Page 127 of Into the Isle

He grunted.

I looked over at him. “Will you ever tell me what it is you’ve found? I’m dying to know.”

“Maybe once I find it, silvermoon.”

I smiled softly. That was the best I could hope for. Magnus Feldraug was reserved, distant, and emotionless. Unlike my situation with Grim, I couldn’t expect some grand gesture in order to get what I wanted.

I couldn’t deny the pull I felt toward the mysterious man, either. It carved just as deeply into me as the one I felt for my huge protector and, in a way, for Arne Gornhodr.

“Hm.”

I glanced over at Magnus when he hummed.

“Time to go,” he said, checking a clock on the wall. “We’re overstayed our welcome.”

“Shit.”

A few minutes later, we were outside, on the ground level of Mimir Tomes. I craned my neck and gazed up at the third story from which we had climbed. I had become so familiar with it over the past few weeks.

Is it the records room I’ve become familiar with? I gazed over at the handsome profile of Magnus. Or the man I’ve been sharing my time with in there?

A speck of sadness hit me in the gut. Regardless if it was the man or the mission driving me, I was starting to strangely feel like I didn’t want it to end. Once we figure out our respective stories, does that mean everything will be over between us? Will we go back to being distant acquaintances, only interacting during our sparring sessions in Combat & Strategy?

It was hard to see us as anything other than that. Even now, we weren’t particularly close. We weren’t hovering over each other’s shoulder, prying for answers, getting comfortable with each other. We were supportive, and that was all there was between us.

Right? Or am I missing something that’s transpiring between us? Have I been wasting time in Mimir Tomes, when I could have been pursuing something more important than what’s on the page, standing right beside me this entire time in flesh, blood, and ink?

Irrespective of our circumstance, there was one fact that remained: The closer I got to figuring out my family history, the more hesitant and uncertain I felt about finishing my research.

Chapter 37

Ravinica

THE DAY OF MY RUNESHAPING Basics midterm, I was woefully unprepared. My nerves were shot, as I’d been practicing waggling my fingers and trying to Shape runes in the air all night before. I woke up groggy, pissed, and worried this was the end.

I paced in my room, wondering if I should just throw myself prostrate before the gods—or the Hersirs, in this case—and claim myself as a fraud for all to see.

I knew I’d get snickers, a lashing out, and probably expulsion . . . yet maybe it would lessen the burden on my shoulders.

No, I told myself, shaking the silly thought from my head. You’re smart, Vini. Fucking figure it out.

To that end, I walked down the hall to Randi’s room early in the morning. Though we were practically best friends at this point, we tended to keep to ourselves in the dorms. Both of us were introverts—surprising, considering how bubbly she was—and needed our own little she-sheds to recharge our batteries. Actually, I couldn’t remember ever stepping into Randi’s room.

Until now.

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