Chapter 25 | Ravinica

Chapter 25

Ravinica

"I AM NOT THE ONE," Grim said in his slow, measured way.

I walked with the bear shifter through the woods as the sun set in the distance. As promised, I was letting him escort me.

Did I need an escort from Vala Chamber to Nottdeen Quarter? No. It was basically a straight shot west—I actually had to go out of my way north to reach the woods to find Grim in the same spot as last night.

I couldn't deny the draw I felt toward the huge man, however. The curiosity to know more about this quiet loner. Strangely, when I was with him, it wasn't like pulling teeth. He wasn't animated , he just seemed . . . comfortable around me.

Don't get too close to this man, Vini. Remember what he did last year.

I gulped, trying to stuff away my intrusive thoughts. Part of the reason I was here was to discover what really happened with Grim last year. Pierce through the rumors and find the truth.

We walked lazily, strolling at a pace much more preferable to the breakneck fleeing I'd done last night here. I listened to some nightbirds chirping, some insects trilling. An owl hooted. A raven cawed. The wind was alive in these woods with fauna.

"So," I said, matching his slow way of talking, "you can teach me to beat the shit out of people, but not how to Shape?"

"Basically."

"I can already do that, though. Case in point: Astrid Dahlmyrr."

He grunted, lifted his big hands, and curled them into fists. "These are my greatest strength here. Not magic."

" Can you Shape?" I asked a few steps later.

"I can get by. Enough to pass trials as an initiate."

Anxiety rose inside me. The "trials" were the final tests I'd be taking for each class. I still didn't know what they entailed, and I was worried about that.

How am I ever going to pass a runeshaping trial if I can't Shape? Granted, I had months to go. But those months would go quickly if I wasn't focused.

I'll have to go to someone else to learn about Shaping. Not the studious book-reading part—I'm good at that. The actual doing .

I was disappointed though not surprised. It was a lot to ask of Grim Kollbjorn, a man I hardly knew. He was already my tutor in Combat relief because I managed to get out of Selby where I was persecuted for being a half-blood. My treatment at Vikingrune thus far had been similar to Selby, but I still had time to change people's mind. Show them who I was.

Was I angry at having to trick Damon so I could be here instead of him? Remorseful? Perhaps.

I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. I had a feeling Hallan had pulled his weight to skew the numbers during our trials, to make Damon look better than he was. I could think of no other way Damon would be chosen above me to come here. There must be political reasons. Something having to do with my bloodline, for sure, and more than that—nepotism that Hallan called in.

I hadn't had a chance to think much about it until now. My conversation with Grim—decidedly one-sided at the moment—had opened my eyes to new possibilities. New angles to look at my past. I need more from him. I don't want to carry this conversation on my own.

I lowered my chin, trying to avoid his analytical gaze. The emotions overwhelmed me. I bit back tears, flaring my nostrils where he couldn't see way up there in the damn tree canopies.

"Honestly, I shouldn't even be here, Grim. I feel like a fraud at times. I can't Shape, I have no inherent magic. I'm a good enough fighter, except that's not enough for a place that trains mages."

Warmth settled over me, the moon blotting out in a great shadow. I inhaled a sharp breath as Grim stepped closer to me, put his thumb under my chin, and lifted my gaze to him. It was shockingly tender, and my dewy eyes blinked up at him.

"You deserve to be here as much as anyone, Ravinica. More than most. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. Fight for it."

I didn't breathe while he spoke. Only when he stopped did I let out a ragged exhale, my throat constricting around a lump.

It was hard to swallow. His words punched me in the gut, and in that moment I wanted nothing more than to go on my tiptoes and kiss him for speaking so kindly to me. For believing in me, when it seemed no one else did.

Hell, I hadn't even seen my brother Eirik all day. It seemed even he had forgotten about me here.

"T-Thank you," I stammered, and his thumb fell from my chin.

A pang of loss hit me at his departure. He continued walking, and I stared at him for a moment, blinking back tears to keep them from falling.

