Page 57 of The Serpent’s Shadow

Ravinica

GRIM MOVED PAST MEbefore I could say a thing, taking his hands off me in a way that pained my soul. Magnus and Sven were close behind, encircling the elf, while Arne stayed a few feet back nursing Dieter’s bleeding, broken arm with his sister.

The iceshaper opted to scowl at the elf instead. I got the feeling he was slightly scared of Corym, too, after the elf had lent me his dagger to hold to Arne’s throat.

Corym shifted his battle stance to take all three opponents at once, showing his grit and determination. “Lunis’ai. . .”

“Wait!” I cried out, rushing to Grim.

The man was a moving mountain, shrugging my hand off his bare shoulder in an instant. He seemed lost in the bloody daze of his curse again, reverting to the feared berserker.

My heart slammed against my ribs as my head swiveled between the bear shifter, wolf shifter, and bloodrender. I tossed Corym a helpless look, as if to say,“I have no control over this. Run!”

I knew he wouldn’t. The elf was too proud.

For what it was worth, so were the three men approaching him. They saw an enemy, and rightly so after Corym’s people had taken me from them.

At the same time, had they not just seen him fighting alongside us?

Alliances meant little at the moment.

Sven picked up a dead man’s sword as he passed, swinging it to test. His eyes never left Corym’s face, a scowl etched on his impossibly handsome face. I watched his taut ass, the muscles of his body flexing—a perfect specimen I had unfathomably seen naked too many times to be so distracted by.

“Guys, don’t do this!” I yelled.

Magnus answered for the group, saying in a low, raspy voice, “He took you from us, silvermoon. He must pay.”

“No!” My barrage caused Magnus and Sven to stutter a step—to second-guess themselves.

Not Grim Kollbjorn though, who I had as much control over as the moon.

“Ravinica,” Corym said, slightly panicked, “tell the big one to stand down or I go for him first.”

“You see?” Sven crooned. “He wants this, menace.Wewant this.”

“Idon’t want this!” I cried, balling my hands into fists.

I felt like such a weakling. A sniveling little girl throwing a tantrum. It wasn’t who I was—wasn’t who Swordbaron Korvan trained me to be, or how my mother raised me.

I am Ravinica Lindeen, daughter of a scorned woman, fighter of injustice, assassin of . . . no one. Theywilllisten to me!

With my inner pep talk complete, I roared to get their attention.

“STOP THIS!”

Grim froze, mere feet from the Ljosalfar. Sven and Magnus turned their heads toward me, a few steps back from the bear shifter.

“Don’t you idiots see? Hesavedme! He foughtwithus!”

“He took you from us first.”

This, from Arne Gornhodr. Thelastman on this bloody battlefield who should have opened his mouth.

I spun around and marched toward him, my face a mask of fury and loathing.

Arne flinched at the sight of me storming toward him. Even Dieter and Frida exchanged looks and then backpedaled slightly away from him, wanting nothing to do with me.

Walking up to the iceshaper, he lifted his hands in surrender, palms out. “Little fox—”

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