Page 160 of The Serpent’s Shadow

Chapter 46

Ravinica

AFTER PACING SO MUCHin my room last night that I wore the floorboards out, I had spent the rest of the night going through my textbooks. At one point, I had three tomes open at the same time on the floor, flipping through the pages, walking between them like a crazed detective.

I practiced Shaping the runes I found, over and over again. My fingers danced with magic, yet the outcome was always the same: a successful spell, but a failure of execution.

It was to be expected, given what I was trying to do, and I had to be content with that.

Once I was finally ready, and felt confident in my abilities hours later, the sun was beginning to rise on Academy Hill. Or at least it was trying its hardest to push its bountiful rays through the nasty storm that had been falling on us the past few days.

I hadn’t slept a wink, yet I wasn’t tired in the slightest. I was energized by the prospect of a successful mission.

Now, I was shocked to find myself in a convoy with Gothi Sigmund himself. Surrounded by two dozen Huscarls, including the scarred commander from Fort Woden, never leaving Sigmund’s side.

I also had my mates with me, one and all: Sven, Grim, Arne, Magnus. Dagny and Randi had helped me rouse them once Gothi Sigmund agreed to my stipulations and told me I had an hour before we departed the academy.

An hour?!I remembered thinking.

And here I had figured the Gothi would shrug off my desperate ploy as foolish and unnecessary. It seemed he was willing to throw down his “busy plans” for the opportunity I presented him with.

It was a juicy one, after all.

We moved at a breakneck speed, atop horses and a few carriages. Our entourage was vast—likely the largest contingent Vikingrune Academy had ever sent outside the gates of the school.

The group moved through Delaveer Forest with purpose. My heart was thumping the entire time, throat hitching as I worried about my capabilities and what I was getting myself into.

I was on Gothi Sigmund’s radar now, no matter what happened. That didn’t seem like a good thing—an afterthought I hadn’t considered when first concocting my scheme.

As we rode through the widest paths Delaveer had to offer beneath its thick canopies and jungle-like atmosphere, we stopped twice for food and drink, always next to a river.

My mates were giving me the cold shoulder, which was understandable because I hadagaindone something foolish without telling them. Plus, they couldn’t exactly whisper secrets to me with the dean of the academy never straying more than five feet from me.

I prayed they would forgive me eventually. They didn’t even know what I planned, yet I hoped they’d agree with my reasoning once they found out.

I was sure my guys felt like prisoners at their own academy, forced into something against their will, when the term was technically over already. They could have been sipping frosty beers in Isleton, next to a fire at Trond’s Pub or Liv’s Libations. Instead, they were out here with me in the bitter cold.

That certainly spoke to their character, and showed they cared deeply for me and my safety.

Even so, Magnus kept shooting me with a what-the-fuck-have-you-gotten-us-into look. He appeared slightly guilty, too, since all of this was predicated on the bombshell of revelations he’d told me yesterday.

Please let this work without any problems. I’ll make sure to pray to you forever, gods.

As the sun was beginning to set on another dreary afternoon in the Isle, we arrived at our destination. We’d been traveling all day, with little words spoken by anyone. My guys were acting pissy, the Huscarls were acting annoyed, and Sigmund was lost in thought with a determined bent to his severe face.

The elven encampment looked much the same as when I’d escaped it with Corym. The skeletons of burned-out tents and charred logs riddled the large clearing. Clothes, hangers, and overturned buckets were left near the riverside.

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