Page 16 of The Iron Dagger
“Gideon,” she said, and then she felt her knees begin to buckle. He was there, catching her as she fell. He looped her arm over his shoulder and held her up.
“Hara, what’s wrong? What’s happened?” he said. Hara tried to straighten, but all she wanted to do was sleep. She vaguely felt his arm come under her knees and lift her up. Her head swam, and she could not tell if they were moving or staying still.
Gideon
When they arrived back at the cottage, Gideon kicked open the door. Seraphine wound around his legs, meowing insistently and fraying his already raw nerves as he lay Hara down onto her bed. Whatever she had done to show him her memories had taken a great toll on her.
“Hara,” he said, gently patting her cheek. “What do I do? How can I help you?”
Her eyes fluttered open. She regarded him for a moment before closing them again.
“Silly boy,” she murmured.
“What?” he said, indignant. She chose now to mock him?
“Watched me . . . for days . . . ”
Then it occurred to him. What did she always seem to be doing? His eyes landed on the kettle hanging above the low fire. He took up a clean mug and found some honey and a tin withWillow Barketched in spidery writing in her store cupboard. When the tea was strong, he brought the mug to her, placing it in her hands.
Hara took it and weakly brought it to her lips. She drank deeply, making small sighs between each sip. When the cup was empty, Gideon took it from her and said, “Are you all right?”
“Better,” she said. “Thank you. Maybe you’re not such a silly boy after all.”
Gideon scowled, and she smiled back weakly.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” she said. “Seeing all that again . . . it’s been a long time since I let myself experience it fully. It brought forth some old, buried rage.”
“I understand,” he said. “I would be angry too. Iamangry. And what I said is true: I am deeply sorry.”
She watched him, and he felt caressed by her warm, dark eyes. Under normal circumstances, Gideon hated feeling indebted. He didn’t fancy the idea of this hedgewitch having leverage over him, but he found that this was the first time he could recall ever wanting to honor a debt because of gratitude. For days now, he had been trying to think how he would repay Hara when he was well enough to travel. Doing the odd chores around her home seemed to be drops compared to the brimming bucket she had given him.
Knowing that his own father had a role in tearing her family apart was another weight on the scales. Remorse joined the fray of confusing emotions that he felt towards her. They weren’t his sins, but they felt almost like a physical burden upon his shoulders.
After experiencing such an intimate glimpse of her past, Gideon saw the way that he could help her. She saved his life, and he felt compelled to pay that debt to the fullest measure. A life for a life.
“Hara,” he said, for she had closed her eyes. She opened them, listening. “I’ve been trying to think of how I can repay my debt to you for all your help. I know money is probably not of interest to you.”
She was already shaking her head. “I don’t want anything from you. When you are well, you can leave with my blessing and that will be the end of us.”
This unexpectedly stung, but he recovered quickly. “I would like nothing better. But I cannot leave you with nothing, not now. I want to fix this.”
“I don’t care what you want. You can take any debt you feel and repay it by helping someone else.”
Would she not hear him out? Gods above, the woman was frustrating. “What if I told you I could help you get your mother back?”
Hara stared at him, fully alert now. “You jest.”
“I am Lord Gideon Falk. I ransom maidens and whinge. I don’t jest.”
“How will you find her?”
It would be tricky, there was no getting around that. There were people at court who would not like them poking around in old capture records on the Ilmarinen’s inner circle.
“There are records in the palace. She may be held prisoner somewhere.”
“How do you know she wasn’t killed?” asked Hara softly.
“Only the family were executed,” murmured Gideon. He had never felt remorse about the fate of the Ilmarinens until this moment.
