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“I hardly think Erika’s opinion of me will change. The sooner I return to Caledan, the better.” Frustration rose, bitter on her tongue.
Aedon stopped beside her, and she stopped with him. “Do you truly think that?” He looked almost hurt at the suggestion.
She scowled.
He shook his head. “Then you are a fool. Harper, this is your birthright. You were meant to be born here and live here. It’s going to take a little catching up, but you ought not be defeated at the first hardship. Are you really so easily persuaded away from your path?”
Harper bristled. “No. I just?—”
“Exactly. You just nothing. Life isn’t meant to be easy. You’re doing pretty well for only being here for mere days. I mean, you’re not dead yet. That’s actually a pretty huge accomplishment.”
“Thanks to you.”
“Well, yes.” For once, Aedon didn’t puff up with self-importance. “But still. You’re alive. Besides, if you left…” He took a deep breath, “I’d miss you.” His words halted her steps and she glared up at him, her face blooming with heat and her tongue stumbling to form any coherent word.
He gave her a wink and, whistling a jaunty tune, jogged ahead to catch Ragnar. It took a long moment for her to gather herself and follow him. Had he just said that? What did that mean? And… what did she want it to mean? It left her skin crawling, so unfamiliar was she with attention like that—but there was something pleasurable there too, a low heat in her stomach that had nothing to do with the flush of embarrassment on her cheeks.
Harper swallowed down the unfamiliar feelings. Aedon was right. She had never been one to give up easily. Why start now? Sure, she’d nearly poisoned a woman who seemed to hate her for no reason, but it had been an accident. Everyone made those. There’d been no harm done—and that was what mattered. She forced herself into motion. This was all becoming too uncomfortable.
When they stopped for a midday meal in the middle of the wide valley, she plucked up the courage to approach Erika. “Please can you teach me about poisonous berries?” she asked in her most powerful voice, though it quaked a little with nerves.
Erika regarded her with a flat stare. “Ask Ragnar.”
Harper had no reply, only the burn on her cheeks of embarrassment, and turned away to hide her scowl.
Ragnar threw a dark look at Erika. “Sure, Harper. I’ll teach you, though Erika is better at it than I. Perhaps she can give some tips when she sees fit to get off her high bloody horse.” He glared pointedly at her.
She ignored him.
Ragnar glowered. “Fetch some water, please, Harper.”
They had followed running water fairly closely all day, and the stream remained nearby. Harper disappeared into the long grass, her eyes on the hazy hills in the distance. She almost fell into the stream, which was far closer than she had thought, and bent to fill the waterskin and pot.
“You don’t have to be like that with her,” she heard Ragnar say angrily.
Harper froze. He’s talking to Erika?
“Like what?” Erika replied, her quiet voice muffled by the swaying, rustling grass. Harper strained her ears.
“You don’t have to be such a damn harpy to her!”
“Don’t speak to me like that.”
“Like you speak to her? I won’t have it, woman.”
“Don’t call me woman!” Erika’s voice rose, shrill against the breeze.
“Calm it, you two,” Brand said, his gravelly tones breaking the friction between them.
“You know, you both know, how damn hard it is to be an outcast,” Ragnar pressed. “Erika, I thought you would relate to it more than anyone. How did you feel when you were shunned, cast away from everyone and everything you knew and loved? I bet that was like falling into another world, wasn’t it?”
“You don’t know anything about that,” Erika spat at the dwarf, “and you have no right to speak of it!”
“I think I do, because I also know what it’s like. It feels like your entire world has fallen away. Like everything and everyone has died. You’re alone, and everything is a clean slate—it is a blessing and a curse.” Ragnar’s voice sounded desolate. Harper’s heart ached for him.
“Somehow, you have to pick yourself up and carry on. When did you become so bitter and twisted, Erika? Harper hasn’t done anything to you. It isn’t her fault. Quit acting like she’s the chip on your shoulder. You think she’ll achieve anything if you’re always putting her down? Telling her she’s stupid? That she can’t do it? We’re a team… nay, a family, and right now, I couldn’t be more ashamed of you, sister. You’re acting exactly as you were portrayed. This is the behaviour you were cast out for. This is the person people feared you would become. Do not become her.”
She did not answer. When Harper heard the rustling of grass coming closer, she bent low, hidden amongst the tangle of foliage, as Erika passed close by, leapt over the channel of water, and strode out of sight. Her heart hammered as Ragnar’s words echoed in her mind.
