Page 96 of Blood of Ancients

My heart thumped. Wehadalways said how Arne resembled Corym in appearance—thin, bright hair, pretty face.

Arne paled. “Oh gods.”

My eyes bulged, picking up what he was saying.

“Frida, what in Odin’s name have you done?” he whispered. He took a second to gather himself, then, “Is she alive?”

Corym nodded. “They sent her away. She came alone, told the hunters she had come to the ‘wrong place,’ and left before her arrival could be adjudicated.”

I put a hand on Arne’s shoulder, and he tensed. It hurt to see him so jittery. “How is this possible?”

“She must have known about the portal opening.” Arne sucked his lips into his mouth. “I saw something new in Dieter’s letter recently. Written in a hidden script I didn’t see at first. He asked for help, saying Frida had vanished from the group.” He shook his head, bowing it in shame. “I never expected she would comehere, or even know how!”

As he raised his voice in frustration, the wood elves looked over at us. They were staring again, suspicious and cautious.

I looped my arm into Arne’s. “If she’s gone from here, and if the wood elves can be trusted at their word, then she is safe. We can do nothing about it right now, love.”

Arne gulped, faced the heavens, and sighed. Once he was composed, he nodded.

“What news of Magnus?” Hersir Kelvar asked Corym. “Anything?”

“The elves are going to hunt him. They know where he is. I promised we’d leave Alfheim if they could lead us to him.”

“This is yourhome,” I hissed. “You shouldn’t have to leave.”

Sven chuckled. “He might not have to. We do, menace. Unless we want some jagged spears up our asses.”

I scowled at him, turning back to Corym. “Why have the elves not attacked Magnus yet?”

“They were not aware of his presence when he arrived in Kiir’luri, which has them confounded. It’s my belief—and I haven’t told them this—that his bloodrending capability has masked his blood among Ljosalfar. Somehow.”

“Fascinating,” Kelvar muttered, stroking his sharp chin.

I said, “So they’re . . . watching him?”

“Aye.”

“Magnus has been studied long enough in his life.”

My mates agreed with glum nods, and then we parted. I had to cool down, because I was angry on Magnus’ behalf.People just need to let the poor man live.

My proximity to Corym and Grim quickly calmed me. My mountain-bear always had that effect on me, and Corym’s serene presence stemmed from us being in his homeland.

I threaded Corym’s hand in mine, giving him a small smile as our team broke our huddle. “Thank you for getting us out of that without bloodshed. For vouching for us.”

“Of course,lunis’ai. We’re not out of the proverbial woods yet. They don’t understand your importance, but they will.”

A knot formed between my brows. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t think they’ve noticed your half-elven origins. Their focus has been on our human friends. When they do, I’m not sure how they’ll react. Elves can be just as discriminating as humans. Especially the Skogalfar.”

I let out a sad sigh of resignation. “Luckily, that’s one thing I’m used to, love.”

Jhaeros and his hunters surrounded us and led us into the woods, away from the cliff. Our group was on high alert as we waded through the thick trees and stuffy air.

As we followed the wood elves deeper into Kiir’luri, I perked a brow and glanced sidelong at Corym, remembering something.“Now that we’ve gotten the important questions out of the way, I have another one.”

He glanced over, matching my curious expression.

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