Page 74 of Into the Isle

Ulf Torfen crumpled like a sack of potatoes, his sword dropping from a useless, dangling arm.

“Fuck!” he groaned from the ground. “Did you break my fucking arm?”

“Only temporarily,” I said, and tossed the lump of wood down next to him.

I turned to chase down Sven and Ravinica—

And noticed both of them watching me. The silver-haired girl had eyes wide as saucers.

“You were saying, Initiate Linmyrr?” Hersir Axel asked behind her. “I have other fights to watch.”

Ravinica cleared her throat and nodded, spinning to face the battlemaster. “I’ve won my duel. Do I get to pick my cadet to train under now?”

The Hersir frowned. “It doesn’t work like that.”

Sven said, “I’d like to offer my expertise in this account, Hersir Axel.”

“No!” Ravinica yelled abruptly, turning a few heads from the meadow. “Erm, I mean, please, Hersir Axel. Not him. Anyone but him.”

Axel frowned, or rather deepened the one he already had on his face. “I don’t do drama, you two. Figure yourselves out.”

“I’ll take the girl,” said a brooding voice from the side. Grim Kollbjorn strode forward, and everyone turned to him. “If she’ll have me.”

Ravinica looked in awe, if not a bit hesitant. “Can I trust you, Grim?”

The giant bear shifter nodded. “Yes.”

Clearly they had some history. I wondered why Ravinica seemed untrusting to this man who obviously cared for her.

Hersir Axel rubbed the back of his neck. “Fine. I’ll allow it. Just leave me be to finish my duties here.” He nudged his chin to the dark-skinned girl next to Ravinica. “I’m assuming she’ll be in your initiate trio?”

Ravinica nodded firmly. “Yes, sir.”

Randi beamed and took Ravinica’s hand in hers.

Sven flared his nostrils, moving his anger over to Grim Kollbjorn. “You can’t just poach them from me.”

“They aren’t pieces on a gameboard, Torfen,” Grim grunted in a slow manner.

Hersir Axel raised his hand between them. The stout battlemaster lowered his voice in exasperation. “I won’t be having this between you two cadets. The girl doesn’t want you training her, Sven, and I won’t force her to. Figure yourselves out, but do it away from me.”

Grim’s eyes flared like embers as he stared daggers at Sven. “We’ve figured out everything we need to, battlemaster.”

“As you say. Who will be your third initiate?”

At that moment, I stepped forward from the fringes of their conversation. They heard me coming—or, rather, my trench coat swishing in the breeze.

With Ravinica, Randi, Sven, Grim, and Hersir Axel watching me . . . I said nothing. I just stood there.

Ravinica looked past me to where Ulf Torfen was getting off the ground from the quick work I’d made of him. She shrugged and pointed at me. “How about him?”

I clasped my hands behind my back. “Wise choice, silvermoon.”

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