Page 91 of Into the Isle

Chapter 27

Arne

“YOU . . . WHAT?” I studied the fair woman in front of me, the morning sunlight glinting off her face and silver hair, making her radiant.

It was Friday, the rest of the first week of class going by unremarkably. Ravinica, at least, hadn’t gained any new scars or battle wounds, so that was a win.

It was a shame I hadn’t gotten to spend as much time with Ravinica as I would have liked since the Gray Wraith. Now she asked this favor of me—one she didn’t understand.

“I did not stutter, Arne. I want to go with you, wherever you’re going.”

Ravinica picked up right where we left off after her bout with Astrid. She stared at me, her yellow eyes gleaming. Plenty of others had taken her attention—Grim Kollbjorn, Magnus Feldraug, Sven Torfen among them.

I had been tasked with the annoying duty of fieldwork on my first week back at Vikingrune Academy from the summer months. I wasn’t spending much time on academy grounds.

I couldn’t complain. In fact, I had put in the request for fieldwork before leaving for summer. The trips I took into Isleton suited my purposes.

Still, it was annoying. Having to go in and out of the western gates and tell the Huscarls the goings-on every day was frustrating.

Ravinica had found me in the western cafeteria, near Gharvold Hall where cadets and soldiers typically ate. It was a quick shot from here to the western gate, down the mountainside, and into Isleton.

I put my elbows on the table, pushing my soup tray aside. “You don’t know what you’re asking, little fox.”

“I don’t ca—”

“No, literally, you have no idea where I’m going, what I’m doing.” I narrowed my eyes on her, a smug smirk curling my lip. “Do you simply want to spend more time with me? If so, you need but ask.”

My eyes roved over her curvy body. She didn’t back down. I was only half-jesting, and she knew it.

“It’s your fault for opening your big mouth in front of me with Magnus,” she said.

I raised a finger in defiance. “Magnus opened his big mouth. It wasn’t me this time. He’s more desperate than I am.”

“For what?”

I shook my head. My golden hair tumbled across my shoulders. I wore it down today, opting to take my mane out of its braids. “Magnus’ intentions and motivations are his to tell, not mine.”

She leaned forward, studying me with her piercing gaze. “How do you know Magnus, if he’s an initiate and arrived at the academy the same time I did? You two seem chummy.”

I scoffed and dipped a hunk of bread into my soup off to the side. “Chummy? Lass, that man is an impossible mystery to crack. Even more than Grim Kollbjorn. The bear shifter is quiet, yet he wears his emotions on his sleeve. Magnus Feldraug? I don’t know if he has emotions. The man’s a damn sociopath.”

“So you’re not his friend?”

I smiled. “Oh, I didn’t say that.”

She rolled her eyes, clearly frustrated by my flip-flopping. “You’re stalling. Tell me where you’re going tonight. Please.”

The girl was grasping at straws. I wasn’t sure what she was looking for, though I could sense the urgency in her sun-flecked eyes. Despite her strong willpower and unbending resolve, I wasn’t sure if she could hack it with the people I was meeting. Ravinica had a certain naivety about her.

With a sigh, I thought, I suppose there’s only one way to find out, eh? Plus, if I helped her, she would owe me one. The gods knew I would be calling that favor in at some point. The little fox was too much of a focal point at Vikingrune Academy for her not to be useful later on. I could sense it.

I eyed her seriously. She was utterly gorgeous in my eyes. She was a woman who bucked tradition, just like I was a man who did the same. Ravinica reminded me of a shield-maiden of legend—a follower of the Old Way and icons of our people. Perhaps a valkyrie, even, serving Odin’s will to escort fallen soldiers to Valhalla atop a winged steed.

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