16. Bryn
Bryn
I awoke in a tangle of limbs and blankets. Henrik’s arm was wrapped around my torso, hugging me tightly against him, while his face was buried in the pillow beside mine.
Ancestors, how much magic had he used last night?
I’d never heard of a fae burning through all their magic, but I’d heard tales of ancient battles where some had been significantly depleted and needed healers.
While we fae were strong and could withstand more than humans could, we weren’t infallible.
Gently, I nudged Henrik’s shoulder. “Are you dead?”
“Feels like it,” he mumbled.
“Do you need anything?”
He shook his head, then turned. A single blue eye stared up at me. Color had returned to his cheeks and he appeared less gaunt and exhausted than he had last night.
“Are you sure?”
“Unless you want to pull back these covers and let me have you for breakfast—”
Oh, he was definitely on the mend. I rolled my eyes and smacked his ass.
“Ouch.”
Scrambling from his hold, I crawled out of bed. “I’m getting food.”
“I could provide there too.”
“Not as well as the kitchen. They know how I like my bread.”
Henrik snickered as I pulled on a jacket that was heavier than my own…
Ah, I’d grabbed his off the floor instead of mine.
The thick blue wool practically swallowed me whole, its epaulets hanging off my shoulders and tail-end dragging on the floor.
Oh well, it smelled heavenly, like sea salt and pine, and was nice and warm.
I’d need it to shield against the cold on the deck.
Should probably check the pockets too in case he was stashing anything of worth in there.
Without further fanfare, or bothering to alert the coat’s owner, I made for the cabin door.
“Oh, and, Bryn.”
I stopped in my tracks and my hand stilled against the knob. “Yes?”
“Don’t go anywhere near my gold.”
“I’d never dream of it.”
“Liar.”
I smiled and set off for the kitchens for some bread.
Returning from my food excursion, a bread roll and honey thoroughly consumed, an apple in hand being sliced with dagger number two, I found Henrik dressed and leaning over the table in his cabin.
His white shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbows and those reading glasses were perched at the end of his nose, taunting me with how handsome they made him look.
He peered over their rim. “Good breakfast?”
I popped a slice of apple into my mouth. “Delicious.”
He smirked.
What did that look mean? Did I have something on my face? Or was it something I said?
With a shake of my head, I carved off another slice of apple and popped it into my mouth.
One day I’d learn what each and every one of those smirks of his meant.
I stilled on the spot at the thought. One day meant I was staying around.
One day meant that I wanted to stay close to him, to have enough time around him to learn those things about him. One day meant more and permanence.
I devoured the rest of my apple and shoved the dagger back into the holster on my calf.
Did I want more? Did I want permanence? Did he?
We’d had several moments recently that were heartfelt and vulnerable.
And I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that he made me feel safe.
But he was a captain and a prince, while I was a thief.
Was anything permanent even possible between us?
We’d worked well together on our recent heist, but could we do so again and again and again?
“What has your brows twisting like that?” Henrik asked, yanking me from my spiraling thoughts.
Twitching my nose, I crossed my arms. “Nothing.”
“Uh-huh.”
It was something that clearly needed to be mulled over more. Perhaps with thinking ale. I always had my best ideas with thinking ale in hand.
Henrik removed his glasses, set them atop the map he’d been staring at, and wandered over to me. He loomed like a tempestuous and flirtatious cloud. One that my subconscious had apparently grown quite fond of.
“Did you need something?” I asked.
“My coat please.”
“Only if you ask nicely.”
He invaded my space with a devilish look in his eyes and bit his bottom lip. In one swift move, he had a hand on my hip, the other wrapping around my hair. He gave it a gentle tug and tilted my face to his. I let out a breathy gasp, and that look darkened to something sensual.
“That nice enough for you?” he asked.
Oh, he was dangerous in so many ways. Dangerous for my sanity, my well-being, and my heart.
I shook my shoulders and shucked off the heavy coat. It landed with a thud, eliciting a wide grin from the man still holding me in place.
“Good girl.” He took a step back, releasing me from his snare and holding open his palm. “Now, give me the ring.”
My chest tightened, but I crossed my arms and popped my hip. “What ring?”
“The one that was in my interior pocket. The one with the wolf head on it.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about. You should be more careful about misplacing your things.”
