Page 20 of The Daughter of the Scarred Elf

She hesitated. “They taught me … but their version of teaching basically meant mocking me and beating me until I couldn’t move.”

“Ah. So they didn’t actually teach you how to fight, only how to get beaten.”

Kolfinna winced. She wished that wasn’t the truth.

“No matter.” Sijur rubbed his hands together and Kolfinna didn’t like the excitement that trembled off his tall frame. “We’ll have you train and become the best fae fighter we have. You like Inkeri, yes? I’ll have her be your teacher. She’s mighty good at combat. Probably the best we have.”

“But she’s a yellow rank.” Kolfinna had nothing against the young woman—she actually liked her—but wouldn’t it have been more productive for her to learn from someone much better than her?

“Yes, her magic is lacking at the moment, but she makes up for it with her skills in fighting.” His grin widened and something unreadable flashed in those dark eyes of his—something that made Kolfinna pause and stare.

The prospect of becoming stronger and more proficient in her magic was enticing, but she couldn’t help but feel uneasy. It shouldn’t have mattered to Sijur whether or not she became strong. She somehow got the feeling that he was personally invested in her abilities.

She shook that thought aside.

“Now that we have that settled … Joran, why don’t you show Kolfinna that interesting contraption you set up with runes in your room? I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”

A contraption made with rune magic? That piqued her interest, even though she didn’t want to go anywhere with Joran. Especially after he had outdone her with his magic.

Joran jumped but then quickly nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Kolfinna, later this evening, I want to see you and Joran.”

“For what?”

“A private matter.”

Kolfinna didn’t like the sound of that, nor the smile he gave her.

6

The walkto Joran’s room was uneventful. They went up several flights of stairs to leave the basement training room and then went to the right wing of the barracks and kept going up until they reached the sixth floor. Kolfinna’s legs were jelly by the time they reached the last door down the hallway. Her entire body was sore and throbbing after the morning exercise, and after the assessment Joran and Sijur had given her, the majority of her mana was drained as well. She was bone-weary and walking up those flights of stairs had used up the last drop of energy she had left.

When Joran hesitantly unlocked his door and motioned her inside, she could hardly care about whatever contraption he supposedly had up here. The room was neat and orderly, with a single bed in the corner of the room, a nightstand beside it, and a desk across the room next to another door. Dozens of papers were strewn on the desk, some with splashes of color that she could see from the doorway, and others indistinguishable.

“Um, here we are,” he said, walking deeper into the room.

Kolfinna stepped inside and glanced around herself. The room itself was the same size as her room, but Joran didn’t seemto have any roommates, which made his room seem vaster. “You stay here alone?”

“Yes.”

“That’s not fair,” she grumbled.

“I … I’ve been working with the Lieutenant General for some time now …”

“Still not fair.” She walked over to his desk and picked up a paper with a rough sketch of a woman drawn on it. Delicate gray lines filled her dark hair, and her eyes seemed to smile even through the drawing. It looked semi-realistic but with a subtle artistic touch. “This is beautiful,” she murmured. “Is this someone you know?”

“Knew.”

Kolfinna looked at him. He was sitting on the bed, his wide eyes searching her face and his cheeks slightly red. Embarrassment? Or something else?

Kolfinna lowered the paper. “Someone you knew?”

“She’s dead.”

“Oh.”

There were several other sketches on the table. Some were colored, but most weren’t. Horses, men, women, buildings—there was nothing consistent about his drawing, but the style was artistic in a way that made her smile. The Royal Guards probably wouldn’t be a fan of it, she could imagine, with their fancy landscape drawings and boring portraits.

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