Then I rushed up to walk alongside him. Shoulder to shoulder. Well, his shoulder to my head.

"Your turn," I said, clearing my throat. Stuffing everything back down into the dark recesses of my soul where it belonged.

Another pause as we tromped through the woods. We were nearing the end of it, moonlight blasting down on the cobbles ahead.

"The student was a second-year," Grim said. "Friend of mine. The man I had to face for my Combat & Strategy trial as an initiate."

I raised my brow. You killed a friend of yours?

"He was a wolf shifter."

"A Torfen?" Would explain why Sven hates Grim.

"No. Rival pack."

I nodded. Okay, that makes sense. Sven would hate Grim way worse otherwise.

"He poisoned me before the bout. Trying to gain an upperhand."

I was incredulous. I hissed, "During a finals trial ? Gods above. Why didn't he want you to succeed, being your friend?"

Grim's huge muscled shoulders lifted up to his ears. "Everyone has a motive. I didn't know his."

I bit my lip, nodding along. "What happened after that?" This was perhaps the most words Grim had ever spoken in succession, and I didn't want him to stop. I loved listening to his deep baritone voice, and more than that, I wanted to know everything about him.

"He didn't realize the poison would trigger the beast."

I cocked my head. "The beast?"

He looked out from the trees, gazing at the moon in the heavens. "There's an animal inside me, little sneak."

"I know. It's a bear."

The man's chest rumbled with a low chuckle. It made me smile, getting him to laugh. I felt like I'd scored a point.

"Deeper than that. A primal fury."

Berserker. "Where does it come from?"

He shook his head. "Not now."

Fair enough. I won't pry. I continued walking. This time he was forced to follow me. I felt like I'd scored a second point, after hurrying along after him the entire time he led our walk though the woods.

"What happened when your beast got triggered?"

"I killed him. It wasn't pretty."

I winced. "No. I imagine it wasn't. And then?"

"That's it. That's the story. My friends abandoned me, including your brother."

I reeled. Grim was friends with Eirik? Damn. Maybe that's why Eirik wants me to avoid all the men here.

I scratched my forehead. I felt like I was missing something. "Where did the whole cannibalism thing come from? How are you still at Vikingrune Academy after all that?"

"Because I'm a weapon."

True. And exactly what Dagny said. They can't afford to get rid of this massive bear shifter.

Slowly, I prodded. "You didn't answer the first part."

"I don't know how rumors start, little sneak. There was a lot of blood during the fight. My eyes were red. That's all I know, all I remember."

"Then you don't know if you didn't eat him or—"

"Enough." He stopped, voice stern, and I felt like a scared schoolchild. "I saw Anders' body a day later, once I was out of my stupor. It was fully . . . intact."

I bowed my head in shame. I'd gone too far. "Oh. Okay. I'm sorry." Reflexively, I put a hand out to his arm. "I didn't mean to make light of it, Grim. I know that must have been horrib—"

"It's fine," he grunted, in a way that said it was anything but fine.

My shoulders slumped.

Howling reverberated through the trees, abruptly, and made me straighten like a meerkat.

Grim glanced over his shoulder. "Feeding time for the wolves. It's time you made your exit, little sneak."

I nodded dumbly. More goosebumps rose along my arms. The howls sounded far off. I was getting hungry, and I felt like I'd uncovered enough about Grim Kollbjorn for one day. I'd made progress, and I had to be content with that. I just hoped I hadn't offended him too badly.

I took a step forward toward the cobbles past the trees, and then stopped, furrowing my brow. "You said you had to fight your friend in the final combat trial. If you were an initiate and he was a second-year . . . then why did you have to fight him?"

"Because he was my tutor."

I blinked, nodding. Makes sense . . .

My head shot up. "Wait. The trial for Combat & Strategy is fighting your tutor ? That means I'll be . . ."

Grim stared at me as I trailed off. With a stern frown, he nodded. "That's right, Ravinica. You'll be fighting me."