Harald takes a step closer to her, putting them toe to toe. Mina comes up to where I would assume his belly button is. She stands unruffled in the face of his wrath.
“Why is that sprite?”
She tilts her head down, toeing at the edge of a small hole. Not a hole, but a scar on the ground caused by the dripping venom. My stomach clenches at the reminder of what we went through. What Tane lost.
“Do you see this?” Her eyes linger on the scar on the ground. “That’s what venom does. It eats through anything and everything. You wouldn’t even be able to find the bottom of that hole.” She jerks her chin towards Tane. “That warrior faced something thatonlydestroys and survived.No howling necessary. So no, I won’t be afraid of someone like you.” Her words are much more of a slap in the face than any physical blow could be.
Harald looks from the hole to Tane’s missing limb and blanches. “I—didn’t know.”
Mina crosses her arms over her chest. “And that’s why you shouldn’t run your mouth.”
If looks could kill, hers most certainly would.
But then the most astonishing thing happens. Harald bobs his head before looking her straight in the eye and saying, “I apologize.”
My brows stitch together and Freya takes an actual step back.
Tane’s face softens, the unease from before slipping into something similar to pride.
Mathilda looks on with a newfound level of respect for our fearless Mina, although I’m surprised she hadn’t tried to pummel Harald herself. Lachlan’s shoulder brushes against mine and we share a look of surprise.
Mina whirls on a heel, her hair floating up around her face. “You’ll have to do better than that,” she throws over a shoulder.
Harald’s mouth parts in shock, his brows nearly hitting his blonde hairline. But then his shield is ripped from his grip by invisible hands and chucked across the training ground.
Luna’s lips curl into a sardonic smile. “There’s our girl.”
Training is brutal.
The sun beats down on us. It’s heat like a thick blanket, smothering. Constant motion of swinging our shields, thrusting our weapons, and quick footwork, has sweat pouring from me. Dirt we kick up with our movements has clung to my skin, coating me in a level of grime I didn’t know was possible.
A large plume of it kicks up around where Lachlan faces off against Odr. The reverberation of steel against shields from their sparring makes my teeth rattle in my skull. Sweat beads on Lachlan’s tattoos. It makes the ink appear to ripple as it drips down his forearms before splattering onto the ground.
Mathilda hands me a glass of water as we rest by the refreshment table. The condensation trickling down the glass is ice compared to the heat of my skin. I shoot her a grateful smile before chugging the entire glass and setting it down on the table.
“I’ve never seen him move like that…”
Mathilda gives a quick jerk of her chin. “Because we’ve never trained like this.”
My brow raises and I reluctantly pull my eyes from the men. “Not even before?”
Her lips purse as she thinks. “No—not even then.” She swings her eyes to Tane and Piominko.
Piominko is walking around Tane, who has a spear outstretched in his remaining arm. He rolls it over the top of his hand before thrusting it out.
“Luckily, he never favored his left arm too much.” A slow breath makes its way out of her chest and she deflates beside me. “But it’s still a big enough change he’s having to relearn most of his skills.”
“Has he said anything?” I ask, peering at her.
“Not really. He’s not one to complain, but I can tell he’s struggling.”
“Is there anything we can do?” I bite my lip. I don’t know how to help him.
“No. And he won’t ask for anything either. He just needs time.”
Time.
The one thing I don’t think I could offer even if I had it. We’re running out of time.
