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He’s still not looking at me, which I somehow find adorable. Adorable isn’t a word I thought I would ever use to describe Death, but here I am. “It’s from selenite,” he says. “There were formations in the crystal cave. I took some and carved a dagger out of it. Thought you should have one since you’re able to wield it so well.” Finally he looks at me, a hint of pride in his expression. “Maybe Vipunen will let you train with it.”
I grin happily at him and look down at the knife in my hands. It seems so soft and fragile, glowing as soft white as the moon, and yet I know the power it holds. The fact that many aren’t supposed to be able to use it as a weapon means even more to me. I run my fingernail over the blade and even that scratches it. So fragile and yet so strong.
Clutching it to my chest, I say, “Thank you,” and I hope he knows how much I mean it.
He smiles for a moment. It’s like looking at the sun. “It was nothing.” Then a shadow passes over his gaze, his smile falling. “But if you ever use that knife against me…”
I stare at him in surprise. “Are you saying this has the ability to hurt you?”
“You hurt Louhi with it. No doubt you could hurt me, too.”
“Could it kill you?”
More darkness passes over him. “Are you planning on putting it to the test?”
I shake my head. “I can’t kill you. Who else would spend eternity making me come?”
He watches me for a moment, his pupils dilating, then bursts out laughing.
It’s the kind of sound that makes your soul sing.
“You’re full of surprises, fairy girl,” he says, getting up and walking toward the door. “Never stop surprising me.”
Chapter 17
Hanna
“The Reveal”
“Pick up the sword, try again.”
I scowl under my mask, tired of hearing that phrase. When this session is over, I want to ask Lovia and see if there’s a Vipunen support club where we can bitch about this shit.
This is the fifth time I’ve trained with Vipunen. A week has passed since the first session, but it’s been nothing but a blur. I’ve been up at dawn, riding to the caves with Lovia, then training with Vipunen until dinner time, sometimes after. I don’t go back the way of the Crystal Caves because I’m too wary that I’ll be sucked into them for ages, just rolling around in my own hedonism. I need to keep my eye on the prize, and that’s excelling. I can’t settle for anything less; it’s too dangerous.
We need to make sure I can defend myself. I get better and better every day. Lovia has told me that it takes years to fully train, but that Vipunen is putting me on the fast track because I’m apparently a natural, and the dangers are more pressing at the moment than they ever were for her or Tuonen.
Those dangers, of course—the uprising and Louhi—are made more complicated by the Prophecy of Three. I’ve talked to Death more about it, he’s talked to Vipunen about it, and I’ve tried to talk to Vipunen about it, but the giant remains cagey and guarded over his words. Says that he doesn’t know what is what when it comes to Louhi because Rangaista’s devil magic blocks him.
Death doesn’t seem to believe that. I’m not sure I do, either. I think Vipunen knows everything, but he wants to influence things in a certain way and so he withholds information whenever it suits him. He acts like he’s an impartial God of sorts, but I get the feeling that he isn’t. He’s self-serving.
“Can I use my knife yet?” I ask.
“How can you use a knife if you can’t wield a sword properly?” Vipunen answers.
I scoff. Can’t wield a sword? What the hell does he think I’ve been doing?
“If you want to use your knife,” he says after a moment, “then the combat will change. The distance will shrink. I will have to get very close to you and you may not like that. A blind mask can only do so much.”
I run my tongue over my teeth, thinking about that. We’ve been battling with swords non-stop, and while I may not always win, I put up a good fight. In a battle I think (okay, I hope) I could hold my own, given that I’d be able to freaking see my opponent, on top of being able to anticipate their every move.
“My attacker may not have a sword,” I tell him. “They may sneak into my chambers and attack me there as I sleep. I may only have my knife under my pillow. I need to know how to defend myself with it.”
“Very well. Put down the sword, push it behind you. Take out your knife.”