He prowled toward me once more, crowding me against the wall. My rear hit with a gentle bump, and he pressed his hands on either side of my head, caging me in. “You forget yourself, Bryn. I’m starting to learn your tells. All the little foibles that others might miss.”
My heart beat faster in my chest.
“Do you want me to search you?”
“Why do you think you need to?” I replied.
“Because that coat should have made a lot more noise when it hit the floor.”
Shite. He had been paying attention, but that didn’t mean I needed to give up the goods. At least not yet. I continued staring into those eyes, letting the silence swell between us. Our chests rose and fell in sync, slightly harder as the seconds dragged on.
Something warm glided up my stomach and I looked down. A wet patch bloomed near my belly button.
“Are you searching me with your magic, Captain?”
That smirk appeared again.
I sucked in a breath. Oh, this man was far too smooth. I loved it.
The trail of water curled around my neck before dipping down between my breasts again then diving into the pouch. Damn this man and his magic. He was good. Really good. Without taking his eyes off me, his powers latched around something in my bag and pulled it out, holding it between us.
“Oh, would you look at that,” I said. “A ring.”
His eyes flared, and the smirk grew into a full grin that I could feel flowing through me like a warm spring breeze on a cold day.
He plucked the silver ring from his magic and snapped his other fingers. The swirl of water vanished into thin air, taking the damp patches on my person with it. Henrik inspected the ring, then proffered it to me. “Wear it. I want to see it on you.”
“As much as you want to see my clothes on the floor again?”
“Just as much.”
My toes curled, but I put it on my finger.
The warm metal swiveled and slid all the way down to my knuckle.
There was no chance it would fit any of my digits.
I’d have to be creative. I took in the silver piece with Norse vines that looked like roots around the main part of the ring and then morphed into the head of the wolf.
Head.
Its head.
My head.
What a perfect idea.
I shouldered past Henrik, set the ring on the table, and started braiding my hair. Halfway down the braid, I threaded the ring on and continued. With a strap of leather to tie it off, the braid, with its decoration, was complete.
Spinning, I set my hands on my hips. “There. Done.”
“Stunning.”
“Now, shall we keep flirting with each other, or would you like to know where to steer your boat?”
“Ship.”
I shrugged and moved to the maps that were strewn across the table, small lanterns filled with magic lighting them.
He waved his hand at the maps. “Tell me where we need to go.”
I pulled aside a chart of the northernmost part of the Norwegian coastline.
Dotted with tiny islands I knew to be no more than crags and boulders, the spit of land thinned out at one point before widening at the very top.
This was the part of the country that very few ventured into.
Especially humans. The only exception were the native tribes and some Fjell Fae who took care of local glaciers and mountains.
The rest of the land was an arctic tundra that was assaulted by harsh weather—especially during the winter.
But it wasn’t the land we needed to focus on.
If we wanted to find Hrim and his isle, we need to look to the waters beyond the north. To a place where few beings ever went, magic or no.
I spread out the map and set a lantern in one corner to hold it in place. “North and north again.”
“How far?”
“Very.” I pointed to a spot on the map. “You know where the island Alta is.”
“I do.” He crossed the room and leaned has hands on the table beside mine. They were practically twice the size of my own. He really would make a horrible thief with those. Good thing he had other pursuits he excelled at. “Bryn?”
“Hmm?”
“I asked what direction to go from Alta?”
Focus, right. I tapped the small island again. “This is the closest point to Hrim’s. This is our marker. We head toward it. As soon as it is on our right—”
“Starboard.”
“Yes, that. Then we head northwest.”
“Beyond this outer archipelago?” He traced his finger across a string of islets.
I nodded.
He peered over at me like I was a lunatic. “How far?”
With a shrug, I said, “Half a day’s swim.”
Those thick black eyebrows disappeared beneath his floppy hair. “Did you swim from Hrim’s island all the way to Alta?”
“Yes.”
He stared at me unabashedly like I’d done something impressive. In reality I’d done something extremely risky and dangerous, but my thinking-ale thoughts had calculated that it would be feasible and worth the cost.
“That was where you joined our ship, wasn’t it?”
“Also yes.”
Shaking his head, he let out a deep breath. “No wonder you didn’t want to swim all the way south.”
“Seemed a bit far.”
“So, what do we look for? Do we head northwest and run into the island?”
“More or less. You can’t miss it, especially since there may now be a giant hole on the land-facing side.”