Page 115 of The Mentor
Magni was stiff when I whispered into his ear: “You don’t fool me. Even big brutes like you need a hug now and then.”
He didn’t answer me, but his arms closed around my waist and he lifted me a little from the ground.
“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” I teased.
“No, but you seem to forget that we Northmen hug each other.” Lifting his chin he said: “I get plenty of hugs.”
I scoffed a little. “Those aren’t real hugs. With the way you slam your chests against each other and pound the other person’s back as if you’re trying to leave bruises, it looks more like an invitation to wrestle than a loving hug.”
Magni crossed his arms, probably to make sure I didn’t hug him again. “I’ll admit a female’s hug is very different. Not bad, just softer.”
I chuckled. “Soft is good when it comes to hugging,” I said. “You can always get a hug from me if you need it. We’re friends.”
“Thanks, that’s nice of you, but I’m good. Mila and Paysey have already generously given me a hug each.” Magni didn’t smile often, but talking about the girls softened the edges around his eyes and his lips pursed upward.
Spotting that Christina was waiting to talk to me, I excused myself. I had already apologized to her for lying about my mother, but everything had been so hectic this morning, and I knew she had a lot of questions that I still hadn’t answered.
“I’m trying to wrap my head around this,” she said when I pulled her to the side a little. “I get the part about your not wanting me to get my hopes up, but I just overheard Finn said that he knew about you two. Why did you tell him and not me?” There was a small pout on her lips.
“We didn’t. Finn walked in on us on the first night we were together. We made him swear that he wouldn’t tell a soul.”
“Would you have told me, eventually?” she asked.
I took Christina’s hands. “Of course! Trust me, I wanted to tell you so many times, and I’m really sorry you had to find out about it like this.”
Boulder came to join us and wrapped his arm around his wife just as Christina was saying: “My disappointment about your keeping it a secret is largely overshadowed by my happiness that you won’t be leaving anytime soon.”
I gave my friend a fierce hug. “Thank you so much, Ina, may you be showered with eternal blessings.”
“She already has me,” Boulder joked. “That should be enough blessing for one woman.”
I smiled widely. “So, when are you gonna tell Raven the good news?”
“Oh, this isyourday, and Archer’s of course,” Christina said quickly. “Of course, we’re dying to tell her, but we don’t want to take the focus away from your wedding.”
“Are you kidding me? Don’t hold back because of us, do it now if you want to.”
Christina and Boulder exchanged an excited glance. “Are you sure?”
I pointed to the school building. “I’m pretty sure Raven went inside with Shelly to bake cakes for all of us. You can use the office to talk with her in private, or ask her to take a walk in the forest with you two,” I said. “On second thought, that last option might be risky, since Raven will probably invite all her friends to come along.”
The sudden deafening shouts had us all spinning to find the source. Over by the school building, Magni was growling and violently shoving at Solomon with pure rage on his face. The boy fell backward, landing on the grass and using his feet to push away without taking his eyes off the furious giant in front of him.
“What the fuck!” Boulder exclaimed, and Christina and I followed on his tail when he ran to the scene.
“That’s right, you little weasel, crawl on the ground like the dog you are,” Magni shouted at Solomon, whose eyes had grown double their size.
Archer, Marco, and Boulder moved in between Solomon, who still scrambled on the ground, and Magni, who seemed to have lost his mind with rage.
Archer spread his arms out as if forming a human shield to protect his student, and kept his eyes fixed on Magni.
“What happened?” I asked as loud as my hoarse voice would allow.
Archer shot me a warning glance. “Kya, you stay out of this, you hear me?”
I couldn’t imagine Magni hurting me, but then I’d never seen him lose it like this before.
The Motlander children were quickly huddling together behind me and Christina, and I instinctively pulled Victoria under my arm when I heard her crying.
