Page 139 of The Serpent’s Shadow

“After what we just did? How could I?” I quipped with a roguish smile and waggling eyebrows.

He blushed, returning my smile. “True. I certainly didn’t expect to findmyselflimping out of that cave—more likely for you, I admit. I can’t say it was unpleasant.”

I laughed. The sound carried through the whipping wind and trees. Even torrential weather couldn’t bring my mood down. Not now.

Glancing over at Corym, I quirked my eyebrows. “And you, Corym? Was that, uh . . . to your liking?”

He paused for a moment. “My people never turn down an opportunity to pursue beauty, no matter who it belongs to.”

Arne smirked. “Aw, elf, did you just call me beautiful?”

Corym scoffed. “Careful, iceshaper. I only mean to say my people are much more prone to the kind of behavior we just partook in than, say, humans.”

Arne clicked his tongue. “It’s more common than you might think, elf. Even with humans.”

“Aye, well, my leader in Alfheim has four wives and two husbands. So, there’s that.”

“Point made.” Surprise splashed across Arne’s face. “That might be a bit more uncommon here.”

My eyebrows flew up my forehead. “Gods-damn.Sixpartners? How does he find any time to get anything done?”

“How do you?” Corym shot back, smiling. “With five?”

Warmth spread across my cheeks. “Touché.”

“Besides, theydon’tget anything done. That’s part of the problem.”

I mulled that over. “They?”

“My leader is neither she nor he, and yet both.”

I found that refreshing. Transcending gender, as it were. Our world had only recently, it seemed, started to be more accepting of identities such as that. It felt good knowing it was more commonplace in other worlds, and likely had been since the dawn of their people.Since the dawn of ours too, honestly. Just kept in the dark for far too long.

Speaking of the dark, it was the dead hours of night now, the wee hours of morning before the sun rose and the moon sank.Clouds dotted the sky in gray-black bubbles, ready to drop rain on our heads all through Sunday.

I was fine with that, as long as we found a suitable place for Corym to stay, while I figured things out at Vikingrune.

As we made it toward Academy Hill, I stopped the group. “What’s the plan, Arne?” I asked, deferring to the man who had said he already took care of this moment in anticipation.

“Well, it has to be the underground tunnels, right? Can’t exactly waltz through the front gates with an elf on our hands, like we did to leave.”

“True.”

“I have a place set out for him where he should be safe,” the iceshaper continued. “At least until next term starts in a few weeks when snow starts to fall. Once the academy goes underground, we may have to move him.”

“That works with me,” I said, shrugging. I knew any place where we put Corym would only be temporary. That was enough for now. “Corym?” I asked, looking over at the dashingly handsome man.

“It works with me too, deceiver.”

Arne winced at the nickname. I did too.

I was sure Corym hadn’t meant anything by it . . . I had to remember he was also the man who offered me his magical elven dagger to slit Arne’s throat when we first met.Gods above, and now he’s . . . well, gotten much closer to the “deceiver” than he ever imagined, I’m sure.

I put a hand on Arne’s shoulder, gesturing to his hair. “Don’t worry, Arnie. You can be our very own Deceiver in Gold. We know how heactuallyended up being, eh?”

Corym let out a deep sound, nodding. “Lord Talasin is well-respected among my people. It is certainly not a slight to be compared to such a legendary figure.”

I smiled crookedly at Arne, convinced that was the most I was going to get out of Corym.

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