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“Really?” Kolfinna perked up; Revna had been a trainee and a teacher in the Black Castle when it was still thriving? There must’ve been so much she knew about the castle then. About what it was like before it became a shadow of itself.

“Yes, really.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You—”

“Wait, I have a question,” Blár said. “You mentioned that each room is linked to another dimension. Does that mean the rest of our party was warped to another dimension since they were in another room than us?”

Kolfinna’s breath caught in her throat as she waited for the answer; she had hoped the rest of the party was in the Black Castle and hadn’t been warped, since they couldn’t survive without understanding the runes.

“I’m not sure,” Revna said as she picked up the pitcher of water, her thin fingers wrapping around the glass handle. “It depends on the room they went into. If they entered a hallway or a room without runes, then they should still be in the castle. But you mentioned you’ve been here for a few days, yes? If they didn’t get warped the same day you did, then perhaps the next day they did, or the day after that. Because if they’re unaware of the rules, they’ll have a hard time navigating the castle. My best bet? Yes, they’re likely trapped in a dimension.”

It felt like a sucker punch to the gut hearing those words. Kolfinna couldn’t bear to think of what everyone else was enduring. Were they on that ship again? Or maybe they were in another dimension more harrowing than that? How could they survive? She thought of Eyfura, who swore to Nollar she would make it back alive. She thought of Mímir, who was trying so hard to prove himself. She thought of Magni, Truda, Eyjarr, and the others whose names she hadn’t caught. She didn’t know them very well, and some she disliked, but she wasn’t so cold-hearted to wish for their deaths.

Blár seemed to be thinking the same thing because the color drained from his face, but it was Kolfinna who jumped to her feet. “I need to learn rune magicnow! If they’re trapped in a dimension, I need to save them!”

The guilt was so powerful that she nearly drowned in it as she thought about how Blár and her had wasted time trying to fight the dreki, how they had slept through the nights instead of moving, how they had joked along the way when they should’ve stayed focused—if they had gotten here faster, then Kolfinna could have saved everyone even quicker. Maybe there was still time. Maybe they were still alive.

She didn’t want to think of anyone as dead.

“Kolfinna, I understand, but you need to rest,” Revna started.

“No, you don’t understand! They’re just humans. They can’t survive!” A selfish, niggling part of her mind whispered that if they all died, there was no way she could become a Royal Guard. But she pushed that thought away. She needed to save them, first and foremost.

“Why can’t you teach her today?” Blár asked, his words dripping with acid.

“Because it’ll put too much pressure on your already weary body,” Revna answered calmly. “You need to be fresh when you start learning runes. It takes a toll on you.”

“But—”

“Kolfinna, please. I know more than you do.” Revna stared at her with a stern look. “Don’t you trust me?”

Kolfinna fell back into her seat, her body screaming at her to do something. But she nodded slowly instead. “I trust you.”

“Then believe me when I say that I have your best interest at heart. You need to rest. We can start training in the morning.” She motioned to the dark windows, which showed miles and miles of sand stretched across a black skyline. “It’s already night. Rest and once the suns rise again, we’ll start training.”

Kolfinna bunched her fists together onto her knees. She didn’t have time to rest or dillydally, but she needed to cooperate with Revna; what if she refused to help Kolfinna if she didn’t cooperate with her rules? Then rune magic would forever be a lost cause.

“We can talk more about this tomorrow. Now, it’s my turn for the questions.” Revna pointed at Blár. “Your name?”

Blár narrowed his eyes and made a face as if he was offended by being asked such a thing, but answered curtly anyway. “Blár Vilulf.”

“Why are you two in this castle if not for training purposes?” Revna leaned in closer, her purple eyes flaring as she inspected them both. “Don’t lie to me. I can tell if you lie.”

“We’re here as an order,” Kolfinna answered honestly. “By the king.”

“Why is the king interested in this place?”

“Treasure.” Blár tapped the table with his forefinger. “Money? More power? Maybe to have us killed? Who knows what that greedy bastard wants?”

“And what’s your relationship with each other? You’re wearing different uniforms.”

“We’re in two different military units,” Blár said.

“And your relationship?” She smiled, and Kolfinna could’ve sworn there was mischief in her eyes. “Are you two lovers?”

Kolfinna’s face heated up in different shades of red. Lovers? Was that what they looked like to her? She had never thought of such a thing about Blár. He was handsome, and she was sure there was an odd attraction she felt toward him, but lovers? They were the farthest from that. He had once tried to kill her!

She opened her mouth to deny it, to tell her they would never be anything like that, but Blár surprised her by saying, “Something like that.”

Kolfinna blinked and thought her face might explode from heat.What?