Page 32 of The Daughter of the Scarred Elf

He watched her carefully. “All of this, yes. But also when you were sparring earlier today and yesterday during morning drills. I wasn’t entirely impressed, if I’m being honest. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly think your magic abilities have potential, but do I think you can rival me or … Gunnar? Or Eluf? Or Herja? Certainly not.” He pointed an idle finger to Inkeri. “Do I think you can rival her? In a week or so, yes, I think so.”

Inkeri’s lips flattened to a straight line while Kolfinna scowled.

He raised his hands. “Hey now, you both don’t need to look so offended. I’m just giving you my opinion?—”

“Which we didn’t ask for,” Kolfinna said, rattling off what Inkeri had said earlier.

“You sort of did.” He flashed another wolfish grin.

“Leave. You’re only distracting us.” Inkeri unsheathed her sword and turned her back to him. “Come on, Kolfinna, let’s continue.”

Kolfinna raised her own sword, but Ivar’s voice snaked between them again.

“You shouldn’t train her too hard. Wouldn’t want her to be so sore that she trips and gets killed by a green-skin, you know?” Ivar picked at a splinter in the fence cap. “Tomorrow’s mission is more for her than us.”

Inkeri lowered her training sword while Kolfinna hesitated. Shewassore. Not to mention she still had another training session to go to after dinner—her unfortunate training session with Joran. Just the thought of it soured her mouth. But she wasn’t the teacher in this; she had to listen to whatever Inkeri decided.

Inkeri must’ve been thinking something similar because she too hesitated for a minute too long. It was enough time for Ivar to continue, “She just got here a few days ago. Give the lady a little rest, sheesh. You do realize that if you push her too hard and she cracks, then it all falls on you.”

“That’s not fair,” Kolfinna interrupted, eyes narrowing. “Why are you trying to put pressure on her like that? I can handle myself, all right? This isn’t my first mission.”

“You ever faced a green-skin before?” He grinned again, and it annoyed her again.

Despite her annoyance, she asked, “What the hell is a green-skin?”

“Short, humanoid thing. Kinda cute-looking,” Ivar spoke smoothly. “If you look past its yellow sharp teeth and its bulging eyes. And that it usually walks around with rags that barely covers its?—”

“It’s a magic beast that showed up a few months ago in this area,” Inkeri cut him off. She jammed her training sword into her belt. “Like its name implies, it has green skin.”

Kolfinna vaguely remembered facing something like that when she had gone to the West Border mission. According to the texts she had translated from rune writing, it was called a goblin. This wasifshe was thinking about the same thing they were.

“Anyway.” Inkeri blew out some air. “I think it’s best to end this training session?—”

“Told you so.”

Inkeri flicked her wrist and a gust of wind slammed into Ivar. But his quick hands seized the wooden railing before the wind could hurtle him backward. His chestnut locks blew backward with the force and a flash of surprise crossed his face.

Kolfinna snorted, while Inkeri smiled for the first time since he arrived.

He muttered a string of curses under his breath. “What was that for?”

Inkeri ignored him and jerked a thumb at the fort. “Want to go inside? We should take a bath and maybe I can show you some books about magic beasts? It’ll be helpful for tomorrow?—”

“You might want to be careful about that.” Ivar ran a hand over his wind-blown hair with a scowl, his unsettling green-blue stare on Inkeri. “All the ladies in there are rushing to bathe and get themselves groomed. Might be a bit tight this time around.”

Kolfinna quirked an eyebrow.

Inkeri looked just as confused. “Why?”

“All those ladies got their panties in a twist,” he sneered. “Rumor spread this afternoon that the mighty Blár-freaking-Vilulf will be here in a few days.”

A jolt ran through Kolfinna’s body and she forgot to breathe.

Blár.

He was coming here? Why?

It didn’t actually matter why. The only thing she could really focus on was that he would be here, soon. Much sooner than she had thought they would meet again. She had thought they wouldn’t see each other in months or years, considering how Blár had been absent from her trial and how he was obviously too busy for her. Her confusing feelings for him also played a factor in her excitement and the unknown. She didn’t know what he felt about her, but it was clear that he didn’t feel that strongly for her if he couldn’t even be there for her when she needed him the most.

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