Heart of a Berserker: Hope (School of Dragons)

Chapter 16

"The difference between a successful person and others is not lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will." – Vince Lombardi

Chapter 16

I returned to Dragon's Edge with a huge smile on my face. Then I saw Heather and Dagur waiting for me, and I suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. I know they just wanted to help, but the idea of talking about what happened was too embarrassing. I dashed into my hut without looking at them. I closed the door and turned around. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw the siblings had somehow made it there before me.

"Brennda, you're back!" Dagur said happily.

"How did it go with Harald?" Heather asked with a smile.

I flushed. "I, uh, we don't need to talk about that."

Heather smirked. "That good, huh?"

"Don't worry," Dagur said. "Heather updated me on everything!"

I winced. Great. I gave Heather a desperate look. "I know I said I want him to help, but talking to him will be awkward..."

"Then talk to me," Heather said. "Don't focus on him."

"Hey!" Dagur protested.

I took a deep breath. "Alright." It would be good to obtain some insight. "So... remember what I said about Harald being receptive to my physical affection?"

Heather nodded.

"I tried that, and it worked. Really well. He let his guard down and allowed himself to enjoy my touch. I was in control for once... until he kissed me."

Heather grinned. "You did a really good job."

I smiled tentatively. "Yeah. Not that it wasn't wonderful, but it made it hard to talk and get him to open up. I didn't think it would get that far."

Heather raised her eyebrows. "He's a guy. What did you expect?"

"But he's always so control of his emotions."

"And he's still human." Heather shook her head. "Honestly, I'm surprised he lasted this long. If it wasn't for the gas masks you had to wear on Dragon Island, I bet he would have kissed you then."

I blushed. "N-Not true." Then I remembered the way he had looked at me. Maybe it was true.

Heather smirked. "Anyway, I think you made progress. It sounds like physical touch is his weakness. You could use it sparingly in the future to get him to be honest with you."

"You can use it against him to get you to do what you want!" Dagur said a little too excitedly. He pounded his fist into his palm. "You could crush him!"

I gaped at him. "No! That's the opposite of what I want to do!" I turned to Heather. "I thought you explained things to him."

"I did," Heather said.

"She said you want to beat him," Dagur said with a wicked grin.

Heather shot her brother a look. "She's in love with him, Dagur. Beating him means bringing him over to her side."

Dagur blinked. "Oh. You should have been more specific."

Heather rolled her eyes. "Next time I'll remember I'm not talking to someone who's sane."

"Anyway," I said, "Dagur, I do want your advice. Stormheart certainly complicates things, but even leaving her aside, I'm afraid Harald is going to run again because I got too close. He's always done it, even when he was pretending to be our friend on the Edge. Every time I made progress, he suddenly grew cold and distant."