“Or maybe you could just admit you like romance novels and get a few more.” Grinning up at him, I brushed the wood shavings from my palms and stood.
“Those were accidental purchases, and—”
“Onemight be accidental,” I said, taking a step toward him. “Two is a little harder to believe, but I’d let it slide.Three, however…Well, that seems pretty damn purposeful to me.”
A full-on grin filled his face. “I’m afraid I’ve never read a romance book in my life. Sorry to disappoint you, sunshine.”
A heady warmth filled my chest, then skated up my neck and into my face. My eyes caught on his, on the rich brown of his irises. They were the color of freshly tilled earth, of the timber beams he’d dedicated his life to sanding and polishing and building his entire world around. He was this forest, and the forest was him. And not for the first time in the past few days, I had the sudden urge to reach out and feel the warmth of his skin.
Instead, I cleared my throat and looked away. “That’s okay. I’m sure I’ll like the other books in your collection.”
“Well, you still have one romance novel left. You can start reading it tonight after we get home from visiting Eldi.”
My heart leapt into my throat. “The dragon? Today’s the day?”
Rune had wanted to make headway on his work before taking me to meet the dragon, and I hadn’t complained. He was doingme a favor with this, and deep down, I knew I didn’t deserve his help. So I’d put my head down and had done what he’d asked, getting lost in the work myself.
But it was time. Today, I would set my sights on a dragon for the very first time, and I didn’t know whether I should be excited or afraid. Maybe a bit of both.
18
FRIDA
The island was much larger than I’d been made to believe. Either the guild had lied to me (again) or they had insufficient information. Most likely, it was the latter. Before we’d left Rune’s cottage, we’d packed a satchel full of snacks and filled up our waterskins. Two hours later, with my forehead coated in sweat, I understood why Rune had been so insistent on making preparations for the hike.
North of the dense forest, several craggy mountains reached for the late afternoon sky like gnarled fingers. Tall, swaying grass rippled across the knot of foothills beneath them, scented with the aroma of milkweed and…was that sulfur?
Rune slowed when he’d noticed I’d halted on the dirt path that cut across the foothills. My gaze had locked on the nearest mountain and the slant of a cave opening cut into the side of it. From within, an orange light pulsed.
“Are you afraid?” Rune asked.
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “Should I be?”
“As far as I know, Eldi has never harmed anyone. He likes to be left alone and might refuse to engage with us. But he’s never roasted a visitor.”
I cut my eyes toward Rune. “Kind of like you, then.”
“You’re right. And maybe that’s my mistake. It’d certainly make folk leave me alone.”
I smiled at him.
His brow furrowed. “What?”
“I think you secretly like having visitors. You just refuse to admit it to anyone, even to yourself.”
He shook his head. “The words ‘delusional’ and ‘assassin’ are never a good combination.”
A pang went through my heart, and after sucking in a deep breath, I started down the path again. Rune erased the distance between us in one stride and fell into step beside me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him looking at me, but I didn’t give him the satisfaction of looking back.
“Which part annoyed you?” he asked. “Delusional or assassin?”
“Does it matter?”
“It really does.” A beat passed. “If Erik accepts your story, aren’t you hoping he’ll let you become a full member of the guild so you can be with your family?”
“That’s the long and short of it, yes.”
“Then you’ll be an assassin, Frida, whether you want to think of yourself as one or not,” he said softly.
