. “Why not? I was starting to think you were quite brave.”
“Brave,” I answered, “not suicidal. Seriously, Erik—get away from there. We have no idea who owns this place, or what weapons they might be carrying. We need to leave at once!”
“There’s no one inside,” he repeated slowly, emphasizing every word. “There’s been no one here for weeks—look around, do you see any tracks?”
I wouldn’t have seen them anyway. I glared at him instead. “I want to leave.”
“And I want to sleep indoors,” he countered, reaching tentatively for my hand. I yanked it back like he was a snake. “So do you, Liv. And why not? This is likely an abandoned hunting lodge,” he continued, glancing around the sides. “Those aren’t so uncommon. It will be busy in the spring, but it’s long empty by now. Why shouldn’t we stay the night? At least the night.”
Why shouldn’t we?
My eyes narrowed, as a thousand scathing responses rose to my lips. Most of them included words I’d learned at the docks from the sailors. Some of them included snakes.
Before I could say any of them, he raised a finger and pressed it to my lips.
“You are right to be cautious,” he said softly, “I don’t deny it. And gods know, we have good reason to be looking over our backs. But this place is empty, and has been for some time. It isn’t plotted on any map, we have stumbled upon it by accident.” He drew in a breath, looking down into my eyes. “Liv, I promise you...this will be all right.” He paused a moment. “Do you trust me?”
I froze beneath his gaze, as my heart went suddenly still.
Do I trust him?
A great lord from the northern kingdom, a champion turned exile, the boy chosen to be king. The son of a great bannerman, the man who’d loved my mother, and sentenced her to death.
Do I trust him?
“Yes, I do.”
We went into the cabin.
* * *
It was nicer than it looked from the outside, more spacious as well. There were several rooms, including a wide hearth set before a large table—one that was assumedly used for cleaning game. Several chairs had been shoved into a corner; the grooves made by their legs had been long coated in dust. Erik was right, this place hadn’t seen people in a long time. We set our packs slowly by the fireplace, staring in silence, like we’d been placed under some kind of spell.
“It’s cozy,” he said after a moment.
I flashed him a look, finding humor for the first time. No spooks or goblins had leapt out to grab us. The air smelled of stale smoke and dust.
“Cozy,” I repeated with amusement. “This is bigger than my entire house.”
He shrugged and turned away, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like peasant under his breath. Before I had time to challenge it, he turned with a broad smile—feeling the creak of floorboards under his feet, instead of pine needles. There was a room down the hall, with a bed.
“We made it,” he breathed, happier than I’d ever seen.
My eyebrows lifted slightly, confused by his choice of words. Did he think our troubles were finished? That our journey had come to an end? He’d literally just picked the furthest possible point on the map. It reminded me of that moment outside the village, when I was mending his clothes.
We will need to come back, he’d started to say.
I opened my mouth, but before I could ask, he swept forward and scooped me right off the floor. My breath caught in surprise, as I grabbed his shoulders for balance. Round and round he spun me, almost laughing at the sight of it, practically giddy with relief.
“What would you like for dinner?” he asked, dropping me nearly as fast. I landed with a plop in front of him, staring in open astonishment. “Whatever you like—I will find it for you.”
What in Valhalla is going on?
“Are you...?” I took a step back, wondering how to phrase it. Had the fever returned, or was he really this happy to be sleeping indoors. “Are you not worried—”
“I am not worried,” he interjected, still grinning, “I am hungry. And I wish to prepare a feast for you. You deserve it,” he added, throwing open his arm and gesturing out the window to the wide swath of forest we’d just climbed. “Look at how far you’ve come, and with no one the wiser. Now for the first night in ages, we have a roof over our heads, and a door—to keep out whatever foul beasts may be prowling in the night.” He lowered his voice theatrically, before bursting into a smile once again. “Come—tell me. I wish to feed you. You are gorgeous, but painfully thin.”
I blinked in amazement, temporarily mute.
If I’d been surprise by him twirling me around, I had no idea what to make of this new side of him. The kind that called me beautiful, and professed a sudden need to cook. There was a part of me that couldn’t stop bristling, no matter how brightly his eyes were twinkling. Another part felt like it was waking up, but slowly. He was right, the cheerful lunatic. For days we’d been trekking through the woods, growing frightened and cold every time the sun fell. Only now, there was a roof between us and the drenching mists that rolled down from the heavens. Let the wolves come, we had a door.
A smile crept slowly up the side of my face.
“I like fish,” I said tentatively.
He beamed in reply. “I shall get you a fish.”
