Page 96 of Rune

Neither of us gave him a response. He deflected a strike from Tova before shouting again. “This will not bring your clan any honor!”

Tova shoved against him and he fell back. Trig found his remaining strength to lunge and grab his wrist, holding his blade back. Tova lifted her knife.

“Odin will not let you live if you defy the rules of the fight!”

He might be right, but his argument was drowned out as death found him.

Instead of silence, the night was filled with heavy breathing, pained groans, and the burning question of where the final competitor was.

I crossed the final distance, and looked upon the fallen. “What was his name?”

“Briggs. He loved hunting and had a sweetheart,” Tova replied. I committed those to memory as she eyed my shoulder. “That doesn’t look good.”

“I’ve been more comfortable,” I confessed. “But I’ll deal with it once we kill First.”

Trig frowned. “First?” His words were strained, and he shifted to his knees as he held his stomach like his fingers were the only thing keeping him together. Tova sat beside him and placed her hand over his—the most physical affection I’d seen from her.

I crouched beside them. “Unless the one you killed was a massive man with thick hair, then we have the trickiest one left to kill.”

“Njal,” Tova said.

“That’s right.” I struggled to my feet. “And he could be here now so—”

My vision swarmed, forcing me to my knees again.

Tova looked between us. “You two should stay.”

Trig and I both protested, but the sound of my voice dimmed as that feeling from earlier set in again. Ve was here. I looked around, searching for him. As I did, a black shadow moved along the gate. Fear thrummed inside, trying to tell me I was wrong, and it was Njal here to kill us all, but that feeling surged again, telling me to trust my gut.

My gut could barely hold the contents of my stomach in. Njal or Ve, we’d know in a moment. My body grew faint as my head thickened. I tried to stand but my knees gave out again. “Help,” I whispered to Ve. “I need you.”

The figure moved quickly, coming upon us in an instant. We couldn’t have fought him if we tried, but we didn’t need to. I’d been right.

Ve wrapped his arms beneath me as the other two jumped. “You’re struck.” He inspected my shoulder, checking for an exit. From his face, it didn’t look good.

“If you could do your magic thing,” I whispered, clinging to his arms. “Now would be great.”

He felt my head, and shifted my collar to look at the skin. “It’s poisoned.”

“What?” Tova came, and Ve regarded her for the first time.

“The arrow was poisoned. A god must have helped whoever shot her. We—” he eyed Trig. “What happened to that one?”

“Our rescue of Tova is going well,” I said with a faint laugh.

“She looks like the only one who isn’t hurt. Do you even have a cut?” Ve asked, as he put his hands on me to tear out the arrow. I swallowed a scream. A moment later his healing began to take effect, and warmth spread.

“A bite to the leg and small cut on my hand,” Tova recounted. “The other two nearly died.”

“You are fine because we rescued you.”

“You pushed me off a wall,” Tova corrected.

The heat in my shoulder lessened, and the worry lines faded from Ve’s brow, until he released his touch from my shoulder and nodded to affirm it was healed. Tova, remarkably, took the sudden display of healing power in stride, and eagerly shifted so Ve could approach Trig. Ve knelt, and looked Trig over, who’d gone still. His eye met mine and I sobered.

Tova paled. “What was that look?” She drew close to Trig, curling around him. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Trig is more heavily injured than Rune was.”

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