Page 38 of The Serpent’s Shadow

That brought a smile to her wondrous face. “Is it more war-torn than Midgard?”

“We have our fair share of conflicts.” My head bobbed left to right. “There is no realm I know of that does not,lunis’ai.Your wars may be more frequent, but ours are longer lasting. The Ljosalfar and the Dokkalfar had been waging war against each other for hundreds of years, with no end in sight. Occasionally, there will be a truce. But they are short-lived, in the grand scheme.”

She let out a hum. “I would love to visit.”

I froze, eyeing her. “You would? Even after what I’ve just told you?”

She shrugged nonchalantly, as if the fear of war against Dokkalfar did not concern her. It was a blissfully naïve notion, thinking she could understand the dark elves when she had never met them nor integrated herself in our conflict.

“I am half elven, am I not? Which means my father, who I’ve never met, must be an elf. I would like to see where they come from, how they live. Maybe I’d even find him.” She chuckledat the end, evidently charmed by the ridiculousness of her statement.

Alfheim was not as large as Midgard, but it was certainly vast enough that she wouldn’t just stumble upon her father in the local tree-tavern of my home village. There were millions of people living in the elven realm.

“It is a fine thought,” I said, continuing forward when she started walking through the swamp again. “However, just because elven blood runs through you, and your ears are tapered, does not mean you arehalfelf. Just to be clear, Ravinica. Your elven bloodlinemaycome from a man or woman further down the line in your history.”

Her brow furrowed. “Really?”

“Aye. I’m only saying that so you don’t get your hopes up. Until you know precisely where you come from, it’s impossible to pin down your blood relatives.”

“I’ve done research into them on my mother’s side. A sad study in tragedy. My family name has been tormented for generations—a thousand years back, all the way to the time of Dannon and Talasin.”

“I am sorry to hear it.”

She abruptly shifted topics. “What do you do in Alfheim, Corym? What is your . . . vocation?”

I pursed my lips, clicking my tongue. A willow tree was in our way on the path, so we had to duck under the draping branches. I held her hand as I led her through the ankle-high mud-path.

“In Alfheim, I lead military excursions such as this one. I am also atorar’tis.A . . . tutor? The translation is close.”

Her silver brow jumped. “You’re ateacher?”

“Is it that surprising?”

She smiled and looked at me with a strange glint in her eyes, like she was seeing me in a new light. It made my heart thump to see her smiling at me again, for the first time in days.

I could linger on that smile for years, and I figured I would once we parted ways after this meeting with the Ancient One.

“Are teachers respected in your realm?” she asked. “We have trouble giving them what they’re worth here.”

It was a bit cryptic, and I didn’t immediately answer. Instead, I studied her beautiful face, the clear enthusiasm she felt when she was drawn into a topic that intrigued her.

The draw I felt toward Ravinica Lindeen was almost unnatural in its strength. The fact her Shaping powers had come to fruition in my presence only gave me hope—likelyfalsehope—that there was an importance to us meeting each other.

“Inherent magic” was a term used to describe a human’s ability to draw runes and Shape spells, evidently. Yet, in truth, humans did nothaveinherent magic. They either had the blood of magical beings passed down through family lineages, or they were enhanced by the powers of the Runesphere—an artifact many humans misrepresented and knew nothing about.

Shifters, for instance, didn’t have “inherent” magic. They had other shifter blood in them, which, if you went back far enough, was originally sourced at the Runesphere.

Ravinica was different, though. Elvesdidhave inherent magic. It was where the term came from, though humans would never admit it.

And Ravinica had that blood inside her.

As I had been cycling through my thoughts for days now regarding Ravinica and her purpose, I wondered if there was not somethingmorethere, too. If the “draw” I felt toward her was more tangible than I was giving it credit, rather than hastily formed lust I felt for the girl.

I found myself thinking,Could she be the one the prophecies spoke of? Is it even possible—for a girl such as her, so far removed from her roots in Alfheim—to hold that sway and power, without even realizing it?

The prophecies had always been vague by design. The chance of my wandering musings being true was close to zero. Yet, some part of me—

“Shit,” Ravinica said, forcing me out of my thoughts. She slowed her walk and turned away from me, off the muddy path. “There it is.”

---