He was gone before I could say another word, grabbing the sword from his belt and striding onto the porch. His boots stomped loudly down the steps, as he strode into the forest, picking a direction at random and swearing not to return until he’d caught a hundred. I swear, the man was whistling under his breath. I walked out behind him, spinning and amused. My eyes followed until they could see him no longer, lingering on the bright flash of his sword as he paced into the wood
How will you catch a fish with that?
* * *
Badly, that’s how.
Erik came back at sundown, not with a string, but a bag. The sword had been cumbersome, yet disturbingly effective. The fish had been hacked into little pieces.
We took a single look at them, and decided to make a stew. It bubbled and popped over a slow-burning fire, stirred in a caldron we found in one of the cupboards. We filled our bellies, as the moon rose high above us. The flames warmed the little room, casting everything in a golden glow.
“We should get some sleep,” he finally murmured, leaning back in a chair with a contented smile. He’d waited until the fourth time I yawned to suggest it, locking the troubles that hunted us firmly on the other side of the door. “The day has been long.”
I nodded drowsily, unable to remember when it had started.
It started several days ago.
We pushed to our feet, moving at the same time towards the large room at the end of the hallway, only to come to a simultaneous stop at the sight of a large and inviting bed.
A single bed.
“It’s yours,” he said quickly, pulling one of the blankets from his pack. Already, he was spreading it over the floorboards. “I’ll be out here—”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I interrupted without thinking, reaching out to catch his arm. “We’ve slept beside each other every other night. Now that we finally have a mattress, you wish to sleep on the ground?” A look passed between us, and my cheek flamed with a blush. “It will be fine, Erik. It’s a huge bed. There is room enough for both of us.” I paused. “Or I could sleep on the ground.”
He chuckled at this, rising to his feet. “You would rise in vengeance halfway through the night. Impale me with a spoon.”
I nodded in playful agreement. “It would take ages with a spoon. I’d relish every moment.”
Together, the two of us headed down the hallway, flashing a quick look at the other, before pacing to different corners of the room and preparing for bed. For the first time since I’d met him, he unwound the long braids that had been strung through his hair, letting it fall in loose waves to his shoulders. I took off my cloak and we both kicked our shoes into the corner, exchanging another silent look, before we climbed into opposite sides of the bed.
There were sheets upon the mattress. I had never seen this. Two pillows lay at the head, and there were at least three different blankets piled on top. He’d drawn the curtains over the window, but a thick taper was burning by the door. I hadn’t noticed him light it, but was grateful for it now.
This is heaven, I thought in spite of myself, stretching out my legs and drawing the blankets to my chin with a hidden smile. I flashed a look to the side, catching his eyes in the flickering dark.
“Is this like your bed at home?” I asked, relishing the novelty too much to be embarrassed.
He smiled warmly, and some of the tension eased. “It’s better,” he replied, though I couldn’t see how this was true.
“Oh really?” I quipped, rolling onto my side and propping up on an elbow. “And here I thought you were so spoiled.”
He mimicked my posture immediately, eyes dancing in the light. “Do I come across as spoiled?”
Yes.
“You had coin in your pocket, and didn’t know it. You thought we could purchase an entire camp’s worth of items with a single piece of bronze.” I ticked things off my fingers, like I was reading from a list. “You got permission to board a ship, just by speaking with the captain—”
“There was nothing spoiled about that,” he defended himself, grinning all the while. “I simply took the man aside and told him the truth.”
“Oh yes?” I asked, looking at him curiously. “What truth was that?”
He paused a moment, seeming to realize that he’d said too much. It went quiet between us, growing louder by the second, before he decided to say it anyway.
“That I was trying to impress a girl.”
The temperature jumped like a furnace, as a hush fell over the room. I was suddenly aware of every inch of my body, of the sound of each passing breath. It seemed I had never really known quiet until that very moment. When it seemed the only thing between us, doomed from the start.
“That night after you fought in the arena,” I whispered, trying to find my breath, “when you walked me home...were you really going to ask me to come with you?”
He drew in a long breath himself, like it was the only thing grounding him.
“I wanted to,” he answered softly. “I couldn’t sleep that night for thinking about it.” He was quiet for a few seconds, staring vacantly into the dark. “Perhaps these things only come when we’re ready,” he finally concluded. “Would you have come with me, before that day?”
Our eyes met in a single moment of connection.
“I would come with you now.”
He reached across the bed and pulled me suddenly towards him, cupping my face between both hands, as we came together in a passionate kiss. It was wet, and grasping and so damn long coming. I surfaced for air, only to grab him back again, crushing his face against mine.
