Page 143 of The Serpent’s Shadow

Arne’s eyes widened. “N-No, Ravinica, what are you doing?”

I knew if we fought anddidn’tdie, it would have the same outcome as death itself. There was no way we could escape the consequences of brawling and killing Huscarls so close to Vikingrune Academy—literally right under their nose.

This fight would haunt us forever. It would doom me, Arne, and Corym. Whereas if we held off and surrendered . . . we could maybe regather and fight another day.

Corym understood that, it seemed, when he searched my pleading eyes. Arne wanted blood, vengeance, to prove himself to me. But the elf knew what I knew, and could read the pieces on the chessboard as well as anyone.

“I understand,lunis’ai. And I believe you.”

He sheathed his sword on his back.

Arne inhaled sharply.

Even Frida looked shocked, standing behind the Huscarls like a coward, waiting for the blood to spill.

My shoulders slumped as Corym stepped forward from me and Arne.

He put his wrists together in front of him, like a prisoner ready to be shackled. “Take me, and leave these two alone,” he announced in his thick accent. “I am the one you want.”

With that, Corym E’tar found himself a captive of greedy humans for the second time in a single day.

And I felt my heart shatter.

Chapter 41

Magnus

I SAT RECLINED IN THEtesting chair, staring up at the blinding white hospital lights overhead. My mind was turned off, or at least as much as it could be given what the damned scientists were doing to me.

It was humiliating, being a test subject. Worse was coming here, day in and day out, towillinglysubject myself to this for weeks now.

Yet if it meant keeping Ravinica safe, I would gladly sacrifice my blood for that cause.

My silvermoon didn’t fully understand the goings-on here, even if I’d told her about the leechings. She didn’t know about the pain, the latent fear that nearly crippled me when I stepped foot in front of Fort Woden, mentally and physically preparing myself for the hours-long torture.

The term was over. Finals were finished. I was in the running to be named Drengr of the initiate class—the warrior with the best scores—though it was not a title I wanted, needed, or cared about.

Even though classes were done, I was still in here, surrounded by sterile drapes, curtains, the beeping of machines like I was on life support, and hooded nurses and doctors who were too cowardly to show themselves, for fear of retribution from their “patients.”

I was a lab rat for the acolytes and scientists of the academy to poke, prod, and investigate.

After my first dozen leechings, I recalled asking myself,When will it end?

Now, I had no such questions. The academy would not allow me to leave here until they had sucked me dry of my unique blood, leaving me a husk. I would leave here a bloodless corpse, in a body bag. It may not be today, or tomorrow, but eventually the scientists would go too far as their morbid curiosity pushed them to achieve greater discoveries and damage my already-damaged body further.

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