Chapter 33 | Ravinica

Chapter 33

Ravinica

THE CELEbrATIONS BEGAN early on Friday, in earnest. The academy was forced to open the western and southern gates to soften the blow of the cryptic message from last night, to try and show they weren't the bad guys here. That they were being "transparent."

Opening the gates enabled students to go to Isleton to unwind . . . and probably be spied on. The end-of-term festivities were one of the small village's highlights and busiest weekends. It paid for the slower winter months, upcoming.

Plus, tonight was going to be a full moon, and the academy didn't want shifters in heat causing a ruckus on campus.

Commencement had gone much differently than how I assumed the Hersirs had planned it to go. Everyone gave shortened, clipped versions of their speeches. I could tell they were frustrated, trying to fight against the crowd, rather than being warm, inviting, and congratulatory.

The rest of the night went off without a hitch. Some students stayed up late, into the wee hours, getting their party on early. I could hear the hollering and laughing from the window of my dorm room.

I, like others, called it an early night. With just a simple slip of paper, the entire school seemed to shift on its axis. For the first time, oblivious students were becoming aware of things going on around them that were suspicious. Things that went against their very belief systems and what they'd grown up understanding.

Vikingrune Academy had taken a massive PR hit, and it had happened swiftly. I could only imagine how they would respond, or react, given the tenuous nature of their hold over the students. It was a delicate balance, attempting to assuage the students' worries while also claiming innocence.

There was no courtroom or appeal the academy could use to their benefit. No laws had been broken—only "cowardice" and "slander," which really amounted to nothing.

The message had shown clearly enough that words could break and damage just as powerfully as a sword.

As the sun rose into my window, waking me, I stretched, got out of bed, and hit the showers like any other day. I moved at a slow pace, knowing what I wanted and needed to do today. I was in no rush.

After getting dressed in my tunic, pants, and fur coat, I grabbed my spear at the last second and headed downstairs.

For once, I didn't find Dagny behind the desk. It was empty, as was the lobby.

I smiled at the base of the stairs, letting out a contented sigh. I prayed to the gods Dag was out socializing for once, now that classes were over for the term. If I found her later today without a stack of books in her arms, it would be a blessing.

The academy was in rare form as I stepped out into the late-morning sun. Students moseyed around campus, making it busier than I'd ever seen. Not just initiates, but also cadets, third-years, seniors. The whole place buzzed with life.

It seemed the message from last night hadn't yet seeped into anyone's pores. Probably for the best.

I walked toward the cafeteria near Nottdeen Quarter, eager to get some grub, because I couldn't well drink on an empty stomach.

During my walk, I reminisced on the rebel-note from last night. It hadn't been very detailed. It said the academy had lied to the students about the elves, but what did that mean? How much does this person know?

It was much different than saying, for instance, that King Dannon had betrayed Lord Talasin—not the other way around—which was what led to their mutual destruction and incited the Taldan Wars in the first place. It hadn't explained that the King Who Saw actually "saw" a self-fulfilling prophecy that would be started by his own hand.

Then again, there was the matter of room and spacing. Couldn't exactly write a treatise or history lesson on a single sheet of paper—much less mass-produce it.

That's another thing. The note looked handwritten, yet it was stuffed into every pamphlet on every seat. That's over fifty students who received the same message.

Had someone hired out a team to handwrite every note, or had a singular person painstakingly copied each and every one?

There were answers I wanted, because nothing was clear yet. This note only made things more confusing and hectic for me, because it catapulted my "vision" into reality.

There was no time to stand back any longer. Not when momentum was on our side. Whoever "our" is. I don't even know who's on my team concerning this. That's probably a good place to start.

I needed to figure out who was sympathetic to this esoteric cause. Then we could start planning a true revolution, once we had a better idea of our numbers and what we were up against.

It was na?ve of me to believe I could create any kind of change here. As I'd thought before, Vikingrune Academy was not just a school . . . it was a lifestyle and conglomerate. It was not just the Gothi who ran the place, but the seedy, shadowy figures I'd never meet, who never showed their faces, who operated behind the scenes of every big enterprise like this one.

I certainly had my work cut out for me.

Stepping toward the door of the cafeteria longhouse, a sound make me jerk with surprise.

"Pssst," came the voice, like something out of a Scooby-Doo mystery.

Quirking my brow, I glanced to my right, around the side of the building . . . where Arne Gornhodr stood in the shadows, hidden by some nearby bushes.

I nearly burst out laughing, seeing his midnight-blue tunic, all fanciful and finely pressed, mixed in with the weeds and leaves that framed his magnetic golden mane.

The iceshaper stood out like a sore thumb. He wasn't fooling anyone with his hiding spot.

I walked over to him, trying to mask my smile. His pretty face looked serious. Gone were the bruises and purpled skin. Returned were those familiar high facial bones, elven-like gauntness to his cheeks, and dazzling blue eyes.

