11. Maddy

Chapter 11

Maddy

I barely sleep that night, I'm so excited. Sarra goes to bed, and even after three hours of creating snowflakes around my hand or freezing different parts of my body once I'm alone, I'm still enthralled.

Is this how easy it is for everybody else? Just imagine the ice, and there it is?

My mind is completely blown, and my overactive imagination is already picturing all the things I'm going to be able to do. I might even become powerful. I could stop Orgid's evil shadows, or Navi's wicked sword, just with my magic.

The only thing that eventually forces me to stop is that I black out.

I'm even more annoyed when I come around this time. Not only am I going miss out on a chance to get to know my bear if these infernal things kill me, but now I'm going to miss out on a chance to use magic as well .

It can't happen. I have to survive long enough to enjoy this.

The first class we have the next day is glima , and it's clear as soon as I walk into the feast hall to get some breakfast that I'm not the only one who is apprehensive about re-entering the training room.

It was this time last week in glima training that Branka attempted her killing spree.

When I sit next to Eldith, my suspicion that she is far more worried about out-of-control val-tivars than the Frost Giants deepens. She's twitchy and restless in a way that I don't normally see in the older fae.

When we all traipse into the Shieldmaiden's Hold a short while later, every rook is silent, the air heavy with tension.

Kain glares around all of us, his gaze lingering on me too long.

"The best way to avoid what happened to Branka is to exercise self-control," he barks. I'm relieved he's brought it up immediately and faced the awkwardness head-on. And I'm not the only one—I see people visibly relax, shoulders rolling, heads nodding, as he continues. "Everybody here has the power within them for Featherblade to release their val-tivar . The stronger you are, the more in control you are, the more likely it is that your animal will turn you into one of the best warriors Yggdrasil has ever seen. And self-control is never tested more than when our enemy is under our hands. Now, pair up."

I step toward Eldith and am surprised when someone yanks her arm away. There are too many people moving around for me to see clearly who, but I do not miss that the person who's taken her place in front of me is Inga.

The fire-fae gives me an evil smile. "How's it going getting your staff replaced?" she asks me.

"Great, actually," I lie. "And you?" There are no fire rune-marked here, and she will never be able to replace her staff.

"Excellent," she says. "Let's train."

I swallow. I don't want to refuse because it will make me look weak, but there is also absolutely no way I want to fight her. A voice sounds in my head as I start to open my mouth.

"She'll give you a proper workout." It's Kain. When I look for him, he's not even looking at me—he's talking to another pair about ground holds.

He's right. I will have to fight properly against her, and it will test me.

We're not supposed to use magic in here, but the fact that I can now call on it if I have to gives me a confidence that I wouldn't have had yesterday, and I fist my hands on my hips. "Only if you agree to play fair," I say.

She holds both hands up. "You think anything else of me?"

"Fucking right I do," I mutter.

For the first hour, we go through the exercises— throws today—picking people up, rolling them over your hip, and using their momentum to take them to the ground. Inga is half a foot taller than me and significantly heavier, covered in wiry muscle. I'm trying to use it to my advantage, trying to use her weight to carry her over, but it's not really working.

She, on the other hand, has no problem lifting me clear off my feet and slamming me into the furs. So far, though, she's not deliberately hurt me or done anything cruel, and Kain was right—I am getting a good workout. Perhaps his presence is enough for her not to take it any further, but I don't understand what she's getting out of partnering with me. I'm on edge, waiting and watching her every move.

There's an agenda here, surely.

When we're given a five-minute break to drink some water, I decide to ask her outright.

"Why are you sparring with me?" She stares at me without answering, and I stare back. She has high cheekbones, her coal-colored skin making her gray eyes shine, and her full lips are set hard. She's fierce and beautiful, and I burn to know where she came from and how she ended up with Orgid. It's clear she would never tell me, though. There's hatred in her eyes, just as intense as Orgid levels at me regularly.

"What do you have against me?" I say. "You don't even know me."

"You're such a baby," she spits, and then moves back to the furs. I follow her.

"The rest of the session is groundwork," Kain tells us. " Once you've got your opponent on the ground, keep them there as long as you can."

I go first, practicing the move Kain demonstrates on the earth-fae, Staffan, slamming his hefty form into the furs, then dropping over him and wrapping his arm around the rook's throat until he taps his hand in submission.

Inga resists me, but not enough that I can't learn the moves, and then it's her turn. The first few moves are fine—uncomfortable when she slams me onto the ground, and she's using enough power to cause bruises, but that's not uncommon in glima . She drops over me, and her arm wraps around my neck. I hold my ground, staying still and tense as we're supposed to, and wait for her to let go once she feels she's perfected the technique.

But she doesn't let go. In fact, the pressure grows. Her grip tightens, her bicep trying to meet her forearm through my neck.

I tap the ground, the signal to let me go, but her grip doesn't loosen.

I tap harder, hoping someone else's attention is caught by the sound, but she rolls sharply. I gasp and bring both hands up to tug at her arm. I'm finding it hard to breathe, and my neck is still sore from last week when Branka got hold of it. Panic courses through my system. I roll hard, trying to dislodge her, and for just the briefest of moments, I glimpse white. She lets go, leaping off me, jumping backward and shaking her arm. "What the fuck did you do?" she hisses at me.

I sit up, gasping for breath and clutching at my throat. I have no idea what I did. I'm just pleased she's off me.

"You tried to choke me." A couple of fae are looking over at us, and even though I can't see Kain, I'd be surprised if he's not looking. He's always watching me.

"You're not supposed to use magic," she says, and then realizes what she said. "Wait. You can't use magic," she says much slower.

"What did she do?" says Orgid, striding over.

"Nothing," Inga says, too quickly. She doesn't want everybody to know that I hurt her with magic.

"She tried to choke me, so I froze her," I say loudly, hoping that it's true. I can feel how cold my skin is, so I'm assuming that's what happened. And if she's a fire-fae, perhaps she's more sensitive to the ice, which is why she was so startled?

Orgid scoffs. "You can't use magic, you stupid mongrel. You don't even have a staff."

I look to Inga, waiting for her to tell him that that's not true, but she says nothing.

"I want to train with someone else," I say, getting to my feet and glaring at her.

" Veslingr ," Orgid says, but Inga grabs his arm.

"You're right, she's a coward. Let's train together," she mutters, and walks over to where he was standing before. The gold-fae he was training with, Roge, shrugs and comes over to me.

"Don't freeze me," he says, then drops into a defensive crouch.

"I won't. She really was trying to choke me. "

"I can believe it. You ready?"

I nod, even though I'm not. I'm watching Inga and Orgid, shoulder to shoulder, talking quietly, and feeling a little smug.

I wanted them to know that I can defend myself, and now they do.