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“You’ve made that clear already.” Her voice shook. “I’m on your side, Blár Vilulf. What do I have to do to make you understand that?”

“Leave this mission.”

“No.” Kolfinna glared at him, even as every instinct told her to run. There was nothing he gained from her leaving this mission. There was also nothing he gained if she stayed. And yet she could read the mischief in his eyes clear as day: he was toying with her. “I’m staying, whether you like it or not.”

“Oh. I definitely don’t like it,” he said. “But it’s not like Idislikeit.”

“What isthatsupposed to mean?”

“Oh. Nothing.” He smiled, and that smile scared her more than if he had frowned. “I’m just excited to resume what I didn’t finish last year. Our little cat-and-mouse game was fun, wasn’t it?”

She shivered. “Why are you provoking me?”

“Because I’m bored. And it sounds like fun.”

Her blood ran cold. Blár was a hundred times—no,thousandsof times—worse than Magni, Truda, and everyone else she was dealing with who hated the fae. Because at least with them, she had the power to fight them back if they tried to mess with her. What was she supposed to do if Blár tried to fight her? She’d die. That’s what.

There was not a bone in his body that was kind. And even if, by some miracle, there was, it wouldn’t be directed at her.

“Leave me alone.” Kolfinna stumbled away from him. She didn’t even try to hide the fear as she spun on her heels and ran. Her right leg throbbed painfully with her uneven gait as she ran harder. The trees swayed out of her way, their branches missing her face.

Thankfully, he didn’t follow her.

* * *

There wasa clear divide between the military and the Royal Guards. Even when they were ready to discuss the mission plans, the Royal Guards chose to sit on one side of the clearing while the soldiers sat opposite. Both sides stared at each other in distaste. Although Kolfinna sat on the Royal Guards’ side, she didn’t feel like she belonged. She was the anomaly. The Royal Guards didn’t consider her a Royal Guard, nor did the military. She was just Kolfinna the fae.

Mímir raked a hand through his dark hair and glanced over his papers. He had called everyone for a meeting, but he hadn’t uttered a single word yet. He simply scanned the papers, his expression impassive. There was an air of authority around him that wasn’t usually there. He seemed more like the lieutenant captain of the Royal Guard than he had earlier.

Blár sat on a boulder, slightly elevated from everyone else. Even his appearance wasn’t normal. All the military wore drab gray uniforms, and from what Kolfinna had heard, they weren’t allowed to alter them in any way. But Blár was clearly the exception. There was a thick, gray and white pelt around his neck, seamlessly sewn to his uniform. It appeared to be the pelt of a wolf, or some sort of fierce animal. And even the color of the gray uniform was darker, seemingly a mix between gray and navy blue.

“We’ll be heading out to the entrance of the temple,” Mímir’s voice boomed. He raised his eyes from his notes. “It has come to my attention that some of you have been questioning why Kolfinna, the fae, is here.”

Everyone turned to Kolfinna, and their gazes crawled under her skin.

“She’ll be helping us with the rune magic since she can read it. If you have any further questions, please feel free to talk to me privately.” The papers in his hand rustled and he cleared his throat. “I’ll give a little debrief for the military, who wasn’t present during our meeting about the ruins …”

Mímir began reading off information they had discussed about the Eventyrslot ruins in their Royal Guard meeting. Kolfinna fidgeted with her hair, which she had bound into a tight braid. Her gaze dragged across the faces in the clearing, but she paused when she landed on Blár. His knee was propped up and he had his elbow sitting on it while his chin rested against his closed fist. Boredom flitted over his face and, as if sensing her, he turned his head in her direction. Kolfinna averted her gaze, her heart racing in fear.

8

They wereon the move pretty quickly later that morning. At the stone archway at the base of the mountain, the extra military men made camp and took the horses. Their job was to wait for everyone else’s return from the ruins. Or to report back when the partydidn’tmake it back. Kolfinna hoped it didn’t come to that.

Kolfinna marveled at the stone archway and then at the sky-scraping mountain looming above them. This was the first step toward the ruins, and she could already feel the sway of nature around her, almost enveloping the mountain. Something powerful definitely resided in the mountain, she surmised.

After the archway, there was a winding path up the mountain made of spotty, crude stones meant to serve as a staircase. The first five minutes passed in a breeze, but the next five minutes after that, Kolfinna was wheezing and barely keeping up with the rest of everyone.Her right leg certainty didn’t help her case and she could’ve sworn someone muttered “gimp” at her when she first showed signs of struggle. But the wind howled loudly, so she had no way to know for sure if she had misheard, or not.

“Climbing all these steps is tiring,” Eyfura said from beside Kolfinna. Although Eyfura said that, she hadn’t broken a sweat and was breathing normally.

Kolfinna peered ahead at the mountainous uphill battle. The other Royal Guards easily led the party. “It’s a bit … much, I think,” she breathed, her thighs burning with every step. “I’m not used to exercising.”

“Oh, you’ll get used to it.”

“I hope so.” Kolfinna’s boots crunched beneath clusters of pebbles and crackled cobbled steps.

The higher they climbed the mountain, the more jarring it became to look down. There were rusty iron railings along the side of the stairs, but some parts were broken and sometimes the path became too narrow. One wrong misstep and she could fall to her death.

“It’s definitely not easy going up.” Eyfura wiped her forehead with her sleeve and squinted below them. “We’re pretty high up.”