Page 28 of The Ruins of the Heartless Fae

“If you’ve got something to say to me, say it to my face.” Kolfinna took a step toward her.

“Oh, I’ve got nothing to say to you,murderer,” Truda said, still smiling sweetly. She had her attention set on Eyfura. “I’ll be the representative for the military. So if there’s anything you need from us, please let me know.”

“I’m an important member of this mission.” Kolfinna made her voice chilly yet calm. “It would be wise if you got along with me.”

“Excuse me?” Truda looked Kolfinna up and down, then turned her nose away. “Eyfura, tell your murdering little guard to learn some manners. And am I mistaken, or was that a threat?”

“She’s not under me,” Eyfura snapped. “And secondly, watch your mouth, Truda. You’ll be getting in a lot of trouble from our side if you don’t learn to respect us.”

Mana sang at the tips of Kolfinna’s fingers and she felt the life vibrating beneath her feet. But she had come here to become a full-fledged Royal Guard. She couldn’t get in fights like this. She breathed out deeply, her mana ebbing from her fingers and nestling back into her chest.

Even as Truda sneered and turned away, an unbearable chill blew through the camp. Kolfinna froze, her body stiffening. The ice breath continued to breeze between the three of them. Even Eyfura and Truda straightened.

Blár was nearby.

Kolfinna rigidly glanced over her shoulder but didn’t find him anywhere. Not within the throng of gray uniforms, or within the sea of red capes. Her chest tightened at not finding the origin of such power. It probably would’ve been less scary if she couldseehim, instead of constantly feeling his presence and wondering when he would show up.

Truda’s lips thinned into a firm line and she cocked her head in the opposite direction the Royal Guards had come from. A serious look passed over her face, and Kolfinna wasn’t sure if it was fear she sensed in Truda or unease. “I have to go now,” Truda said. “If either of you needs me, you know where to find me.”

With that, she spun on her heels and joined the other soldiers, her gray uniform blending with the rest. Eyfura rubbed her arms slowly and shook her head in disbelief. “What an insufferable”—she paused and glanced at Kolfinna with a knowing look—“you know exactly what word I’m looking for.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“She’s a … brat, to put it nicely.”

Even through the goose bumps, Kolfinna nodded grimly. “I agree.”

7

Kolfinna couldn’t sleepa wink that night. Sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. She kept thinking of various ways she would die on this mission, by the Royal Guards, the military, and Blár Vilulf. Or various ways that everything would go wrong—that she wouldn’t be able to read the runes, and that they would all perish in the mysterious ruins. It also didn’t help that she was sleeping with the female Royal Guards in the tent. Every time any of them moved—whether it was to stretch or change sleeping positions—mana pulsed beneath Kolfinna’s fingers and she would lurch into a fighting position, only to find no threat nearby. Eyfura was kind to her, but she didn’t trust the rest of them.

At the crack of dawn, Kolfinna swiftly and soundlessly dressed in her black trainee uniform. Eyfura slept beside her in a lavender sleep sack, her chin tucked into the fitted blanket. Kolfinna was careful not to stir her as she stepped over her and the rest of the women in the women’s tent.

Surprisingly, no one was awake yet. She had expected the high and mighty Royal Guards and the disciplined military to wake up and train the instant the sun rose. But no, everyone was snoring.

Today, they would be embarking to the ruins.

Birds chirped sweet songs, bugs buzzed near her ears, and the leaves rustled with every stir of the wind. Kolfinna breathed in the smell of moss, grass, wood oils, and pines. Magic danced under her skin as she stepped over the charred remains of last night’s bonfire. The forest swayed and birds flew above her.

Kolfinna walked at the edge of the campgrounds, running her fingers over the bark of the trees. Tiny clusters of white wild mushrooms climbed the tree in front of her, and she felt the tiny surges of life force in each individual mushroom, dwarfed by the strong and old life of the tree they clung to.

The trees danced around her as a chilly wind thrust pine needles onto the forest floor. Fallen twigs snapped beneath her boots and she pushed her way through the dense bushes until she found a fallen tree to sit on. She was a bit away from the camp, but close enough that no one would assume she was running away.

Kolfinna sat on the tree and pulled the crumpled piece of paper Mímir had given during the meeting. The scribbled letters—the runes—looked back at her harshly. She stared at them, hard. If she wasn’t able to read these, she would be useless. Then, being free to use her magic would only be a dream.

She glared at the paper until her head throbbed. It didn’t matter how long it took, sheneededto figure out what it said. She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. Why couldn’t she read it? Katla had never taught her anything about runes, and she doubted that her parents, of whom she had blurry memories of, had taught Katla anything about them.

The more she stared, the more the letters jumbled together and taunted her. It was impossible.

“What are you doing here?”

A chill ran down her spine and all the hairs on her arms rose stiffly. A familiar coldness swept across her body and held her hostage. She slowly craned her neck. Blár Vilulf’s eyes were a tundra of snow and ice and frosty blue skies. There was a wicked gleam in his eyes: the gleam of a wolf that found its prey. Memories of last year stabbed at her leg and her stomach twisted painfully.

Her heart dropped.

Not him. Anyone but him.

Blár’s lips twisted into a grin, and that hunter gleam intensified. White and gray fur lined the collar of his military uniform, matching his heavy fur-lined cloak. The silver buttons reflected the browns and greens of the trees surrounding them. “You trying to run away, fae?” His words held a taunting lilt.

---