Page 55 of The Mentor
“Nope, he’s very concerned about my safety and prefers for me to just stay at the school.”
“But Pearl said that you could have some trips back home, if you wanted,” Christina reminded me.
“I know, but with everything going on at the school I don’t want to be gone too long. I was thinking a few hours would be nice, that’s all.”
“Then you and I shall go shopping together this weekend,” Christina said firmly.
“Magni would never let me do that,” I breathed.
She grinned. “Ahh, but Magni won’t be your protector anymore, will he?”
CHAPTER 14
Ten Against One
Archer
I never thought that I would be sorry to see Magni go, but the morning he announced to the children that he was leaving for the East Coast, I felt a pinch of regret.
Over the last month, he and I had butted heads more times than I cared to remember, but we had also laughed together and on occasion he had helped me persuade Kya to see things my way. Magni was rude, confrontational, and unapologetic to a fault, but it was impossible not to respect him as a fighter. Although I hated to admit it, he was the best I had ever seen.
“As you know, Lord Khan depends on me to keep this country safe,” he told the children with his characteristic self-importance. “There are some idiots conspiring to overthrow my brother, and I have to go pay them a visit and talk to them about changing their minds.” The way he pressed his right fist into his left palm gave a nonverbal illustration of what exactly he meant by “talk.”
All the children were standing in a half circle, listening to him, and from the boys’ sagging shoulders it was easy to see their disappointment. Magni was a man of power and influence and his presence had made them feel important; not to mention that he had gathered quite the little fan group among the kids, who loved to watch him train.
“Can I come with you?” Oscar asked. “I can help.” The boy pushed out his chest and although impressive for a thirteen-year-old, he had a long way to go before he would be ready for the army of strong warriors that Magni had under his command.
“Me too,” Sultan added and was quickly followed by Storm, Nikola, and Solomon, who all offered Magni their service too.
I narrowed my eyes, afraid that their hero would dismiss them and hurt their pride, but I should have known that Magni was a bigger man than that.
“Thank you! We’ll need good warriors like you to keep our country safe. For now, I have my team, but you boys keep practicing hard and I might have a spot for you when you grow older.”
“What about us girls?” Raven asked. “Can we be on your team too?”
The boys broke into loud laughter.
Smiling down at Raven, who stood on my left side, I lifted my hand to tousle her hair and tell her she was being funny.
But I stopped myself when Magni came over, raised a hand to silence the boys, and squatted down in front of her. “Raven, I know that where you come from women are strong and independent, but you gotta understand that here in the Northlands we men are very protective of females. You see, we don’t have many to begin with so we can’t risk your lives in battle.”
Raven’s face fell.
“But I want you to know,” he added, “that we all acknowledge how brave it was of you to come here in the first place. Now, I can’t guarantee you that there will be a place for a woman in my army when you grow up. But a few months ago, the idea of boys and girls learning together in a school seemed out of reach too, so you never know. If you want to be a warrior,” he said and placed his large hand on Raven’s little shoulder, “then you keep training and doing your best, okay?”
She nodded her head eagerly.
“We’ll miss you, Magni.” The soft voice surprised me because it came from Mila, who stepped out of the group to approach him. With him still squatting, Mila placed her arms around him in a hug, looking genuinely sad to see him go.
Magni responded by holding on to her and rising back up to his full height with her in his arms. “You’re not going to miss me, Mila, because I’m bringing you as a souvenir.”
The girl erupted into laughter, making both of her charming dimples pop out.
“You can’t do that.” She giggled and with a rare grin, Magni spun her through the air and put her back on her feet.
“Nahh, I guess not, but I would if I could,” he said in his deep voice.
While I wondered how I had missed the two of them bonding, Mila wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him again. And the minute she let go of him, Kya came over and hugged him too.
