Page 10 of The Seeker

I felt like myself.

I deceived an entire town. Surely I could deceive a few servants.

Selecting a hair ribbon from Leif’s collection, I tied my hair back at the nape of my neck as most of the men in Heimland did. It was a blessing that Leif had insisted I cut it. While men typically wore their hair long, women’s hair was notably longer.

The person staring back at me in the mirror wasn’t quite the woman who had left her home in Ralheim dressed as her brother, but it was close enough to bring me comfort.

Taking a deep breath and forcing myself to move before I could lose my nerve, I pulled the door open and strode into the common area.

There were no servants here, but I knew there should be at least one guard posted outside the door to our bedroom. Still, I didn’t let the fear crowd my mind at the fact that he wasn’t here, forcing the feelings down as I pushed open the exterior door to our rooms, walking out with my shoulders back and head held high.

As expected, there were two guards stationed on either side of the exterior door to our set of rooms. I didn’t make eye contact. I didn’t even glance in their direction; I strutted forward, as if I belonged there.

One of the guards cleared his throat, but I didn’t spare a glance over my shoulder. I just kept walking, waiting for a hand to reach out and stop me.

It never came.

I was free.

Okay, not free free, but free of my room at least. I didn’t waste the opportunity I’d been given, immediately heading straight for where I’d found Friar the day before.

She’d better be working on my potion, or else.

The door to Friar’s room was open a crack, and it was easy for me to slip inside. I stood with my back to the wall, watching Friar as she stirred a large pot situated over the fireplace in the room. When she finally looked up, she did a double take at my appearance, dropping the ladle into the liquid with a splash.

“Runa?” she hissed, unease rolling off of her.

I grinned, my hands clasped behind my back as I meandered over to her, keeping my empathy magic alert. “My potion, I presume?”

“Yes.” She didn’t look annoyed, but I could feel it. Her eyes crept another glance at how I was dressed. “Runa, can you please wait on whatever you are trying to do until my plan is ready?”

I shook my head, Otho’s words floating through my mind. “I fight for myself.” Maybe it was because I’d seen him the night before in my dreams, or whatever that weird place in my mind was, but I was full of a confidence I hadn’t possessed the day before.

I would not stick around to be Leif’s pawn. Nor would I be Friar’s.

“I need you to tell me where Collum is.”

Friar sighed, setting the spoon on the table next to the fireplace before grabbing a jar from one of the shelves and walking to the door. “I was about to visit her anyway. Come on.”

I followed in silence. The air between Friar and I hung with something heavy, and I wondered when things between us had changed. Before being forced to bond with Leif, I’d felt we were becoming friends. Now, I wasn’t sure if that was still the case. And I was wondering if the friendship I’d thought we were forming was more of a result of her knowing me to be her brother’s weighted but being forbidden from sharing that information.

“I’m sorry I forced you into coming here.” The apology was out of my mouth before I’d even finished thinking as our shoes echoed on the stone floor.

Friar stopped in her tracks, spinning to face me, her eyes wide. “Oh, Runa, this isn’t your fault at all.”

“Yes, it is,” I argued. “I asked for you, as part of the agreement of the forced bonding.”

Friar shook her head. “I know you don’t understand now, and I can’t tell you anything more, but I’m supposed to be here.” Her gaze darted both ways down the hall, checking to see if anyone was listening in, before she resumed her walking once more. “Come on. Collum is probably waiting.”

My brows furrowed as Friar guided me around the corner, stopping at the first wooden door. I made a mental note so I would be able to find my way here again. She rapped her knuckles on the door three times. “Collum, it’s me.”

The door swung open, revealing my cousin, and though there wasn’t a smile on her face, she looked so much better than the last time I’d seen her. I couldn’t resist sweeping her into a hug. She felt thinner in my arms, and her skin wasn’t quite back to its luscious sheen, but her eyes were bright.

“Runa,” she whispered into my hair, her hand going to the back of my head. “You came for me.”

I nodded, forcing back tears. “I tried to take you with me before but⁠—”

She shushed me. “I understand.” We broke from our hug, Friar passing the jar to Collum as my anxiety flared. I remembered another time, another place, when my cousin had caused a lot of trouble with something taken from the healer’s quarters.