Chapter 9 | Ravinica

Chapter 9

Ravinica

I TOSSED AND TURNED in my small bed, grumbling to myself when I couldn’t fall asleep. It was late, tomorrow was a big day. The first day of my second term. I didn’t know what to expect.

There was more on my mind than schoolwork and training. I felt distant from my men, despite the hot sex we’d been having. It was like they were trying to keep me at arm’s-length from anything they thought might worry me.

Magnus leaving the academy for a patrolling mission aboveground. Sven and his own family attacking him. Grim and his quiet solitude, struggling to speak his mind.

When a soft knock came at my door, I bolted upright, instinctively reaching for my spear—ready to harpoon anyone who stepped through.

I had started to sleep with my spear on the side of my bed. I might’ve been paranoid, but it was better than getting caught flatfooted.

When the door cracked open, a lithe shadow stood in the opening. “Little fox?”

The tawny mane of Arne Gornhodr was backlit by torchlight behind him, making him seem soft and gallant.

I lowered my spear, rubbing my eyes. “Can’t sleep either, huh?”

He shook his head but didn’t move from the doorway.

“If you were hoping for something . . .” I trailed off, clearing my throat. “I’m worn out, Arne.”

Sven, Magnus, and Grim had tired me out in the best way possible.

“I’m not looking for anything other than company, Vin.”

I waved him in before reclining again. “Then get your ass in here, iceshaper. You’re probably the only one of the guys who would fit on this damned tiny bed with me anyway.”

He quirked a smile and shuffled in, shutting the door behind him. The man looked cute in old-timey pajama bottoms and a thin, puffy sleeping tunic.

He settled in next to me with a sigh, his thin body close to mine, heat shifting between us. We lay on our sides, facing one another, and I gave him a small smile.

For all his cunning and bravado, Arne could be tender and filled with self-doubt when I got him alone. Part of that came from him trying to stay on my good side after betraying me during my first term. I had forgiven him, but I knew it was a point of contention always on his mind, racking him with guilt.

I had done what I could to show him we were still okay—that I loved him, even if I struggled to show it at times.

His breath was warm and sweet on my face. He put a hand to my cheek, rubbing softly as we stared at one another in silence.

Once the quiet became overbearing, he said, “I am sorry about Corym, and my part in his capture, fox.”

When he tried to pull his hand away from my face, I latched my palm on his knuckles, rubbing the soft spot between his thumb and pointer finger.

Goosebumps ran up his arm—a delicious sight that made me want to swallow him whole, no matter how tired I was.

“It wasn’t your fault . . . this time,” I eked out. “You can’t control your sister. Frida did what she did to protect her people.”

Arne frowned, nodding. I could tell my words didn’t make him feel any better.

“No, I blame Gothi Sigmund. For not allowing Corym to leave once I opened the portal. For going back on his word.”

Arne let out a whisper of a scoff. “Corym would have never left even if he could have, love. He cares too much for you.”

I blinked back a burn in my eyes, a lump in my throat.

Arne was right. There was no point denying it.

“I tried to unseat her, you know. My sister.”

My brow furrowed and I scooted closer. I’d let my spear fall off the bed to give us room. Even with that, half my ass was hanging over the edge. To say it was uncomfortable sharing the cot with another person was an understatement.

I’d take the discomfort if it meant listening to any of my men speak.

“I failed,” Arne said. “As usual.”

“Don’t.” My face hardened. “Remember what I said about self-pity? Where’s the confidence you first showed on the Gray Wraith , when you threatened to break Ulf Torfen’s fucking kneecaps if he laid a hand on me?”

A wistful smile curled the corner of his lips. “Shrouded in doubt, unfortunately.”

“Doubt about what?”

“About losing you, little fox.”

Gently, I pawed a hand through his bright hair. Even gentler, I leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead.

I could get used to having a soft boy in my pack, even if it was unexpected. It was nice to have someone I could talk to at times, and open my heart to. By contrast, Grim was silent, Magnus couldn’t open himself up, and Sven was exasperating.

But Arne? This was a new side of the iceshaper, and I appreciated it. My body grew warm around him, hyperaware of our proximity, despite my body’s exhaustion.

He didn’t make a move. He respected my wishes of simply being and not doing. Staring into each other’s eyes—his sky-blue orbs radiant in the darkness of the cave dwelling.

