Rune waited by the door while I grabbed the towel and a change of clothes—a simple linen tunic dyed a dark green and a pair of brown trousers. I didn’t have anything nicer. When I’d packed, it wasn’t like I’d expected to spend an evening drinkingand dancing…which would be tough to navigate. I’d vowed to abstain from both those things, not that I agreed with the guild about it. Still, I’d made the vow, and I knew my father would expect me to keep it.
Nevermind. I’d worry about it later. I padded out the door and followed Rune outside. I expected him to point me in the general direction of the falls so that I could have a few moments alone. But no, he started walking down the path right by my side.
“I’m sure I can find my way,” I said, pointing ahead. “It’s just down this path, I’m guessing?”
“I’d hate for you to get lost on your first day,” he said gruffly.
I frowned. “Honestly. I’m not as hopeless as you think I am.”
“Oh, I don’t think you’re hopeless at all, Frida.” His lips quirked. “Except when it comes to drawing a fence.”
Without thinking, I swatted his arm. And as soon as my fingers grazed his warm skin, brushing across his taut biceps, everything in me tensed. I yanked back my hand, my cheeks heating. His eyes darted to my waist, then to my hand. His expression was intensely unreadable, and I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed I’d touched him or if he was just surprised.
I tried to pretend like nothing had happened. “It’s not my fault you can’t recognize true talent when you see it. That fence I drew? It’s art.”
He chuckled again—that low, delicious sound I’d heard back in the workshop. It had caught me off guard then, and it caught me off guard now, too. His smiles were as intermittent as the clouds on this clear sky day, and laughter was even more of a rarity. It was such a lovely sound.
“I’ll make sure to hang it in a place of honor back at the house,” he said. “It can go near the hearth, where everyone who visits can see it.”
“Above the hearth. Where it will most likely catch fire.”
That chuckle rumbled in his chest again. “Can’t say I’d be sorry to see it go up in flames.”
I shook my head, annoyed but amused at the same time. Because I couldn’t pretend like I didn’t want to throw the sketch into the fire myself. An oddly companionable silence descended upon us as we navigated the path. Soon the rush of falling water drowned out the sounds of the birds, insects, and critters scurrying across the fallen leaves.
A clearing yawned before us, sunlight streaming in through a break in the canopy. I slowed to a stop and gasped. A sheet of crystal water poured over the side of a small cliff, though it was more of a ledge that cut into the side of a gently sloping hill. The water frothed where the falls hit the pond, but it was so still and peaceful—and such a brilliant gleaming blue—beyond it. Tufts of wildflowers were scattered along the edge, their yellow bulbs reflected along the surface.
“Absolutely incredible,” I breathed.
I felt Rune’s eyes on my face, so I turned to look up at him. He was studying me, again with that esoteric expression.
“What?” I asked him.
“Do you always do that? Every time you see something?”
I searched his gaze. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You seem to find wonder in everything. The dwarves’ farm, my workshop, this waterfall.”
“That’s because thereisa lot of wonder in it.” I shrugged. “It’s so beautiful compared to the city.”
He stilled. “I thought you said you lived in a cottage in the woods.”
Fuck. I’d let that one slip out, too distracted by the charm of this place.
“I was just answering your question. You asked me if I find beauty in everything, and I don’t. The city is so drab and dull to me. That’s why I didn’t live there.”
I needed to put an end to this conversation before I let something else slip. Best way to do that? The ultimate distraction. So I started peeling off my leathers, right there in front of him.
Rune saw at once what I was doing. With an awkward throat clear, he turned and put his back to me. “You could have given me a warning.”
“What’s the problem?” I asked as I tossed my arm bracer to the ground. “You’ve never seen a naked woman before?”
“Of course I have. I’m normally the one doing the clothes-removal, though.”
“Turn around and help me then,” I said with a grin.
“I’m sorry?”
