We set up camp beside a dense thicket of trees. Ake got a fire burning right away while I helped Gunny put up the tents. Bolthur essentially did nothing, aside from pace back and forth and criticize how we were setting up the tents.
"You haven't even hammered the peg in properly, water jotun. Haven't you ever erected a tent before?"
The way he said that last bit made my cheeks burn. I was pretty sure his question had a double meaning, the way he smirked, the tone he used.
Ake straightened up, the fire at his feet now blazing. "If you set up tents as fast as you talked, Bolthur, our camp would be done by now."
Bolthur's face went dark, and beside me, Gunny snorted in amusement. I turned away to hide my smile.
"No matter, you can start our dinner," Ake said.
"Fine." Bolthur stalked away towards the horses, moving to unload the saddle bags, cutlery clanking as he threw it down into the snow.
"He gets grumpy after a few hours of riding," Gunny whispered. "I mean, more so than usual."
"Just seems like his usual attitude to me," I muttered.
We laid out our bedrolls inside the tent and then retreated to the campfire, sitting across from Ake, who was watching Bolthur poke bad-temperedly at a cast iron pot hanging over the fire.
It was starting to get dark, and Gunny squinted at me from across the fire. "You cold, girly?"
I hadn't realized it, but I was rubbing my arms, even through the thick sweater Ake had given me. Goosebumps prickled my skin. "A bit," I said it reluctantly.
Bolthur started ladling stew into the wooden bowls, glancing sideways at me as he did. "So your fancy new water powers make you weak then."
As much as I wanted to turn and knock the bowl of soup right into his smug face, I made myself smile at him, bearing my teeth. "Sure, weak. Do you know you have less water in your body than everyone else?" I gestured around at the others. "You should drink more, Bolthur."
He scowled. "That's creepy. Keep that to yourself."
I shrugged, and then nodded my thanks to Ake when he reached over the fire and handed me a bowl of soup. It was hearty fare, with chunks of meat and vegetables.
"We should turn in early." Ake spoke around a mouthful of stew. "We've got a long journey ahead of us tomorrow. Full day of travel."
"So what happens after we get there?" The spoon scraped the bottom of the bowl and I set it down on the snow. "How does an audience work?"
Already, butterflies were starting in my stomach. Just the thought of it was making me nervous.
Ake sat back and folded his arms over his chest. "You'll be escorted to the audience chamber and go in front of both of them at the same time. Since it's a potential threat, you'll be in one of the first groups to see them tomorrow."
"First groups?" I frowned. "It's not urgent enough for them?"
"You think you're the only one who claims they've got secret knowledge about a threat to the kingdom?" Bolthur scoffed. "Please. There's threats all the time. Crazy people come to the palace in droves."
"I'm not crazy." I scowled at him. "You saw what I can do. You think I was born like that?"
"You're a genetic freak, as far as I'm concerned." Bolthur shrugged. "And a liar who loves attention."
A wave of sheer anger made my pulse pick up, and I ground my teeth together, forcing myself not to reply. Ake cleared his throat.
"That's enough. Let's turn in for the night before she rips the water straight out of your body." He stood up and tossed his bowl down by the fire. "And before I let her."
Bolthur climbed to his feet as well, brushing his pants off, giving me one last glare before he stalked off toward the tent he was sharing with Ake. I didn't envy Ake, who trailed after him at a much slower pace.
Gunny had apparently been savoring her soup, because she took one final slurp and set it down with a satisfied sigh. "Don't worry about him, he's just an idiot."
I let out a growl under my breath. "What is his problem with me exactly? He didn't even seem to hate Eli as much as he does me, and he's human."
Gunny looked uncomfortable. "Uh...well, you're not going to like the answer to that."
I sat up a little straighter. "So there is something. Tell me. What's his issue with me?"
"Not with you." Gunny fidgeted with her spoon, not making eye contact. "With servants in general."
Instantly anger was boiling in my stomach. "So Bolthur is a classist. I guess I shouldn't be surprised."
With the uprising of Queen Megan and the joining of the two kingdoms there'd been many changes in policy. Servants weren't treated like slaves anymore. We were paid, treated with respect. And slowly, over the years, people's attitudes were starting to change. You didn't treat servants badly, it wasn't acceptable anymore.
But there were always outliers during every movement. There were always people that pushed against change. After the kingdoms united there were the classists that still held fast to the old way, still treated servants badly, even risking jail sentences for beating their servants. Still thought of us as "impure" even though most of us were nearly full-blooded.
They wanted a return to the old ways, some were more blatant than others. There'd even been a rebellion years ago.
It shouldn't be a surprise that Bolthur was one of them. His attitude should have clued me in. "It makes sense. There's enough of them in the guard."
Again, Gunny looked uncomfortable. "They're trying to weed that out, but it's hard to tell. The classist keep it to themselves for the most part. A lot of the old, so called 'pure' families..."
"I know." I sighed, crossing my legs and leaning my elbows on my knees. "I know, it's the old way of thinking, of doing things. It will take a while to die out."
"If it helps, I'm a crossover." Gunny grinned. "So Bolthur jabs at me too from time to time, when he's feeling particularly crotchety."
A crossover. Part fire, part frost. "Mostly fire I'm guessing."
Gunny nodded. "You got it." She unfolded her hand. Her fingers were long, nails trimmed short. A flame ignited in her palm, flickering in the dark. "Enough to keep some serious fire power, lucky for me."
In spite of the irritation from the exchange with Bolthur, I couldn't help smiling at her. There was something a little bit mischievous about her. Something that she didn't let out in front of her commander and fellow guards.
Gunny stretched out and put her hands behind her head. "Yeah, Bolthur is a jerk, you just can't let it get to you. He's like a wolf, if he senses weakness he'll hone in on it and eat you alive."
"He thinks I'm weak," I muttered. "Too late for that."
"I think we both know that he knows you're not," Gunny said. "He knows you could rip his spleen out or whatever, and he's not happy about it. To him, it's a servant in a position of power you shouldn't have."
My irritation surged again, and she must have realized, because she held both hands up.
"I'm just saying...that's what he's thinking. That's why he's behaving the way he is. If I know, Bolthur, and I do...that's why."
I nodded, and she looked relieved. "I know what you mean. It's fine. I'll figure out a way to deal with him. I mean...without ripping out his inner organs."
She chuckled and climbed slowly to her feet, collecting the wooden bowls and setting them down beside the fire. "Ake is right, we should turn in. It's an early morning for us tomorrow."
I trailed after her, following her into the tent. Thankfully it was roomy enough for the both of us to spread out quite a bit, and I stretched out on the furs we'd brought. Gunny must have dropped off to sleep almost immediately, since I could hear her deep breathing from the other side of the tent. It only took me a few minutes before I joined her.
Crunching woke me. The sound of footsteps in the snow. Someone was walking outside the tent. Tense, I stayed where I was, frozen under the blankets. The footsteps paused for a second, then continued, moving away from the tent.
Whoever it was moved like a hunter, a steady, quiet tread.
Moving as silently as I could, I lifted the tent flap and peered out. A figure was disappearing into the woods surrounding the camp. From this distance I could still sense the exact amount of water in his body, the same thing I'd felt beside the camp fire.
Bolthur.
It was possible he was just vanishing into the woods to do his...business. If it were anyone else I would have just let them go. But it wasn't. And I didn't trust him. So I waited until he vanished completely behind the line of trees and into the darkness, and then I followed.