“So what happened?” I asked, wanting to hear his voice.

It was soft, coated in sugar. “Dieter denied me. Said Frida has too much pull with the Lepers, especially the young recruits.” He raised his brow as if just remembering something. “They got four new members between terms, by the way.”

“Well that’s . . . good. Right?”

His nod wasn’t very reassuring. “As long as we can keep them on our side.” He hesitated for a long while to speak. Then, finally, he added, “I just wish Dieter and Frida and all the others saw in you what I see in you.”

The burn returned to my eyes, the lump to my throat. Biting my lip, I asked, “And what do you see in me, Arne?”

“Hope, little fox. Someone who can force change. Someone worth following.”

My chin trembled for a flash. I sniffed to keep it together. Flaring my nostrils, I said, “That’s sweet—”

“It’s the truth, love.”

I nodded, content with that. Not finding the need to defend myself, as I so often felt like I had to. I realized Arne was laying it on thick, saying all the right things to stay on my good side.

But gods be damned if it wasn’t working.

After a long while of companionable silence, my eyes started to get droopy. Our arms were entwined, hands buried in our hair, making soft motions to relax one another.

Lust burgeoned inside me, heat swimming in my belly. I could tell by the leaves-little-to-the-imagination pajamas he wore, and the protrusion between his legs, that Arne felt the same way.

He cleared his throat, moving his hands from my silver hair and pale face. He took my knuckle and kissed it softly.

“Arne . . .” I groaned, closing my eyes.

I wouldn’t resist what I wanted. I told myself this was the calm before the storm. I deserved the pleasure from my men because I didn’t know when I’d get it next.

Still, teasingly, almost infuriatingly, Arne resisted.

A disconnected thought came to me, seemingly out of nowhere. “You’ve said Frida has been with the Lepers for years, and the new recruits respect her. How can that be, if she’s your younger sister and you’ve only been at Vikingrune for two years?”

“Well, little fox.” He cleared his throat. “To understand that story, you have to understand the Lepers Who Leapt have been around nearly as long as Vikingrune Academy itself.”

I chewed my lip, both of us seeing what was happening—coyly trying to take our minds off each other.

It didn’t work. “Is that so?”

Even as I said it, my hand snaked down between us, out of sight, under the covers. It wrapped around the hot pillar of his cock, tracing the outline through his undergarment, and Arne’s face flushed.

After my first time with him, when Corym and I had forced him on his knees and punished him for his deception against me, I had realized the truth of what Arne was.

He was moldable. Wickedly sensual and prone to follow orders in the bedroom. He was my pet, if I wanted it.

And I wanted it now. Even if I was tired.

“Y-Yes,” he grunted, trying to continue his story.

My hand dipped into his pants. I felt warm flesh. Lazily, I circled my fingers around the crown of his leaking cock. Meanwhile, he crossed his arm over mine and slid his spindly, expert fingers between my thick thighs. He made slow circles of my pussy, teasing me with the barest of touches before blindly massaging my clit and making my eyes flutter.

“Tell m-me more,” I croaked, both of us ignoring the lewd actions of the other, trying futilely to carry on our innocent conversation.

I was interested in Arne’s story, but . . . was now the time?

He was determined to make it be, speaking with a throaty tone even as I wrapped my hand fully around his rock-hard cock and stroked him beside me.

“Mine and Frida’s parents were both L-Lepers,” he whispered. His voice was strained now, clipped. “They met and had two babies.”

“Ohhh?” My brow lifted, scrunching when ecstasy ran through me from his fingers dipping inside me. My question turned into a small moan we both ignored. The sounds of rustling bedsheets filled the room. “I . . . I thought you grew up in the same village Rolf Blisdan did.”

“We did. For our—for our— hngh , fuck, little fox.”

“Is something wrong?” I asked with a devious smirk, my hand moving faster under the covers. His cock was velvet-smooth, almost silky. I had him, quite literally, in the palm of my hand.

“For our s-safety,” he finished, trying to continue. He scooted closer, lips brushing against mine, and his fingers plunged deeper inside, curving just right. “We came ,” he choked out after his full lips fell on mine. “We came back to the Isle once we came of age. Knowing we were magicless Lepers.”

