Page 19 of The Daughter of the Scarred Elf

She would’ve rolled her eyes if she wasn’t so excited. “Books about fae magic?”

“Yes,” Joran said.

“We’re close to the border of the Mistlands,” Sijur explained. “You’d be surprised how many relics we’ve come across. Particularly fae ones. And you’ll be able to read them too, you know, once you get to a certain level of proficiency with rune magic.”

And once I trust you more, she could practically hear him say. But that didn’t matter. She could learn so much from those books, and maybe she could even learn about fae history. About her people. And maybe … even about the half-elf commander, Queen Aesileif, and how Kolfinna was related to all of that.

She subconsciously rubbed the rune mark on her wrist. At least being stuck here would have its advantages. She could reconnect with her roots. The thought alone sent a myriad of emotions exploding in her chest.

“Anyway.” Sijur clapped his hands together and rose to his feet. He smiled and waved a delicate hand at the array of upturned rocks, dents, and holes throughout the room. “That was a very impressive display of power, Kolfinna. Most fae aren’t as capable of you and I’m thoroughlyimpressed.”

Kolfinna wiped her dusty hands on her thighs once more. It wasn’t often that she wished she were wearing her white Royal Guards’ gloves, but with how clammy her hands were, she would’ve loved to have them here. Even if they felt sticky and gross at the end of the day.

Her lips felt dry when she spoke. “What’s my power rank?”

“A solid yellow,” Sijur said.

A … yellow.

Disappointment crashed down on her chest, rendering her speechless for a few moments. She had hoped she was at a purple level. So many of the people here were purple—Herja and many others who had surrounded her during the morning training. And it would have also meant she was closer to Blár’s level. She had foolishly thought … that maybe she could get closer to him that way.

A silly thought, since he wasn’t even here.

Sijur studied her carefully. “You’re disappointed.”

Of course she was disappointed. She had thought she was stronger than that. It was probably the arrogance speaking, telling her that she was stronger than she actually was. Stronger than a yellow rank. But maybe she had to humble herself because she had thought she was stronger than Joran, and he had clearly shown her that wasn’t the case.

She didn’t like how Sijur and Joran were scrutinizing her, as if waiting for an outburst of some sort. Did they really think she would start screaming, crying, or demanding they rate her higher?

“I’m disappointed.” Her voice wavered. “But it just means I have to work harder.”

Sijur placed a hand on her shoulder in reassurance. “You’re strong, Kolfinna, there’s no doubt about that. I have faith that you’ll only grow stronger! Especially considering how the Royal Guards wouldn’t let you practice your magic. I have no doubt that with Joran’s training, you’ll reach his level in no time.”

Reach his level. She hated how that sounded.

She didn’t want to reach Joran’s level. She wanted to reachBlár’slevel.

But maybe that was a stupid thought to have.

“Joran will train me?” Kolfinna asked, glancing at the golden-haired young man.

“Yes. He’ll teach you.” Sijur picked up a lock of her white hair and ran his fingers over it. A shiver ran down her spine, and not the same kind of shiver she had felt when Blár did the same thing a few weeks ago.

Don’t touch me. The words were at the tip of her tongue, but she instead stepped backward until her hair slipped form his hand and spun to look at Joran. “When do we start?”

“Tomorrow,” Sijur said.

“Tomorrow.” She nodded. “Great.”

“Do … Do keep in mind,” Joran started, his words coming out quiet, like he wasn’t confident in himself, “that we only assessed you based on your earth magic, not your … um, rune magic or nature magic, so you could potentially be a purple rank.”

“Ah, yes, I forgot to mention that.” Sijur clapped his hands together, the sound resounding loudly in the quiet room. “We’ll have another reassessment in the spring to determine yourtrue rank based on your nature magic. I don’t plan on testing your rune magic because being good at rune magic doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be good at combat, and our rank system is based on combat.”

A tiny sliver of hope sprang up at those words.

Maybe she was a purple rank after all.

“I’ll also have you train your combat skills. From my understanding, the Royal Guards didn’t teach you that much when it comes to swordplay and close combat, yes?”

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