For a moment, Emilía flashes before my eyes.
Only this time, it isn’t Emilía.
It’s Edith.
No.I won’t let that happen to her. Ihaveto find her. And fast. My legs pump harder. I checked the cafeteria already, but she wasn’t there anymore. Did she already head back to her dorms? I race through the quad, sprinting toward Odin Hall—
There.
I spot Edith and her sister being escorted back to their dorm by Val.Thank the gods.
“Edith!” I call out.
She spins around, her eyes wide. “Amund?”
“Why weren’t you answering?” I ask, running over to her.
“Sorry.” She bites her lower lip, searching my face. “My parents arrived, so we went to greet them. They have this weird thing about phones. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
I look her over, making sure she’s unharmed. “I’m just glad you’re all right.”
Edith nods. “Valerie was with us the whole time.”
“Thank you,” I tell Val. “I owe you.”
Val arches an eyebrow. “What are you so freaked out about?”
Maybe it’s time we told Val everything. To ensure the safety of everyone at the Unity Dance, I’m going to need her help. I can’t do this alone, and there’s no one I trust more than her. If she hadn’t rescued me, who knows if I’d still be alive?
Val has saved me in more ways than one.
“Well…” I say, unsure where to begin.
Edith clears her throat. “Bea, why don’t you head inside? It’s getting late.”
“Fine,” her little sister says with a yawn.
Once Bea’s inside safely, Val glances between us, her eyes narrowed. “I think we need to have a little chat.”
“I have a lot to fill you in on,” I say. “Both of you.”
“So a berserkr is next?” Edith asks as soon as I finish.
Val drags a hand through her braids. “Shit, I had no idea.” She shakes her head, frustrated. “And here I was thinking it was a wild berserkr…”
“That’s what Helga wants everyone to think,” I remind her. “She said she’s going to deal with Irina herself, and the Unity Dance will continue as planned.”
Val rubs her forehead. “But it also marks the thirty-year anniversary of the Tragedy. And now someone is trying to perform the sameritual again? I don’t like it. You haven’t found Egill’s pelt yet, have you?”
“No,” I admit, shaking my head. That damned pelt. “But it has to be her.”
For some reason, I still don’t mention my father to Val.
Even Helga agreed it couldn’t be him. Itmustbe Irina.
“Helga will probably use the truth-teller tea on Irina,” Edith chimes in. “Like she did on me. That way, she can confirm that Irina is the killer and find out where she’s keeping the pelt. As long as we’re right about Irina, then the Unity Dance should be safe.”
“Ifyou’re right.” Val’s words are as pointed as one of her daggers. “And that’s a big if. Let’s say you’re wrong, and someone else is the killer. All they have to do is kill one berserkr, and this spirit transfer ritual will be completed, right? Practically every seiðr practitioner is gathered at Skallagrim right now. Look what happened thirty years ago, the last time people were possessed.”
