Mixed Blood (ON HIATUS)

Book Three: Chapter One

    Music: Fickle Game — Amber Run

Congratulations! You have made to the end of Book Two and the beginning of Book Three! Thank you SO SO SO much for reading this far! You guys are truly amazing!

I couldn't stop imagining him: that cold, empty husk of skin that was supposed to be his face . . . The more I thought of it, the less and less it looked like him. It was as if something truly evil had purged all that was good from inside him, like a demon but much, much worse. That wasn't the Augun that I had remembered. He was different now.

I glanced up at Birger, who was leaning against a tall rock that jutted out of the ground. Sweat dripped off his forehead and out from under his clothes, soaking any pieces of cloth that touched his skin. When he reached a hand up to wipe his face, I noticed he was shaking, as if he had been sitting in the bitter cold in nothing but his armor.

"Birger . . . " I said, concern filling my voice. He looked back at me with an insulted look. "You're shaking."

"I'm fine," he grumbled, then promptly fell against the rock as he tried and failed to stand. "Let's keep going."

"We should take a break. It's been hours."

He looked up at me from the ground and met my eyes with furrowed brows, shaking his head. "That doesn't mean he'll stop looking."

I sighed, but knew there was no convincing him otherwise. "You're right. Let's—let's keep moving."

His eyes met mine for a moment, darkened with sadness and exhaustion, before he stood and finally managed to stabilize himself. We continued running through the forest, slowing every so often to ensure we weren't being followed, until we made it back to the village.

By that time, the sky had darkened with the cover of night and the town was almost silent. We limped through the street side by side, not saying a word as we made our way toward Augun's home. It was so close I could see it looming like a beacon in the distance.

We finally made it inside after another several minutes of walking. I found the house brought what little energy I had left in me to the surface, but for Birger it seemed to do the exact opposite. He leaned back against the wall and slid to the floor, putting his head between his knees, taking in deep gulps of air.

"Birger?"

"I'm alright," he held up a hand but did not move his head to look at me.

"You need to rest. Come on," I looped one of his arms over my shoulders and hoisted him to his feet. It took all the strength within me to carry his weight, but we somehow made it into the kitchen.

I patted the table. "Sit and take off your armor."

"What?"

"You don't want to go to bed drenched in sweat, do you? Sit down."

He got himself onto the table and struggled with the leather ties at his sides. While I wetted a cloth in a bowl of rainwater from the night before, I watched him from the corner of my eye, observing as he failed to untie his armor. "Do you need help?"

"I can do it," he responded adamantly, still fumbling with the leather.

"Agh, let go of your pride," I dropped the wet cloth next to him on the table and moved his clammy hands out of the way, working at his armor until I had removed the thickly woven pieces that covered his torso and shoulders. He let out an exasperated sigh but did not struggle against me.

"When are we going to speak about what happened?" He blurted. When I glanced up at him, I noticed that he was looking down at me from his place on the table, eyes searching mine.

"What is there to speak about?" I asked him. I helped him take off his tunic and handed the cloth to him so he could tend to his bruises. "Augun is changed and we must save him."

Birger shook his head and stared at the ground for a few seconds before answering. "He was my friend, Lagertha," he continued, jaw hardening. "And he tried to kill us."

I put a comforting hand on his shoulder but he only shrugged it off.

"I was killing people for him. I was murdering enemy clansmen to get him back. To get you back," he turned his face to me. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and he bit his bottom lip to stop them from coming. "And he looked at me like he had never seen me before . . . like I was a stranger to him."

My stomach twisted at the sight of him being so broken and vulnerable, a side of him I had never seen before. I felt pressure building up behind my eyes as I forced myself not to cry. "We will return," I reassured him and myself. "Next time we will come stronger and more prepared."

"There will be no next time," he spat. "What good would saving his body do if we cannot save his mind too? He's forgotten about us, about his home, about his people."

"So, what do we do now? Give up on him? A true friend would never do that."

He flinched as the words left my mouth and slid off the table, setting the rag down and sliding his tunic back on. "I would never give up on him," he spat, jaw ticking. "And I am a true friend. Are you?" He stalked out of the room, and I stood there, mouth half open, until his footsteps faded away.

My blood boiled with anger, but I tried to cool myself down by cleaning up the rag he had left sitting on the table. I scanned the room for something else to do, knowing now that I was far too anxious to sleep, and my eyes landed on his armor. He must have forgotten it in his rage.

I picked it up carefully and ran my fingers across the cool leather. The memories of the fight came flooding back: the look on his face as I spoke, the hurt in his eyes, the way he had simply brushed me off as though I was nothing. I felt my gut twist with resentment and took a deep breath, but it did nothing to help.

Frustrated, I made my way toward my room. I had no other choice but to try and sleep, especially if I wanted to get Augun back, with or without Birger.

I didn't know how we were going to keep up the romantic act now that we were both at each other's throats. I didn't know how I was going to save Augun without that plan in mind. I didn't know if I would survive my next battle.

My feet stopped me when I came to Birger's closed door. The rage inside me only grew, knuckles curling into fists, and I threw Briger's armor at the foot of his door with so much force it shook the wooden boards of the floor.

Augun had made Birger swear an oath to protect me. I wasn't so sure that oath meant much to him anymore.

A/N: HALLLO! I am so sorry for the wait on this chapter. Updates will be slow because my life has been super busy lately and a lot has been going on. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a wonderful day!