“Becoming a warrior is not worth this.”
The trees hovered closer, their tall shadows spreading out over the dark meadow, mirroring the starless sky above. Something within me twisted as my eyes lingered on an especially old oak, its crown towering over the rest as if in challenge.
“It’s a test,” I mumbled to myself.
“What do you mean?” Oscri jerked when the gray wolf started toward him, swiping a large paw in the air as if she was inviting us closer.
I turned to Darcke and his men again. The warrior stared emotionlessly back at me, but from his posture—the way his muscles weren’t drawn taut like they had been when he yelled at me…
“They can’t reach him,” I said.
Darcke’s full lips twitched.
“They can’t reach him,” I said again slowly.
“So?” Kilia demanded. “We don’t know how he got there.”
The grass tickled my palms again.
To survive, you must follow in the footsteps of those that came before you.
“The grass,” I said.
“What about it?” Oscri asked, but as I turned to the twin stuck with me, light flickered behind his amber eyes.
“The footsteps,” Kilia said. “Guner said we needed to follow the footsteps.”
I dipped my eyes.
“If we go in their footsteps, they can’t reach us,” Kilia finished. The twin moved ahead of me, staring at the prancing canines. “Look.” He pointed behind the black one. “Do you see?”
Something shimmered there, something that moved when the wolf did.
“A chain,” Oscri breathed. “Like Fenrir was bound by the gods.”
“But Fenrir broke those chains,” Kilia said.
“Not the last one,” I replied, my skin alternating between heating and chilling. “He didn’t break the last one.”
“No, he just bit off Tyr’s hand,” Oscri muttered.
This test must be the shaman’s work. Those chains were created from divine magic.
Ignoring Oscri’s mumbles, I pointed to the narrow path, where each footprint lay ahead of the other. “We have to walk in line, trusting each other not to stray from it.”
There were a few spots where the grass leading to the rock was bent and broken. I didn’t linger on what could have happened to those who had caused it. I nudged Oscri to take the lead, me following with Kilia falling in step behind me.
My heartbeat thrummed through the night.
Quite ironic, this challenge.
The leashed wolves. Not stepping out of line.
“The king is sending us a message.” Kilia confirmed mythoughts.
Nodding, I kept my gaze on the warrior, who had moved to study his nails.
It was quiet the first few steps, and I almost relaxed when a darker shadow layered over us. I didn’t have time to take a breath before a deafening dry rattle of thousands of feathers shattered the night.
