“The back is coming undone.”
“Oh,” I say, a little embarrassed, as I fumble for the zipper awkwardly. At first I thought he was going to say I looked pretty or something, and I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
Amund takes a step closer. “Let me help.”
As I turn around, I’m aware of just how much of my back is exposed to him. “Okay.”
“If I had asked you first,” he says, reaching for my zipper, “what would your answer have been?”
I fall quiet as he brings the zipper up carefully. The slowziiiipis the only sound between us. As he secures the top clasp, his fingers brush my sensitive skin. A shiver shoots through me at the contact, feeling like an electric current passing through my body. I have to calm my racing heart.
“I don’t know,” I manage to get out, swallowing past the lump in my throat. “Even if you had, it’s not like we could really be seen together. What would the hunters think if you showed up with a berserkr?”
“The others don’t matter to me.” His hand stills, his knuckles briefly brushing my exposed skin. “Only you do, Edith.”
His voice is low and gentle. Heat spreads through my body like molten lava. I canfeelthe longing in the simple gesture as he slowly strokes the back of my neck. Feel how it holds the promise of so much more.
Thinking of my parents, I take a step away from Amund.
“How does it look?” I ask him, feeling suddenly self-conscious.
Amund drops his hands to his sides and clears his throat. “Beautiful.” He falls quiet before adding, “I’ve never been more envious of Nils.”
The tension between us pulls taut.
I don’t know if I should admit this or not, but… “I can’t be in a relationship with anyone, especially not a hunter. Not after what I’ve seen, what I’ve been through.” I won’t specify more than that. I’ve already said too much, but I feel the need to break this unbearable silence between us.
“I understand, Edith. More than I can say,” Amund says after a beat.
I give him a small smile. “I know.”
He offers me his hand. “Would you still give me a dance, anyway? For what might have been.”
Words lodge in my throat. All I can do is nod as I take his hand.
We don’t need an invisibility stave in my room.
This moment is just for us.
Amund gently draws me closer and begins to dance with me slowly.
“You’re actually pretty good at this,” I say breathlessly.
Barely any distance separates us now.
“It’s not so different from battle,” he says, his voice husky.
He moves with fluid grace and precision, the same way he does when we train. His body is sharply honed, and I can feel the hard planes of his muscles beneath my hand as we dance. He is dangerous. A predator that hunts prey like me. He is everything I shouldn’t want.
So why do I feel like there’s nowhere else I’d rather be?
Why am I drawn only to him?
Amund lowers his face toward mine. Or maybe I’m lifting up off my feet to bring my lips closer to his. I don’t know who moves first. Trying not to kiss each other feels like a battle we’re both about to lose—
A knock on the door startles us apart.
“Edith?” Nils calls out.
