There’s a group of guys all laughing and slapping shoulders with Isaac. They must be the ones I overheard earlier. Jason and his friends always reminded me of animals, but here? They actuallyare. A few of them stand off to the side, away from the main pack.
“What about them?” I ask.
Tala frowns. “Skallagrim has a few lone wolves, too.” She tips her chin toward a smaller group of brown-haired students with bulky builds. “Over there are the boars. They tend to avoid us instinctually since we’re their predators in the wild.”
Sympathy squeezes my stomach. What would it be like to be surrounded by predators all day?Hurt my brother,Amund told me,and Iwillhunt you down.With Amund and the hunters at Skallagrim, I think I know how the boars must feel.
You’re never safe, not really.
As I look over the group, I notice someone with hair so dark brown it’s almost black—the same color as my dad’s—and plenty of piercings.
“That’s Kris,” Tala says. “They’re nonbinary, and the only cool boar.”
So a wolf and a boar can be friends? I think I’ve seen them sitting with Tala and Isaac a few times in the dining hall. Maybe even berserkir can overcome their nature.
“And them?” I ask, gesturing toward a small group of tall boys.
“Bears,” Tala says. “Best to avoid them. Even as humans, they can be real… well, bears, for lack of a better word.”
One of these students isn’t just an animal. They’re a killer.
A massive gray bear prowls toward us, and everything in me locks up. The animal is much larger than I’d expect, but every movement is lethally graceful. Pretty sure I’ve never seen a bear like that before.
Tala frowns. “Speaking of bears, looks like Gunnar finally showed up.”
With each step the animal takes… it starts to change.
One moment there is a bear.
I blink, and there’s an old man standing before us, completely naked.
What the hell?I look away quickly, backing up until I bump the curve of a low cloister. I can’t be the only one seeing this, can I? Clearing my throat, I quickly glance from Tala to the rest of the class. No one seems fazed by any of this in the slightest. As if it’s completely normal for bears to turn into naked humans—and so easily, too.
This must be Gunnar. Our teacher.
“Welcome to Transformation,” he says in a thick Icelandic accent.
Gunnar is missing his right eye, and it’s impossible to tell how old he is. His skin is wrinkled and creased with age, but despite that, he looks toned and lean. I think he might even have a six-pack? Which I can tell because he’s not wearing a shirt. I’mnotlooking any lower.
“Um, why is he naked?” I whisper to Tala.
Before she can respond, Gunnar’s gaze lands on me. “So we have a new student. Introduce yourself.”
Now the whole class is looking at me like hungry animals.
I do my best to focus on Gunnar’s face as he pulls on a new tunic. “I’m Edith.”
“Your name isn’t what I want to know,” Gunnar says, waving a wrinkled hand toward me. “Whoareyou, Edith?”
I stare at him. How am I supposed to answer that?
Gunnar beats a hand against his chest. “You are aberserkr.”
I recoil at his raised voice, hugging my arms against my chest. He says it like it’s something to be proud of, but I don’twantto be one. I never asked for any of this. All I want is to be normal.
“So let me rephrase,” he shouts. “Whatare you?”
Something inside me stirs at his question, but I push it down. Far, far away.
