He reached forward to grab the bowl from her and she pulled it away, holding up a finger. “You’re still recovering.”
She held out the spoon to him and he begrudgingly swallowed down the broth. “Lin, my hands aren’t wounded. Solely my leg.”
She didn’t care. She sat there and spoon fed him the entire bowl of broth, then watched as he drank down the water that the nurse had brought. Halsten had never been taken care of like this by anyone, not even when he was sick as a child. Linnea was a caretaker, so he let her do what she did best.
Linnea rested a hand on his chest again and he grabbed her wrist, pulling her down so they were face-to-face. Halsten leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers and she gingerly moved hers in response.
He backed away, eyebrow raised. “My lips aren’t broken, love.”
He kissed her again, and this time, she kissed him back. An unfamiliar warmth grew from the center of his chest, overtaking his entire body and he knew what it meant. Halsten knew that he was falling for Linnea.
She kissed him more passionately then, her chest resting on his, her tongue sweeping into his mouth playfully, and he was incredibly proud of her for taking control. It was a bloom of confidence he wanted to nurture in her and watch grow over time. Over their time together. Forever.
Linnea suddenly backed away. “I should go. You need rest.”
“I am resting,” Halsten protested, pulling her back to him. “I don’t need to get out of bed to do what I want to do to you right now.”
Linnea blushed again, a little giggle escaping her. Halsten guided her hand that was previously resting on his chest down his body slowly, setting it on his hardness. “That’s not broken either, my wildfire.”
Halsten did not leave bed that afternoon, but he certainly did not get any rest.
Chapter 46
Either Asta’s fighting techniques had improved substantially in a matter of days, or Maren was holding back. But Asta knew her sister. Marenneverheld back. Even if her blows—verbal or physical—were subtle, they were always impactful.
It was almost as though Maren was lazily swinging her sword around. The same went for Svanhild, from what Asta could observe in one second spurts between swings. Kaid was holding his own against the siren warrior, which was impossible. Asta loved Kaid, but there was no way in Gylla’s hell that he was giving Svanhild a fair fight.
Oh goddesses, she loved him. Shelovedhim.
She ground her teeth together and snarled. “What did you do to Linnea?” Asta asked as she spun, her long sword poised to take off Maren’s head if she didn’t move out of the way in time.
Maren ducked, rolling to her side and getting back to her feet before stabbing her sword at Asta’s exposed abdomen. “I thought you ought to know that your little band of fake warriors are experiencing their first battle. The sweet babies, all grown up. I wonder how our meager cousin is fairing.” Maren tapped a finger to her chin as if in thought, letting her guard down. “Oh, and what a nice little trinket you’re bringing back with you. Too bad the trident doesn’t actually work anymore.”
A rustle of leaves to Asta’s right caught her attention and she dared a look, seeing Gyrial and Revna barrelling toward them. While she was distracted by the interruption, Maren looped Asta’s sword with her own and unarmed her, sending her sword careening through the air.
“See you next time, sister,” Maren waved, then she and Svanhild took off through the forest in the direction that Asta’s sword had landed.
“Are you okay? What did they want?” Gyrial surveyed Asta and Kaid, searching for any injuries.
“We’re fine now. It was an ambush.” Asta picked up the small satchel of berries from the ground and handed it to Kaid. “They know we have the trident now, although my sister is under the impression that it can’t be wielded anymore. But I’m sure they will prepare a tactic to use against it now. We’ve lost our upperhand.” Asta sighed and walked in the direction that her weapon was thrown. “I have to go find my sword.”
Kaid silently walked alongside Asta as they approached the area where she remembered the blade landing. With the sunset glowing golden around them, finding the shiny metal was easy, and Asta offered a silent prayer of thanks to Absolon above.
The blonde princess bent down and picked up her sword, inspecting it for any damage. Pleased that nothing was scuffed or scratched, she put it back into the holster at her hip. As she turned to walk away, something glistened on the forest floor. She bent down, looking closely at the decaying leaves, trying to find the source. When Kaid tried to ask what she was doing, she silenced him.
Asta sifted through the pile of leaves. She knew she saw something. She knew that she was not making it up.
As she was about to give up, she saw the glint again and scooped up the leaves in the exact location. Whatever it was, it was small enough to hide in the palm of her hand. She carefully picked away the leaves until a small ring rolled in her palm. Upon closer observation, she realized it was a signet ring. But not just any signet ring. It was an exact replica of her mother’s ring, which also doubled as an iron key.
Asta showed Kaid, holding the new ring up next to the one she already wore.
“How the hell did a Blomvin signet ring end up in the middle of the forest, exactly where we set up camp for the night?” Kaid took the ring and held it up toward the fading sun, surveying every crevice of it as though it would reveal how it got there.
Did the ring happen to be there, or did someone put it there? Asta, again, thought about how easy it was to hold off Maren and Svanhild. How odd that the ring was exactly where Maren had flung her sword. Come to think of it, this was also the direction that they had fled to.
If Maren had left Asta the ring, what was the purpose? Should she not be touching it? Was the metal filled with poison somehow? Asta grabbed the ring from Kaid, panicking that it was bewitched or cursed. She slipped it into a small leather pouch, then put the pouch in her pocket. They wouldn’t touch it any further until Queen Arielle could look at it.
Aside from the run-in with Maren, the travel home was uneventful. Everyone was supposed to take turns bearing the trident or helping Tova, but Kaid elected to hold the trident the entire journey. Asta could see how connected he was to the relic, as though they called to each other and now that they were reunited, they would not be separated. She did not dare break the bond.
