Chapter 24 | Ravinica

Chapter 24

Ravinica

DURING LUNCH, I SCOOTED off to the nearest mess hall close to the garrison. Randi joined me, and we quickly found Dagny and sat at her bench table.

She was biting into a sandwich when I unceremoniously sat down next to her with my tray clacking on the tabletop. "What do you know about Magnus Feldraug?"

Dagny blinked, put her sandwich down mid-bite, and pushed her glasses up her nose. "Hello to you too."

My cheeks filled with color. "Sorry. Hi, Dagny. This is Randi."

Randi gave Dagny a wiggling wave and beaming smile. Dagny tilted her head to stare askance at her.

I was glad to have at least two girlfriends already, both different from each other. Having people to confide in, especially women, was paramount.

"Magnus Feldraug, you said?" Dagny asked. "Never heard of him."

"Makes sense. He's an initiate."

"With a last name like that, I'd steer clear."

"Yeah, well, you say that about everyone. Not all of us can hide behind desks all day."

Dagny raised her brow at me. "Someone's gotten comfortable here in a hurry."

I hung my head. She was right—I didn't know her well enough to be poking jabs at her. "Sorry, Dag. I guess I'm just frustrated being kept in the dark about some people who pique my interest."

"At least you find them interesting."

"I don't think Magnus finds me interesting. Which I should be all right with." I tapped on my tray, ready to move onto my sandwich. I lifted it and bit, then said around the mouthful, "Grim Kollbjorn doesn't eat people, by the way. He's not the MVP."

Randi choked on the other side of me. "Wait—come again? What'd I miss?"

Dagny chuckled, glancing at Randi. "I like her. Has all the bubbliness I had before this place beat me down."

Randi wrinkled her nose. "That's promising."

The three of us watched a few students come and go, sitting on the benches, eating, leaving. It was a near-constant turnaround of people.

"Why weren't you at Combat like I was staring at an hourglass and the sand was pouring faster and faster.

If I was going to get booted from Vikingrune, I needed to discover everything I'd come here to learn, first. Which meant I needed to start being more mischievous and enterprising.

Thinking about that made me recall a quick glimpse from combat class. Magnus had asked Arne if something was going down tonight, and Arne had said it was happening this weekend. What were they talking about? Could it help push my own schemes along?

I wanted to find out.

When I blinked back to reality, Dagny and Randi were both standing. Dag dusted off her palms and said, "Well, back to it. Just a couple more classes for you two to survive your first day."

She patted us both on the shoulders before walking away.

"Oh, and Ravinica?" she said over her shoulder. "Try not to get too discouraged during Runeshaping Basics."

I smiled sadly. "I'll try, Dag. Can't make any guarantees."

The next class after lunch was Stealth if he wanted to kill me, join me here, or what.

Maybe he's still searching for a way to get here. I scratched the back of my neck. Or, more likely, he's drunk in the town pub again, chasing skirts.

"What realm does fire stem from?" Hersir Selken asked, clasping her hands behind her back and beginning to pace in front of us.

"Muspelheim," a student called out.

Everyone knew the answer to that one—the land of Surtr, the greatest of the fire jotunn and guardian of the fiery, primordial, elemental realm of Muspelheim.

"Yes," Selken said. "In order to draw upon that source, you cast a rune to summon it." She made gestures in the air again, the slashes lighting up so easily it made me yearn for that kind of power.

When the air ripped open, she reached in and presented a small ball of flame on her palm. It rested there, sizzling, crackling, smoking.

"Now we must give it life—a directive . Say we want it to grow?" She gestured with her off-hand, and the fire gained life and burgeoned like a blacksmith's forge. "Or shrink?" More finger waggles, and it sputtered. "Or say we wanted to align it along the length of a blade—to turn a sword's edge into a fiery, unstoppable weapon?"

I blinked wildly. Holy shit. We can do all that?

"Or . . . say we wanted to throw a fireball?"

With a few more finger movements, she lashed out toward the sea of students with her palm. The blaze grew and expanded toward us.

Everyone yelped, jumping up as our lives flashed before our eyes—

As the fireball popped and exploded into nothingness in front of her. A wisp of smoke and nothing more.

I was on my feet in a flash, thinking this madwoman was about to melt her damn students to death.

Once my heart lodged itself back in my chest, Hersir Selken put her hands on her hips. "Say we wanted to do all those things . . . at the same time?"

A low rumble of understanding, a curious hum, swept through the students like we were children caught in a magician's game.

Hersir Selken nodded. "A Shaper skilled enough, and swift enough, would be able to fold those directive runes atop one another to do just that."

With that, she nodded to us and gave us her back.

The students couldn't help it this time.

We fucking clapped.

The bittersweet sensation tugging at my heart only grew in opposite directions. Sadness for my lack of ability. Excitement for this new knowledge.

I was so enthralled by Hersir Selken's introductory lecture. I simply had to learn how to do what she did. I certainly wasn't discouraged as Dagny said I'd might be. No, I was more invigorated than ever.

There's no more excuses. My inherent magic has got to wake the fuck up !