"There you are," I said, scooting around to the side of the building at his urging. "Where have you been?" I kept my voice low, yet he still put a finger over his lips and looked over his shoulders conspiratorially, as if he thought he was being watched. "Don't worry," I muttered, "Sven isn't back there in the bushes. He has been looking for you though."

Arne blinked. "He has?" His bright face shifted, sinking. "That's . . . disappointing."

He glanced at me like he wanted me to say I had been looking for him. But I didn't want to lie to the deceitful man.

"So?" I asked. "Any news? I heard you'd left campus."

"Sven tell you that, too?" He said it with some oomph, accusatory.

"He did, actually."

His frown deepened. "I was on a proper adventure, little fox. You would have loved it."

I didn't correct him on calling me "little fox," like I had in the past after his betrayal. I'd let him have this one, because I was too curious about where he'd been and what he'd discovered.

"Found your pointy-eared friend," he said.

My heart leapt to my throat, wedging there. "Corym?!"

Arne rolled his eyes. "No, Rav. Legolas." He snorted. "Of course Corym, girl, damn! Don't act too excited."

I smiled, shaking my head. "Someone's jealous."

"Damn right I'm jealous. That you're attracted to a man who looks like me, albeit not quite as pretty? What am I supposed to think?"

"I guess you'll think whatever you want, iceshaper." I bobbed my eyebrows.

Arne seemed . . . different. Less forlorn and lost. More like his old self, if I was being honest. Flamboyant, cunning, and dare I say funny. The man I had initially been attracted too before everything went to shit. The man I had trusted because of his good qualities, which allowed me to take his lead to Elayina and entrap myself.

"I wouldn't get too starry-eyed," he continued. "He was caught trying to escape the Lepers."

A knot formed in my belly, making me nauseous. Escape? From the Lepers Who Leapt? Where would he escape to . . .

Arne watched as the cogs turned in my head. He sighed and scratched his forehead. "Don't worry, girl, I'm sure he was just trying to escape so he could find you."

"And the Lepers didn't let him?" I was still confused. "Wait. Is he their prisoner ?" The accusation came out forceful, incredulous. "Tell me everything, Arne."

I pulled his arm, bringing him deeper around the side of the cafeteria, so we'd be out of earshot of anyone walking in through the front door.

"I found the Lepers' hideout," he said, "and stayed with them for a few days."

"How did you find them?"

"My sister is part of their ranks, fox. Did you forget?"

My brow furrowed. "Yeah, well, my brother stays on the same campus I do, and he doesn't know where the hell I am ninety-percent of the time. So what does that mean?"

Kind of creepy, honestly. Did you put GPS tracking on Frida or something, Arne?

I raised a hand as he opened his mouth to explain himself. "You know what? It's not important. Just carry on with your story."

He pouted, shrugging. "I talked with Corym. He's fine. Dashing as ever. Elven as always. And . . . he misses you. Of course."

Arne's clipped sentences clued me in he was awkward speaking about Corym to me, after seeing us kiss and knowing we cared for each other.

A darker part of me spoke in the back of my head, telling me not to believe a word Arne was saying. He could be trying to lead me into another trap. Dammit. I hate that I can't trust him still.

If only he hadn't fucked everything up the first time.

I wanted to give him another chance. But I had to be sure he was truthful this time.

"He asked how you've been," Arne said, "and what you've been doing with your time."

I leaned forward, the hope in my voice clear. "What did you tell him?"

"That you'd been busy studying and preparing for the finals. Which is true, right?"

"Yes. And . . ."

"That you commissioned me to find him."

I smiled reflexively. "You said that?"

Arne slanted his head. "Um, yes? That's the mission you sent me on, right? I said I wouldn't let you down, Ravinica."

His voice had turned from flippant and jealous to serious in a matter of seconds. For the first time, I saw trust and understanding in those sky-blue orbs, where before I had only seen deceitfulness.

Maybe I can trust him again.

But I needed more. I wasn't going to get caught slipping again . . . if I could avoid it.

Some offhanded notion clicked in my brain, converging two threads I'd been thinking about—and it suddenly made sense. A group of people . . .

"When did you return?" I asked pointedly, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Early yesterday evening. I stayed low."

"Hmm . . ."

Silence. Then, "What is it, little fox?"

The message. A group of people. The Lepers. Handwritten notes—lots of them. A secret space where you wouldn't get caught writing treasonous things. My thoughts came in fragments, but it was enough to work with.

"Was this your doing, Arne?" I didn't specify what I was talking about, because I wanted to read the look on his face as it came to him. It was the only way I could be sure I'd be getting a truthful answer. "Because if so . . ."

He cleared his throat, leaning forward to meet the words on my lips, or simply to reach my lips. "If so . . ."

