Chapter 13 | Sven

Chapter 13

Sven

"THAT'S HER, brOTHER ," said a voice to my left.

Dorymir Hall was emptying, a bustle of stampeding initiates making their way up the stairs to the top hall and outside. I stayed sitting, peering at faces, looking for familiar ones and new ones alike.

I didn't need to be here, but I enjoyed listening to Gothi Sigmund give his orientation speech. It was a good opportunity to size up the competition, and rekindle old alliances since returning from the summer months off. Who will try the Torfen pack this year, hmm?

"Sven, did you hear me?"

I glanced over lazily, frowning at my younger brother, who was nervously jutting his chin past me and down a few aisles.

"Yes, Ulf, I heard you," I said, leaning back in my seat. "Yet I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

"The girl from the Wraith! The one I told you about last night."

I frowned. "You mean the one who humiliated you in front of your peers?"

Ulf's lips twitched. His eyes bulged. "I wasn't—"

"Quit looking so goblin-eyed, you toad. You're embarrassing the rest of us."

Ulf's shoulders slumped and he sat back, bowing his head.

The stupid cub needed to be taught a lesson in dignity, and I was the surest one to give it to him, being the closest in age to him. He was fresh meat. We didn't need him bringing our family name a poor reputation.

I caught my older brother, Olaf, a third-year cadet, nodding along to my words. Our eldest sister, Edda, a Drengr, also snorted when I reprimanded Ulf.

Feeling a twinge of remorse at seeing my younger brother shrink like a shriveled flower, I sighed and threw an arm around him. It wasn't often I showed remorse, so it caught Ulf's attention, and his head lifted.

I squeezed his shoulder. "You should be happy we're all here at last, Ulf. Together. The four Torfen siblings, all in a row."

Olaf grunted at me. "Father would be proud."

Edda stood from her seat. She was a tall, strong woman in her last year at Vikingrune Academy. "Father is proud, you dolt. You talk of him as if he's dead."

Ulf mumbled, "Practically is when we're this far from Skarth."

I slapped him lightly across the cheek. He perked up when I pointed at him. "I'll hear none of that whining, brother. You didn't come here to wallow, you came here to prove yourself. So, show me again, where is the big bad girl who embarrassed you on the Wraith ?"

He pointed again with his chin, inconspicuously this time. I followed his gaze. My eyes blew wide for a moment as I landed on the young woman I'd locked eyes with when she first sat down.

There was something that had drawn me to her when she sat—the silver hair, perhaps, which was so odd and unlike other whelps here. Sure, the elders and Hersirs had grayhairs and salty beards, yet nothing as luminous as this one.

She faced forward, down at the stage, evidently deep in thought. From the profile angle I had of her, I noticed how beautiful she was. Pretty face with a strong, angular jaw, shoulders that looked like they could lift a man overhead. The girl seemed to be contemplating existence sitting there. Perhaps she had same idea I'd had, and wanted to let the crowd thin before leaving the hall.

Unlike me, she wasn't looking around tactfully, trying to gauge potential opponents and allies. She seemed lost in her own world. A stargazer. Perhaps a bit mad, or antisocial.

"She doesn't look particularly menacing, Ulf," I drawled, glancing over at him. I tried to hide the curiosity from my face, because I had a reputation of my own to keep here.

By and large, the students of Vikingrune Academy did not impress me. The Hersirs did not scare me. Olaf, Edda, and Ulf looked to me for guidance. I may not have been the eldest—only in my second year here, with two older siblings in Olaf and Edda—but they all knew their place in the pecking order.

I was Father's favored son, for whatever reason. His opinion meant everything, and as much as it gave Olaf and Edda a chip on their shoulder, they wouldn't outwardly or publicly defy me.

Edda was strong and dependable. Olaf was reserved and studious. Ulf was young and stupid. They were all followers. Not me, though. I was a born fucking leader. I would be the one to bring the next generation of Torfen cubs prosperity and glory.

