On one hand, she didn’t want to be there when he awoke. What would she say to him? She’d asked him to stay and he had. On the other hand, she didn’t want to leave the prince alone in her tent. Not thatthere was anything of consequence in there to incriminate her, but was it strange to just leave?
Her answer came a moment later when he stirred, causing her to briefly panic and jump out of bed. In an uncharacteristic move of cowardice, she got dressed as quickly and silently as she could, slipping out of the tent and taking off towards the infirmary before the prince woke.
All she had was Laeknir now, and she didn’t care if he pretended to be annoyed at her presence—she was safe with him.
She didn’t want to think about how safe she’d been last night drifting off to sleep as the prince guarded her. A shiver worked its way through her body at the memory of him leaning over her before she’d seen his face. It was a scene she’d pictured a hundred times since the cave.
Fear.
She shook the thoughts away and entered the medical tent. Laeknir was speaking softly to someone in the other room so she began to organize some of the instruments quietly enough to not disturb him, but loudly enough that he would know she was there.
After some time, Laeknir emerged from behind the partition wall with no one following after him.
“Where’s your patient?” Solveig asked.
“Where are your manners?” he grumbled, putting the supplies back where they were before Solveig organized them.
“In the same place you left your organizational skills,” she retorted, tilting her head at the haphazardly laid out instruments.
“They’re in the exact right spot for me—I don’t need them in silly little rows.”
Solveig put her hands up in surrender. “Okay, don’t get your feathers ruffled, I won’t touch them again.”
“Good.”
“So where did your patient go? I heard you talking to someone,” she asked again.
“They wanted privacy. They left out the back,” he said. Solveig was taken aback by how dishevelled he looked.
“Laeknir, are you alright?” she asked, rushing over to him. He waved her off.
“I’m fine, I’m fine. Just a lousy night’s sleep is all.”
“You are not fine. This is not from a poor night’s sleep,” Solveig insisted, touching his face to check for fever.
He swatted her hands away. “Lay off me, you bothersome female!”
“Fine, you ornery male. You look horrendous,” she said matter-of-factly.
“How can I contain my ego with so much flattery?” he deadpanned.
“I’m sure you’ll find a way. You always do.”
“What are you doing here this early anyway?” he asked, changing the subject. Solveig raised her eyebrows, but he ignored her. She sighed.
“Well, I figured after yesterday, you couldn’t possibly survive without my help so I came to offer my services as your assistant for the foreseeable future.” An emotion crossed his face, but he turned his back before she could decipher it.
“Is that so?”
“Yes ...” she said slowly, stretching out the word. He spun back around, face set in a curious inspection of her.
“Okay,” he agreed.
And that was the end of it. The rest of the morning was spent seeing patients, with Laeknir either nodding his approval or barking out instructions and corrections.
Just like the day before, Solveig lost herself in the work, trying to avoid thoughts of the prince and whether or not he had woken up shortly after she left. She was glad she hadn’t stayed, if only to avoid a veryuncomfortable conversation. Instead, she let her mind wander to what she might do now that she was no longer general.
Despite what Gerrie had said, she couldn’t go to Asgard. The queens had to summon her first. She could continue to help Laeknir, but deep down she knew that she had to find a way to make the Fae who had captured her suffer.