The sounds of our lazy desires swelled in volume, just as Arne’s cock swelled in my hand, close to release. A knot of nerves grew in my belly, drifting, curling my toes.

“Then it turned out I could Shape runes,” Arne said.

I nodded vigorously, trying to pay attention while also unraveling before him. The juxtaposition of what he was saying and what we were doing beneath the covers was agonizing.

I lowered my panties with my free hand, pulled him closer by his cock, until his ridge pressed against my wet lips. Teasing him, I flicked the dripping head of his cock against my soaked entrance. Back and forth, making both of us spiral uncontrollably.

“Gods.” His voice was a moan. He kissed me again, harder this time. “Turned out Ma had slept with a Vikingrune professor. She was banished by the group.”

“D-Damn,” I croaked. My body twitched beneath the covers. I slipped the first inch of him inside me, then pulled him out—teasing my pet like he’d never been teased.

Arne bucked his hips, eyes going to the back of his head for a flash. He dug in and fingered me faster, my wetness drawing quick squelches through the small room, filling it with the scent of arousal.

“Something else happened.” Arne’s voice was quicker now, his cheeks bright red with need, frustration, lust. His hips thrust again, his cock surged inside me, and I mewled as I massaged the base of his dick and kept him from sinking in completely. “T-The Lepers finally had the man they w-wanted, who could—fuck—and c-coming.”

“Hmm?”

Two more thrusts inside my warmth was all it took, since my hand had done most of the naughty, busy work.

I pulled him out of me, flicked his cock over my clit, and he shook his head, veins and muscles flexing near his neck and shoulders.

“Tell me, Arne. Be a good boy and talk to me through it.” I pet his hair, ran a finger over his sweaty face, and cupped his chin.

Then I hugged my curvy body against his. He groaned and loosed himself on my belly and pussy, under the covers.

I jerked from the warmth of him, twitching as I saw stars, and came undone.

Our breaths were shallow pants now, staring into each other’s eyes. A smirk was close to my lips. I put a sex-stained finger in his mouth, so he could taste what he’d just released on me. So he could taste his own potency.

“Such a daring good boy,” I whispered.

His lips were wet, but I could tell his throat was dry. He struggled to regain the thread of his story, until I said, “Finish your tale, love. I want to hear how you came to this wicked place.”

“Yes ma’am. Just o-one moment.”

I kissed him lightly, both of us settling into the bed—realizing I’d have to change my sheets with my one spare set in the corner of the room before I could fall asleep.

But it felt nice having Arne’s cum spilling off me, knowing I had total control over this man.

I was certain he would never stray from me again.

It took us a moment to gather ourselves. Once our heartbeats settled and our breathing regulated, we carried on like nothing had happened, which only made it hotter.

“You said the Lepers finally had the ‘man they wanted.’ What does that mean?” I asked. At the same time, I pulled up my panties, keen on carrying Arne on me for the rest of the night.

He noticed, blushing, and stuffed himself away in his stained pajamas. “With the emergence of my magic, they had someone who could attend Vikingrune Academy and speak on their behalf. Someone who could do their dirty work, since no Leper could attend the school.”

“So you were a double agent from day one.”

His nod was slow. There was shame in his eyes. “It didn’t take long for Sigmund Calladan to recognize who I was, from my mother—a failed, one-term, magicless student. He allowed me to attend the academy but forced me under his thumb to spy on a family that interested him.”

My brow furrowed. I connected the threads, realizing where his story was going. How it was coming full circle, and why he was telling it to me. “And who was that family, Arne?”

I already knew the answer.

“The Halldans. Led by one Hallan Borradan.”

My eyes widened, despite me already knowing the truth—already experiencing it. Arne had spied on me when I first arrived here, after all.

“Why does Gothi Sigmund find such interest in my family, do you think?” I asked, as frustration surged.

“I don’t know for sure. He never told me.”

He wanted to say more. I could tell by the hesitance in his blue eyes.

“But if you had to guess . . .”

Arne smirked. “If I had to guess, little fox, I would say it has to do with Hallan’s beautiful stepdaughter . . .” His hand slowly traced over my slightly tapered ear, through my streaked silver hair, eyes never leaving my face. Eventually, his soft touch rested on my cheek, and he smiled. “Who oddly, fascinatingly , has the heart of a human . . . but the features of humanity’s most hated enemy.”