"Show me where the mean girl hurt you, brother," I teased Ulf.

He scowled, shrugging my arm off his shoulder. "Fuck you, Sven. You never take me seriously."

"Because you're pathetic. What did this girl do—"

"It wasn't her directly! It was the damn iceshaper. The blond one."

My frown deepened. "Be more specific."

Ulf glanced around the hall, at the benches, which were quickly emptying out. Only twenty or so students still remained—acquaintances who hadn't seen each other in months, talking to each other.

Ulf's face became hectic, scrunched with worry as he scanned the hall up and down.

"Is the bad man in the room with us right now?" I poked again, smirking.

Ulf bared his teeth. "Fuck you, man. I can't see—"

My fist lashed out and caught my younger brother in the throat, cutting him off. He choked on his own spit, gurgling, and wrapped a hand around his neck as his eyes bulged.

Even Olaf and Edda lurched back at my sudden show of brutality to our younger sibling.

I thrust a finger at Ulf's face, inches away. "Say that a third time to me, brother, and I'll fucking staple your jaw shut so I don't have to listen to you anymore. Got it?"

Ulf nodded hurriedly.

The sound of Ulf's whining and my fist in his trachea caught the silver-haired girl's attention. Out the corner of my eye I saw her looking over her shoulder at us. I didn't face her or look at her this time, not wanting to draw more attention to ourselves.

She took that as a cue to leave, and stood from her bench to head up the stairs.

I watched her go once she couldn't tell I was spying on her. Upright, she looked even better than sitting: powerful legs and thick thighs that were perfect for squishing a man's head.

Smiling at the lewd thought of my face thrust between her warm thighs, feasting on her, I fought back a flare of lust inside me.

She had a fit physique, though somewhat of an innocent glint to her face—a deer-in-the-headlights expression that made me want to teach her how things went around here. Put her in her place.

It wasn't for Ulf that I suddenly wanted to terrorize this girl. No, it was purely for my own greed. To keep up expectations, teach a lesson, and remind others that no one could fuck with the Torfen pack without repercussions.

This fair-skinned, bright-haired girl would be a perfect chew-toy to break.

I was sure Ulf had been a fool on the Wraith , and this whole thing was likely his fault. It didn't matter. Like it or not, he was one of us. And if he ever laid eyes on the iceshaper responsible for tarnishing his standing, then that bastard would get it too.

Haven't these people learned not to fuck with us? Is everyone a damn fool around here?

Ulf choked down his spit and recovered, just as the starry-eyed girl left the hall. He said, "She's the bog-bred bitch-sister of Eirik Halldan. Her name is . . . Ravioli, or something like that."

I raised a brow. "Eirik, eh? Why didn't you lead with that?"

Ulf shrugged.

I supposed it wasn't his fault. He'd only been here a day and had no idea the connections and familiarities I had with certain people at Vikingrune. At least Eirik is not a complete imbecile. Some might even call him a friend.

"Should we talk to the Drengr first, then?" Olaf asked. "If we're going to do anything about this girl."

"What, warrior to warrior?" Edda said, chuckling. "If that's the case, then I'll do it."

Our eldest sister was the only Drengr among the four of us. So far.

I scowled at my sister, who stood over me. "And do what, challenge him to a fucking duel?"

Edda flexed. She wasn't scared of me like Ulf was, even though she knew I could overpower her. She was proud like that. "Maybe I will, brother. What's it to—"

"If we're going to jeopardize the alliance we have with Eirik Halldan, especially over his half-bred, initiate sister, we need to be clever and unseen."

I stared up at the sunlit windows along the top row of the hall, dust motes floating where the light billowed in.

"Then what, Sven?" Olaf asked.

I crossed my arms. Treacherous ideas cycled through my mind in rapid fire. Rubbing my chin, a slow smile spread across my face. "Let's give the new girl a nice Torfen welcome to Vikingrune. Teach her to mind her manners and learn her fucking place."