Page 71 of The Last Valkyrie

The patience, the understanding . . . they were something I had always struggled with. But with this family I’d found, I didn’t need to struggle with it any longer. They had my back and I had theirs.

Whether on the battlefield or in the bedroom, us six disparate, different people—bastards, orphans, outcasts, rebels, aliens, spies, fighters, alchemists, runeshapers, revolutionaries—would always find one another, and we would always succeed when we had each other.

Chapter 23

Ravinica

IT WAS NOSTALGIC TOlook upon theGray Wraithbobbing in the choppy waters against the dock. I had come a long way since riding the mythical longship here, out of the fog of Selby Village and into the fog of the Isle.

Back then, I had been awestruck by its splendor. Even more awed by my strapping older brother stepping off its gangplank as he approached our village to announce who would be the next initiate admitted to Vikingrune Academy.

It all started with him, with Eirik,I thought vaguely, my arms crossed as I stared from the edge of the shore.He read the wrong name, Damon’s, and I was forced to take drastic actions to make it on this ship—if not for my own jealous spite, then for Ma and her eager desire to see the people who had wronged our family dead.

So much had changed since then. I didn’t look upon that time with any sort of fond remembrance. Looking at my brother Eirik was more likely to make my anger flare than make my stomach flutter with wonder. I had come crashing back to reality soon enough, once I was thrust into the action of Vikingrune Academy.

If it weren’t for the five guys standing next to me now, I wouldn’t have made it this far. Astrid or Dahlia, Sigmund or Ingvus, or any of the myriad students who saw a bog-blood half-breed like me as less than them, would have surely ended me by now.

Instead, I had made a name for myself. Notbecauseof my mates, but with their help, I had solidified my place at Vikingrune Academy.

It was odd, the sensation I felt on the shore, staring out at the sea. For the first time, I wanted to stay more than I wanted to leave. Idreadedgoing back home, to face my mother and wicked stepfather. To see the faces of people who had shunned me in the past, and expect the same looks of disgust.

For the longest time, I felt I didn’t belong at Vikingrune Academy, because practically everyone told me so. Now, after two terms and more than a year attending, everything had shifted. I felt more at home at the academy than I did in my own homeland.

At least this time I would go in with a new outlook. I wasn’tless thanthese people—my villagers. I was worthy, I was strong, and I had made something of myself. Even if they didn’t know it, they would sure as fuck understand it once they saw me marching confidently through the village.

Idaredsome weasely-ass kid to throw a rock at my head now.See what’ll happen, you little shits.

The six of us waited for another few minutes, glancing back at the rocky outcropping of the embankment behind us.

Grim checked an imaginary watch on his wrist and frowned. “Have we been had?”

Sven said, “I still say we just hop on and zoom out of here.” With a shrug when everyone snickered, he added, “What? Beats waiting around. If Rav’s mother is sick, we shouldn’t be wasting time.”

While I agreed, I gave him a crooked smile and shook my head. “We’ve waited more than a week since I got the letter. I’m sure a few more minutes won’t hurt.”

“Besides,” Arne chipped in, “could you imagine the rash of shit we’d be in if we left without him?”

“Left without whom?”

We spun around at the deep, brooding voice.

Gothi Sigmund stood with his arms crossed, not ten feet from us. Somehow he’d snuck up on us, which alarmed me. His huge right-hand man, Thane Canute, glared at our group at his side.

And standing behind the two Hersirs were two people I had hoped not to see: Eirik and Damon. My stomach dropped when their scowls reached my face.

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