My head was spinning into oblivion, I had never been kissed like this in my life. I had never been kissed at all, save for a few awkward pecks behind the butcher’s shop, with awkward boys half as scared as me. Erik was nothing like them. He kissed the way he did everything else.
Like the gods themselves were watching.
His hands were drifting lower, sliding down the sides of my neck, tangling in my hair. I gasped for breath, and moved us even closer. There was something wild about him, but something almost painfully gentle at the same time.
The candle was flickering in the doorway. I couldn’t seem to get any air.
When his fingers reached the laces on my tunic, a shiver flew up my spine. He had done this before, I could tell. There was no hesitation about him, the movements were practiced and sure.
I...was having a different time.
“Is this all right?” he breathed, pressing a kiss behind my ear.
What kind of man asks?
I nodded quickly, unable to speak. His fingers loosened the cords and eased the tunic free, dropping it noiselessly on the ground beside us. Feeling suddenly bold, I reached for him as well, running my fingers down the smooth muscles in his chest, before sliding them under his shirt. He shivered at my touch and obliged immediately, ripping it off and tossing it next to mine.
He was kissing again; first my neck, then my collarbone. His hair tickled my sides, as his lips ran in a smooth line down the center of my chest to my stomach. One hand reached down my leg, gathering my skirt and easing it upwards. My back arched reflexively, my blood was running fast.
Is this actually happening? The question flew wild through my head, pinned almost immediately to another. Do I want this to happen?
The answer to both questions was the same, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I could hardly sort dream from reality, and found myself blurting something very different instead.
“Where did you get the key?”
He paused, then pulled back. His lips were parted, and he was breathing very quickly. It took a moment to come back to himself, replaying the awkward question.
“The key?” he asked, a bit breathlessly.
I nodded, gazing down at him. “To my cell, you never told me.”
WHY would he tell you NOW?!
My pulse was racing, and there was a part of me that was quite ready to murder the other side of my brain. For the life of me, I couldn’t imagine why I’d said it. Why those precise words had flown unbidden from my lips. It looked like Erik couldn’t believe it either. He was staring up at me in amazement, cheeks flushed and breathing fast. He shook his head a little, and forced himself to smile. It was so admirably done, I might have even believed it. But his body was pressed on top of mine when I’d asked the question. I felt when his heart froze in his chest.
“I told you,” he finally replied, trying again to play it off. “I have my tricks.”
My skin went cold and I hitched myself onto my elbows. A strange feeling was stirring inside of me, so different from the sensations just a moment before. It felt like a kind of dread.
“What are they?” I asked in a low voice, staring at him with a fear I was only just beginning to name. “Erik...where did you get the key?”
He stared at me a moment longer, then let out a quiet breath. “From my uncle.”
For the length of a heartbeat, things were perfectly quiet.
Then—
“What?!”
I scrambled away from him without thinking, paling in sudden horror, and clamping my arms over my chest. A few seconds before, my skin had been on fire. Now my blood ran cold. Everything rushed together, everything that had happened, everything that was going to happen. I couldn’t breathe.
He lifted both hands, leaning back on his knees. “It’s not what you think—
“Erik!”
“It’s not what you think,” he repeated, almost desperately. With every second that passed, we seemed to be getting further and further away. “Liv, please just listen—”
“This place,” I shrieked, putting it suddenly together, “this mysterious cabin. Does he know about this as well? You picked that sign and headed right toward it!” Everything clicked into place suddenly. “He sent you here—admit it!”
By now, I was practically screaming. My body was coiled, shaking beyond control. Twice, he tried to reach for me. Twice, I violently recoiled. The second time, I drew blood.
“Please, just listen,” he pleaded, a feral scratch on the side of his face. “He gave me the key, I admit it. And he told me about the cabin. But it isn’t what you think, Liv. He’s been trying to...”
He trailed off abruptly, turning with sudden attention to the window. A strange look passed across his face, like he was listening very hard, before every muscle in his body went horribly still.
His lips parted in confusion, an almost dreamlike surprise.
“What—”
The door kicked open a second later, flying off the hinges and splintering violently into the air. A troop of armed men stomped over it, pointing at the bed with a circle of glittering spears.
“You’re under arrest, by order of the king.”
THE END
Affinity Blurb
“You’re under arrest, by order of the king.”
After escaping from the prison tower the day before her execution, Liv thought the worst of her troubles were over. She and the handsome bannerman who’d rescued her had made it into the forest, the hounds of the king were behind them, and there were nothing but open horizons as far as the eye could see. But the northern realm is a dangerous place, and their problems are only beginning.