"Just tell me, Arne," I said with some frustration.

He played coy, cheeks tensing for a flash before smoothing out. "An iceshaper never kisses and tells," he said cryptically, wagging his fine eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Bullshit. You kiss and tell all the time. It's what you do, gossip queen."

He gave me a typical Arne smirk. "Let's say, in theory, that I did. What would you say?"

I played his game, stepping closer, lowering my voice so the whispers played with his ears. "I'd say you did a very dangerous, admirable thing. I'd . . . call you a good boy."

His eyes widened at the end. The ocean blues seemed to drown out the whites of his eyes completely, enlarging. Somehow, the phrase did something to him, and he shifted from one foot to the other. Perhaps to readjust himself.

Then he chewed the inside of his lip, thinking. ". . . Was it the handwriting that gave me away? I've always thought my script was too fanciful."

I snorted, smiling wider. "It was you! Holy shit, Arne. Do you know what you've done?"

He shrugged. It wasn't one of those easy know-it-all shrugs. It was genuinely asking me to tell him what he'd done.

"You've started something that can't be stopped." I grabbed him by both shoulders, locking eyes, making sure he understood what this meant to me. "You've planted the seed to the rest of the student body, when I couldn't think of a way to do it before!"

"Well, um . . . excellent?"

For the first time ever, Arne was lacking for words. He was playing humble , when this was a time for him to expound on his greatness and cleverness.

It brought me closer to him, in that moment, than perhaps I'd ever been.

He cleared his throat, and his eyes looked dewy. Slowly, he reached out between us, hand trembling.

And I let him. I allowed Arne to touch my cheek, to cup the warmth of my skin with his spindly fingers. He said, "Seeing the joy on your face right now, Ravinica, makes the whole thing worth it."

I clenched my jaw. " Why ?" I croaked out. "Why did you do it, Arne?"

He gave me another shy shrug. "Because I thought it would help you, little fox."

"How did you know what to write?" I pressed. "How did you learn about the academy's lies?"

I hadn't told him what Elayina or Corym had shown me. Why would I, after he'd betrayed me already and I couldn't trust him to keep a secret? I'd told Magnus, but he was a different animal entirely.

Now, I saw the pure admiration in Arne's eyes for the first time. The truth of how hard he'd fallen for me, and that he really did regret the ambush he'd orchestrated.

Capturing me had saved his sister and the Lepers Who Leapt some precious time. I couldn't fault him for that. But now, I could see his spirit was true and not cunning or opportunistic just for the sake of stirring the pot.

He actually wanted to make a difference. Or else he wouldn't have gone through this whole ordeal of writing a message to the students, painting the academy as liars and culprits.

"How?" he asked. "I just told you, lass. I stayed with the Lepers for days. I spoke with Corym at length. He told me everything I needed to know about your mission, because I convinced him I wanted to help."

"And he trusted you?"

Arne smiled devilishly. "I can be quite persuasive. You know that."

It was true. Still, Corym must have been incredibly desperate to part with insider knowledge to a man he trusted less than most men. A man he had seen me nearly kill with his own elven dagger.

I wished I could have been a fly on the wall during that conversation.

The pieces started to fit much more snugly now. I thought the note hadn't seemed very detailed, and that was probably because Arne didn't know the exact details. Corym had only told him enough so he could craft his letter.

Arne would have to fill in the blanks, or I'd have to tell him when I was ready.

Arne explained the situation. "I wrote the letters at the Leper camp. Over and over again, using their woodsy paper stock."

That would explain why the note was on grainier, different colored parchment than the academy's pamphlet paper.

"Then I snuck onto campus early last night and broke into Dorymir Hall. I found the store room where they kept the pamphlets, knowing where they'd be since I was an initiate last year and had gone through the same ceremony. From there, all I had to do was stuff the pamphlets with my note, somewhere not on the first page, so it wouldn't be found immediately. And then I waited for the acolytes to hand them out. Easy-peasy."

I gawked at Arne, at the complexity of his mission. A mission I hadn't even sent him on.

He had done what I asked: He had found Corym E'tar for me. He had talked to him, and then he'd gone above and beyond and provided the fuel for our rebellion.

Without thinking, I threw my arms around Arne's neck and hugged him fiercely.

His hands hesitantly landed on my back, then rubbed gently. He asked in my ear, "So, little fox . . . did I do good?"

Arne's need for acceptance and validation only made me smile deeper, and appreciate him more.

"Yes," I whispered softly into the shell of his ear. "You've been a very, very good boy, Arne Gornhodr."

I could feel his body tremble with giddiness at my words as we embraced.

"And next," I finished, "you're going to lead me to Corym E'tar, so I can see him face to face. Yes?"

His throat bobbed. "Yes, ma'am."