Page 32 of The Serpent’s Shadow

I told myself,If I ever come back here on my own volition, I must be able to retrace my steps to the science chamber, even without seeing it.

Once I was brought to the front gate of Fort Woden, standing beside four Huscarls, the hood was ripped off my head.

“Two days,” the acolyte said. “We will see you here, Herr Magnus.” She slammed the door in my face before I could respond, cutting off any visual to the interior of the fort.

A new thought came to me, and it horrified me.What if they already have what they want, and they aren’t draining my blood to test, but rather . . . to store? If that’s the case, I may never escape this dreadful fate.

As I had every day since agreeing to this, for the sake of Ravinica and Grim’s safety, I wondered what the fuck I had gotten myself into.

Chapter 12

Grim

WE HAD TO WAIT FORnightfall to make our move. I was champing at the bit to get out of Vikingrune to find my little sneak. Arne had given us the ammunition we needed. Though I didn’t trust him—and clearly Sven didn’t either—he had proven himself useful enough.

Still, he wouldn’t be joining us on our journey.

My rage had gotten the better of me in his longhouse. I’d had no intention of playing good cop, bad cop. Turned out both Sven and I were bad cops, as Sven’s sister pointed out, and Arne got the worst of it.

He was lucky we left him in one piece, after telling us what he’d done to Ravinica.How must she feel, lost and trapped by enemies from a different realm. And to know the cause of it was the very first man she met coming here on theGray Wraith, Arne Gornhodr.

The fucking spineless worm.

Once we returned with Ravinica—and wewouldreturn with her, else we’d die trying to retrieve her—I looked forward to seeing what she had in store for the iceshaper.

I hoped she was planning her revenge, even now.

It was surprising she’d left him alive at all, given what I knew about Ravinica. Her background was a history of tribulations—disgraced by her villagers, beaten by her stepfather, rising above it all and still not being enough for her damned people.

Then again, she was not spiteful. That was what Ravinica did: She rose above it all. It was partly what made her so damned attractive and alluring. Besides her beauty and her skill in combat, she let things roll off her back.

I relished the idea of getting deeper into her thoughts, into her psyche, to know what made her tick. To learn what shereallyfelt about these people who had wronged her and her family name.

And it was all because of her fucking ears.

Ridiculous, if you asked me.

“Bear, are you listening to me?” Sven asked, smacking my shoulder.

I grunted and stared down at the smaller man. Not small, by any means—ripped with muscles across his bare chest and arms—but everyone was small compared to me.

“No, wolf, I’m not,” I replied.

I was shocked my tenuous alliance with the pack leader was going as well as it was. The fact we hadn’t ripped each other’s heads off yet was a testament to what we would do for Ravinica Linmyrr.

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