Page 125 of The Serpent’s Shadow

I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

I was actuallygladSven had charged into the clearing, looking for blood. He had gotten so, so much more, and now I felt as connected with him as I did the others.

Before long, we could hear the babbling rush of a river nearby. Through the trees, Grim and Sven led me, until we came upon a snaking waterway that cut through the forest. It was narrow, shallow, and perfect for our purposes.

They held my hands, one shifter on either side like squires to a queen, as I stepped into the river to gauge its current. It was slow-moving, lazy, and the chill of it struck bone-deep.

I stayed near the bank, not trusting myself—worried I’d close my eyes and drift too far into the middle, then get swept away downriver.

Grim washed my hair, while Sven scrubbed my body, until I was glistening, clean, even more alive than before.

Yet my thoughts kept trailing. The realization that it was “time” wouldn’t go away, and I worried they could read it on my face.

Sure enough, Sven said, “What’s wrong, girl? Don’t tell me the shame is hitting younow.”

I swallowed hard past a dry throat. Gazing up at the moon through the canopies above, I let out a sigh. “I need to tell you something. It’s about both of you. And the others.”

That got their attention, brows perking up.

“The others?” Sven asked, accusatory—still trapped in his possessive mindset.

“Magnus and Arne, specifically.”

Grim’s face went flat, slightly concerned. Sven looked askance at me.

“What is it, little sneak?” the bear asked.

I didn’t know how to start, so I just did. I began somewhere in the middle, rather than the beginning, telling them about my secret rendezvous with Magnus in Mimir Tomes earlier in the term.

I told them about the secrets I’d found there, concerning my family’s history.

“Why were you doing all this?” Grim asked.

Fear nearly crippled me, clawing up my spine. I worried I was about to ruin everything—every good thing we had developed. My doubts nearly overwhelmed me completely, drowning away all logic and thought.

I knew I had to press on. I had come this far, speaking in a low voice while they bathed me, and I didn’t want to predicate the bond we now shared on lies.

“Because I came . . . I came to Vikingrune Academy with a purpose, Grim.”

Their hands had stoppd moving on my body. I sat on the edge of the bank, staring up at them. Curiosity and a little worry on their faces. My fingers fidgeting in front of my belly.

“. . . And that purpose was to kill the people responsible for tarnishing my family’s name. Or their descendants.”

More curiosity on their faces, more confusion.

Sven chuckled, saying, “I’d do the same thing, were I given your lot in life.”

“Yes, but you don’t understand, Sven.” I shook my head wildly, fighting back against sudden tears threatening to spill. “Because what I found out, it . . . it changed everything. And I can’t hold it in any longer. I don’t want to leave this term without telling all of you. I can’t keep the weight of it hidden anymore.”

“What in Odin’s name are you on about, love?” Grim asked softly. He crouched so we were eye-level, the shallow river licking at his calves.

“The people who destroyed my family . . . wereyourfamilies. All of you. The Kolls, the Tors, the Fels, the Gorns. I traced my lineage back to the time of King Dannon, and your families were all involved, in some way or other, in trying to eradicate mine.”

My breath was short now, coming out shallow as I vomited words at a rapid-fire pace. I heaved, feeling dizzy, nearly passingout from getting the words out in the open—the weight of it off my shoulders.

A different, oppressive weight took over as silence filled the night sky around us. When I looked up, Sven and Grim both stared down at me, shock registering on their faces.

To their credit, they didn’t deny it. They didn’t get defensive. They didn’t fight back.

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