Chapter 18 | Ravinica

Chapter 18

Ravinica

MY EYES GLAZED OVER as I read through the same paragraph in my Advanced History tome on “Races untold guilt that seeped its way into my soul. Shame at my initial thought of wanting to use Randi to my benefit, though I hadn’t even asked the question yet.

I tried to tell myself that it would be to all of our benefits.

So, I asked, “What about Ulf?”

She blinked, lips parting. The cogs in her head spun, and I could see the wheels turning. For a moment, she was silent. Then she said, “I mean, I guess I could ask him.”

I raised a hand to pump the brakes, already feeling like I was asking too much. “I don’t want you to if you think it’ll put you in danger or make things worse between you two.”

“How would it put me in danger?”

“I don’t know. We both just said how we’re in the dark with those guys. What if they’re planning something, uh, sinister?”

Randi blew a raspberry. “Ulf? Sinister ? Sorry, sis, he’s too much of a dope. I love him for it, but I just don’t see it.”

Fools are the easiest to turn. The most gullible.

“Well, if you think so . . .”

“I’ll ask him.” Randi shrugged and returned to her book, signaling the conversation was over.

I would take what I could get. Using one of my only friends as a spy—a liaison—didn’t feel good, yet it needed to be done. As long as I was bedridden, I was useless. Until I could do some investigating of my own, I had to employ others to do my dirty work for me.

Thank Odin for someone like Randi, who believes I can do no wrong. I just pray to the the gods of luck that I’m not putting her in a risky situation.

A commotion outside spilled in—shouting, groaning, and loud swearing filled the halls of Eir Wing Under.

Randi and I shared a quizzical look.

“The Hel is going on out there?” I wondered.

Randi said, “I’ll go check it out.”

She popped up from her bench, threw her hood on—making her look like a tiny, quaint grim reaper—and left the room.

A few minutes later, she returned with a concerned expression.

“Well? What’s up, Ran?”

She pinned that worried look on me, eyes widening. “It’s crazy out there. The infirmary just had a whole bunch of people brought in from different parts of campus, all at once.”

“Damn. What happened?”

“I dunno. They’re all from the same family.”

I blinked, confused. “Huh? What family?”

Her dark skin blanched. “The Lanfens.”

My lips parted in shock.

One name immediately stuck out in my mind, and made me think the danger was lurking closer to the surface than I’d realized, and I was already knee-deep in shit.

Dammit, Sven. What the fuck did you do?!