“I must try,” he snapped, then sighed. He tugged the fur-trimmed cloak around his shoulders, securing it with a bronzed pin. Rey took a deep breath. “I will be late. No one but Vig’s family knows you are here, and it will take some time for the birch etchings to spread this far. With the wards, you’ll be safe.”
Silla fell numbly onto the bench. “And you?” she asked. “Who will watch over you, Rey? Who will keep you safe?”
She felt his surprise from across the room. Felt him search for words.
“I look out for myself,” he said at last. And then the door rasped shut and Silla was left alone in the cabin for the second night in a row.
It was somewhereclose to morning when Rey finally returned to the cabin. His limbs ached from climbing steep slopes, the cold sunk deep into his bones. Hours he’d searched in the dark.
Rey had sought all the hiding places from his youth—the cave notched into the rock on the far side of Kalasgarde Lake and the valley where he and Kristjan had spent hours sledding. But there had been no trace of the boy. No tracks. No shreds of fabric. No broken branches or crushed foliage. As the hour neared morning, and Rey’s eyelids were heavy as boulders, he’d been forced to relent.
Again he returned to the shield-home with guilt in his heart. He’d left Silla alone for the second night in a row. Was she warm enough? Had she fallen into a quick slumber? Loosing a wide yawn, Rey pushed the shield-home’s door open.
He was unprepared for the dark figure leaping from the shadows. As they collided with his shoulder and sent him stumbling sideways, Rey’s warrior instincts kicked in. He righted himself just in time to block a blow, snatching his opponent’s wrist and driving them against the wall. Forearm pressed into his attacker’s neck, Rey held them in place.
“Silla,” he murmured, releasing his arm from her throat. “What—are you?—”
Chest heaving, she looked up at him with wide, dark eyes. Eternal fucking fires, the woman was terrified. “Rey,” she said tremulously. “It’s you.”
“What has happened?” Rey demanded, searching her face for evidence of harm. “Are you hurt?”
“I thought”—she started shakily—“I thought you were an intruder.”
“It’s me,” said Rey softly. Gods, he was such an arse. He should not have left her alone, not after all she’d weathered. “You’re safe here.”
“Oh,” she said, her voice thin and fragile. “Did you find him?”
Rey shook his head, sorrow filling his chest. He’d known it was unlikely he’d find the boy, yet he’d had to do something. But as Silla sniffled, he gathered her to his chest, desperate to comfort her. Red spots blurred Rey’s vision.He’ddone this. Had made her cry. And he felt like the biggest arse in the realm.
Slowly, he led her through the dark cabin, settling her onto the bench. The fire had burned down to the coals, but Rey refused to let go of her to revive it. As she sobbed against him, her fingertips stroked along that patch of spiky hair, and he began to understand.
Kopa had left bruises on Silla’s skin and unseen scars on her soul. Jonas. The Klaernar. Each warrior the queen had sent after her. In that moment, Rey wanted to hunt them all down and dismantle them piece by piece.
“You’re safe,” he repeated, cursing himself for such insufficient words. Slowly, Rey pulled Silla into the crook where his arm met shoulder. Holding his breath, Rey waited for her to push away. But she only sank into him, soft and so warm. His heart thrummed at her nearness, the walls around it crumbling to ash.
“A-am I?” she choked out. “It seems only a matter of time before I’m running, yet again. Before someone else tries to harm me...”
“No one knows?—”
“Yet,” she said in a watery voice. “I know you trust Vig and Runný, but I do not know them. And besides, Jonas showed how quickly a person can turn.”
The thrum of his heart turned thunderous with rage. “He did a vile, despicable thing. He betrayed the Bloodaxe Crew, but you…he betrayed you in the worst way.”
Silla said nothing, and so Rey continued. “You can trust me.” He cursed under his breath. Her body trembled like in the after throes of a battle. “I’m sorry for leaving you alone.”
She lowered her head to his chest in a move of such familiarity, Rey thought his heart might break free from his ribs. The sapling of trust was growing once more, and this time, he would not trample it. He would nurture this precious thing until it grew strong. Arm sliding down her spine, he hauled her closer.
“Do not be sorry,” she said into his chest. “Of course you went looking for Váli. I couldn’t stop thinking of him. He is so young.” She paused. “I shouldn’t act like such a child. I didn’t know it, but it seems I don’t like to be alone.”
Rey smoothed her hair with caution and tenderness, waiting for herto flinch away. Instead, she closed her eyes. Exhaling, he stroked the curls that had taunted him for so long. “You…didn’t know it?”
“I’ve never felt alone.”
Rey’s brows drew together. “Never?”
“All my life it has been my father and me. After he died, Iwasalone in the Twisted Pinewoods, but I…” She drew a deep breath. “You’ll think I’m mad.”
“Unlikely.” His fingertips traced the contours of a curl.
