Page 20 of Into the Isle

This is it. Moment of truth. I’ve either just made the worst mistake of my life and damned my chances of ever attending Vikingrune . . . or this will somehow work out.

I started climbing the few handholds on the hull to get over the side of the boat, strapping my spear across my back before moving. I didn’t want to let myself known until absolutely necessary.

Voices murmured above me. I made little noise, moving stealthily. There was no stopping the crash as I hoisted over the portside rail onto the ship.

When I looked up, shadows stood over me in a circle, peering down with heavy frowns on their faces.

I smiled and waved from my knees. “Hi?”

Someone pushed through the crowd, grunting. Eirik stood in front of me, eyes wide. “Ravinica?”

I stood, dusting my hands off. “Hey, E.”

“Everyone back to your posts,” he said, shooing off the warriors next to him. They meandered off. The surprise on my elder brother’s face shifted to caution, eyes narrowing. “Where’s Damon?”

“He got cold feet, I imagine.” More like piss feet.

He tilted his head, unconvinced, and crossed his burly arms over his chest. “What did you do, Vini?”

I swept my arm out behind me in a wide arc. To answer his question, I ignored it and asked one of my own. “What the fuck was that, Eirik? A final trial?”

My voice came out harsher than I’d meant it to.

“No,” he said sternly. “You know I don’t make the decisions. You shouldn’t be here, sister.” He glanced down at the wooden floorboards of the longship, then relaxed his body and rubbed the back of his neck. “. . . Though I’m glad you are, if I’m being honest.”

I jolted, shocked. “Y-You are?” And here I thought I was about to get skewered by strangers on this mythical boat.

My frustration came roaring back, remembering the afternoon announcement and the way Eirik’s eyes sank as he read off the name. “How the hell would Damon get the call over me?” I demanded. “Has the academy not gotten our ravens showing the tally of trials? I’ve defeated him on every account!”

“I know, Vini. I’ve heard.” With a sigh, Eirik took a seat on a rowing bench.

The other shadows on the boat—men and women who looked around my age—kept to themselves on their respective benches. Some of them lay on their backs to shut their eyes.

“I think it has less to do with your prowess, sister, and more to do with your name. Sadly.” Eirik shrugged. “Superiors over my head decide who is chosen. I just carry out their will.” He stood and thrust a finger at me. “Just know, I had nothing to do with this. In fact, I fought for your recruitment.”

“You did?” I was stunned again.

“It fell on deaf ears,” he admitted.

I gnashed my teeth together. “Will you be in trouble when you arrive with a woman rather than a man?”

A smirk broke at the corner of his mouth. “Who says we’re going to take you with us?”

My jaw clamped harder. My hands knotted into fists at my sides. I’d fight every damn person on this boat if it meant sailing away from here.

Eirik saw the way my body tautened, going into a fighter’s response. He put his palms out in surrender. “I’m kidding, Vini. Gods. I was not looking forward to the incessant chatter of Damon en route to the academy.”

I blinked. Loosened my muscles. “So . . .”

“I won’t be in trouble for bringing a woman rather than a man,” he said. “I might get in trouble for bringing you, specifically. I can’t say. And I don’t know what might befall you when you arrive at Vikingrune. I just know I’ll take the chance.”

I was stunned at my brother’s candidness. “Really? Why?”

His face hardened, the two scars drawing wrinkles around them. “Because this isn’t a popularity contest, sister. Damon never understood that. He treats this like a vacation. I know damn well how dangerous it is out there. Here’s the truth: I’d rather have you in my shield wall than my foolish younger brother.”

Holy hells. I gulped past a dry throat.

He stepped closer to me, having my full attention. “Are you sure you want to go through with this, Vini? You know the end of the rhyme: ‘Until your soul is sealed.’ There’s no going back. You need to be sure.”

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