Page 118 of Into the Isle

I hurried to the gates, noticing Huscarl Grant standing off to the side, looking wide-eyed. Other guards stood in the towers, hands on their bows.

“Did he come through here?” I called out as I ran up to them.

Grant said, “Who? Grim Kollbjorn? Him and many others, initiate.”

I threw my arms up in frustration. “Why didn’t you stop him?!”

He gawked at me incredulously. “A half-ton fucking bear running at full speed? What am I, gods-damned crazy?”

He made a good point.

“It’s not even that,” called another guard from the top of the guard tower. “This is normal during full moons. Lunar Night is the one time shifter students are allowed to leave the academy freely. No questions asked from Huscarls. It prevents madness inside these walls. Gothi Sigmund decreed he’d rather they run amok outside them.”

“What about non-shifters?” I asked. “Can we leave?” Or am I going to have to fight you for it?

“Only if you’re crazy enough,” Grant fired.

I bared my teeth and pushed past him.

“Ravinica!” Grant called after me. “It’s dangerous out there in Delaveer Forest on Lunar Night! The shifters are uncontrollable!”

I fucking know! I barreled down toward the mountain pass. But if there’s anyone who will be able to calm Grim down, I think it’s me.

I sprinted, slid, and scrambled down the mountain pass quicker than I ever had. Within twenty minutes, I was on level ground, without any sign of Grim having come through here.

Clues followed me, though. Ahead, I heard more howling, more growling. The shifters were running wild through the trees, letting their primal forms take control and guide them.

I tore into Helgas Wood, skirting around the thin birch trees toward Isleton. As I snaked through, I caught sight of a broken branch, snapped at an odd angle. I crouched over it, noticed the huge paw prints, and continued in a different direction away from the village.

The trees got thicker as I moved. Within a few minutes, I wasn’t in Helgas anymore, but had traversed into the denser, wider expanse of Delaveer Forest. This place was a veritable jungle taking up most of the southern half of the Isle. It was the first place I’d trekked through after disembarking the Gray Wraith.

I recalled Arne telling me not to walk through here alone, because it was dangerous and magical. I’ve been doing a lot of things against people’s suggestions, though. Maybe I’m too stupid to survive this place. Guess time will tell.

I gathered my nerves and followed Grim’s trail. Throwing caution to the wind, something deep in my gut carried me forward, foolhardy as it might have been.

A few minutes later, I gained a grassy hill and hopped down a few ledges. I crossed over a babbling creek and noticed a glade ahead. The low growl and hum of a huge animal in the clearing drew me toward it.

Grim paced between trees in the clearing, shaking his giant furry head. He let out low snorts and sniffs as I hesitantly approached.

Bracing myself, I pushed through some foliage and marched into the clearing.

With a loud sniff, Grim’s bearish body went taut. He spun, snout flaring as he scented me. His usually calm, amber eyes were lost in a torrent of uncontrollability, red and angry.

I inhaled sharply, putting my spear on my back to show him I meant no harm. “Whoa there, big boy. I’m not here to hurt you.”

As if I could. The bear was massive, easily ten times my weight, with his snout coming up to my face. He slowly approached, opening his jaws and growling in a low huff at me.

Every fiber of my being was telling me to run . . . yet I stayed firm. What would fleeing at this point accomplish? He would just run me down and savage me.

“I’m a friend, remember?” I eked out, bending my knees and offering a posture of supplication and friendliness. My palms were held above my head.

Gods above, I’m an idiot for coming here. One of my best friends at the academy is going to kill me, and he has no control over it!

Grim wasn’t seeing me for who I was. He was seeing his next meal. With my stomach twisting into knots, my heart plummeting, I could only keep pumping my palms, waiting for him to charge and clamp those jaws on me.

But the bite never came. The dagger-sized claws never raked across my face to maul me. Instead, Grim lowered his head and sniffed. He inhaled my scent and his red eyes started to dim to an orange hue. Closer to returning to normal amber color.

He circled me, and I stayed where I was, my entire body going tense. I didn’t make any fast movements, I didn’t strike out, and I didn’t turn tail and flee. Even though I wanted to do all those things.

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