Chapter 11
11
FRIDA
D espite my every intention to read the entire book in one sitting, I only got a chapter in before my heavy eyelids refused to open again. At some point, the book slid from my fingers and tumbled to the floor, but even that didn’t wake me.
Several hours later, it was the glowing light of the oil lamp that finally pushed through the fog of sleep. I cracked open my eyes, squinting into its insistent yellow flame. Rain and wind still pounded against the side of the house, and the wooden walls groaned in response. I flopped onto my back and stared up at the low ceiling. Despite the storm, I felt safe and warm inside this cottage. And more at peace than I’d felt in months.
But then I thought of what I’d come here to do. It was like a bucket of ice on the small flame of hope I’d kindled.
Rune was nothing like the guild’s normal marks. I knew it in my bones, even if I’d never been on an assignment until now. My brother and father had regaled me with enough stories over the past year that I knew one thing for certain: everything about this situation was highly irregular.
There was more to this story—far more than what Erik had told me. This wasn’t about the dragon. It was about Rune, and I hadn’t the foggiest clue what to do about it. The only thing I knew for certain was that things couldn’t continue as they were. I couldn’t stay with Rune for three weeks, pretend to be his assistant, and then turn the tables on him. It felt wrong .
If I stole his dragon, it would be the ultimate betrayal of his kindness.
I knew he didn’t trust me, and I knew he was trying to confirm his suspicions. But he’d still treated me with decency when he truly didn’t need to. The longer I stayed here, the worse I would feel when I had to take something from him—something that was clearly important to him. He wouldn’t have carved all those dragon figurines if the creature didn’t mean the world to him.
Which meant I couldn’t waste any more time with my investigations. Unlike me, Rune was likely cocooned in a heavy slumber right now. With all that ale running through him, he’d be dead to the world. This might be my only chance to poke around his house without his supervision. I had a feeling that tomorrow he’d watch my every move like a hawk, just like he had today. Perhaps he’d left something lying around to indicate where he kept his dragon.
My bones screamed at me as I threw aside the covers and crawled out of bed. Cool air brushed my skin, bringing forth a shiver. A linen dressing gown hung on the back of the door, which I gladly threw over my shoulders. It was several sizes too big, and the soft material practically drowned my body. The bottom of it even dragged across the floor when I padded out of the room.
Embers glowed in the hearth, and the scent of wood smoke still lingered. Moira was curled up in Rune’s rocking chair, basking in the fading warmth. When I eased across the floorboards, she pried open her eyes, took one look at me, and promptly went back to sleep. I released a breath and moved toward Rune’s work table.
In the dim lighting, an opaque gray washed out the details of my surroundings. I squinted to study Rune’s drawings, but the shapes were meaningless without a lamp. I briefly wondered if I should fetch the oil lamp from my room, then thought better of it. Instead, I pulled one of the drawers open and felt around inside. My fingers brushed across a few tools, but there were no hidden parchments with detailed instructions on where to find a dragon.
I gently shut the drawer and looked around. My gaze shifted to the far wall with its floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Could the answers be hidden between the pages of one of those tomes? Did Rune keep a journal, perhaps?
I’d made it halfway across the room when the timber floorboards creaked behind me. Heart lurching, I froze in place, and a shiver of panic tore down my spine.
“Want to tell me what you’re doing?” Rune’s voice rumbled in the heavy silence.
Swallowing, I turned to face him. In the darkness, it was impossible to read his expression. The shadows brushed across his jaw, veiling all his features—everything except the tusks that caught the light of the burning embers.
“I…” My mind grasped onto the first thing that popped into my head. “I’m hungry. I wanted a midnight snack.”
A long beat passed before he answered. “You know I don’t keep food at my woodworking table.”
“It’s dark. I got turned around.”
“And that’s why you’re heading to the bookshelves now instead of the food cupboards,” he said dryly.
“Oh, are those the shelves?” I emitted a nervous laugh. “Guess I won’t find any cheese over there…”
“I put the cheese in the food cupboard. You watched me do it.” With a grunt, he crossed the room to said cupboard and yanked it open. He pointed inside, where the cheese was, in fact, waiting for me. “If you want some, you’re welcome to it anytime, but you won’t find it rifling around in my work drawers.”
Shit. He must have seen me far before I’d heard him. It was impressive that he could move that silently, as broad and muscular as he was. The only other folk I knew with that kind of stealth had trained in it. More evidence that Rune had once been a member of the Assassin’s Guild. And if that were the case, Erik knew it, too.
The question rose to my tongue. I was desperate to ask. But I knew once I did, there would be no turning back. I’d have to finish the job or leave empty-handed. Neither option was particularly appealing to me right now.
Instead, I slowly walked toward the food cupboard. Rune waited beside it with his gaze pinned on my face. When I pushed up onto my toes to reach the cheese, I could still feel his eyes on me. It made my neck burn, and sweat coated my palms.
I took some cheese from the cupboard, but it slipped through my fingers and fell with a thud against the timber floorboards.
Heartbeat loud in my ears, I went to pick it up, but Rune had already beaten me to it. He knelt on one knee, plucked the cheese from the floor, and looked up at me. Something dark passed through his eyes, making my breath catch. Then he slowly stood and pressed the cheese into my hand.
Despite the warmth of his skin, I shivered when his fingers brushed mine.
“Thanks,” I said softly.
“I’d be careful about dropping that again,” he murmured, inclining his head toward his sleeping cat. “Moira is also a big fan of Arvid’s cheese.”
A smile tickled my lips. “Of course she is.”
His eyes locked on mine, Rune gently took my shoulders and turned me around so that I faced the opposite direction. And if I’d thought my heart was pounding before, it was nothing compared to now. It was like a drum was echoing inside my skull.
“Do you think you can find the way to your bedroom, or do you need a chaperone?” he asked.
His hands were warm on my shoulders, and an errant, unwanted thought tore through my mind. It had been so long since I’d touched anyone—or been touched. And when I returned to the guild, I’d rarely get the chance to venture further than a few streets away from the guild-hall. Most assignments were contained within the city walls. With all those eyes keeping tabs on me, I’d never find an opportunity to…skirt the boundaries of my vow.
My pulse pounded in my neck. What in fate’s name was I thinking? I couldn’t skirt the rules now, either . Not like that. And even if I could, it certainly wouldn’t be with my mark. I must be delirious from lack of sleep. That was the only logical explanation for the direction of my thoughts.
“I think I can manage just fine on my own,” I squeaked.
Rune’s breath was hot on the back of my neck, sparking heat within me. After a long, excruciating moment stretched between us, he slid his hands off my shoulders. His knuckles skated along the edge of my arm, then his touch vanished. Instantly, I felt his lack of warmth like an icy wave crashing over me.
I swallowed hard and hurried across the floor, knowing I was giving myself away by how quickly I moved. But I felt so on edge. I needed to put some space between me and Rune. And a door. A very shut door. One that would stand against my lurid thoughts, too.
“Good night, Frida,” Rune murmured.
Something about the way he said my name sounded like a promise.