Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 121534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
“Yeah,” I mutter and run my hands through my hair. “I guess.”
I flinch when something drops on the other side of the wall.
Rey. I clench my hands into fists, but I get up and move toward the sound.
Reeve looks from the wall to me, then back to the wall. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I’m never okay, but it’s nice that he asked like the answer will be different, when we both know I haven’t been okay in a long time.
A very long time.
I rub my hands down my face. “Yeah, sure, whatever. Let’s just get out of here.”
He goes to the door while I grab my phone from my nightstand.
I numbly follow Reeve out of the room, letting the door click shut behind me. My heart thumps against my chest faster than normal as I pass her door, and Reeve and I get on the elevator.
He hits the lobby button. “So, I hear goat yoga is really relaxing.”
“Shut up, Reeve.”
“What?” He holds up his hands. “Stop being so hostile. Goats are really cute! Or maybe a cat café. You can drink coffee, do your homework, have a nice little puss—”
“Do not finish that sentence,” I grumble.
“It was a good opening.” He sighs. “Anyway, point is, we just have to keep you distracted so you aren’t fixated on her.” He tries to catch my gaze, but I remain staring straight ahead. “Why are you fixated on her? I mean, I know we both hate her for good reason, but she’s just a girl.”
No. She isn’t.
And I can’t explain why I feel so strongly about that, other than when she was given the choice to run from his control, she stayed. I can’t respect that. Plus, there’s something deeper to her, something more sinister. My grandfather’s done his homework, and so has Reeve. We know everything there is to know about her family and how she was raised. We know she’s dangerous, yet nobody else seems to see it. Maybe that’s what gets me. She’s trouble, and yet she somehow seems to charm everyone she meets.
I’m so wrapped up in my own thoughts that it takes me getting to the lobby to realize that I forgot my wallet.
“Ugh.” I shove Reeve out of the elevator. “I have to go grab my wallet. Wait for me.”
“No worries.” He salutes me and glances over at a group of female students. “I have ways to stay occupied.”
He’s such a sleaze; it should be written on his shirt as a warning to unsuspecting future partners. He says he loves love. I think he just loves the attention.
“Yeah, I bet.” The elevator doors close.
I catch my reflection in the glass paneling—drawn features, jaw tight, something hollow behind the eyes. I almost don’t recognize the man staring back at me.
I remember when I first arrived at Endir my freshman year. I was never what you would call an easygoing kind of guy like my brother, but I at least knew how to smile. Now I can’t remember the last time my lips tilted up in anything even close to joy.
I look down and wait for my floor. I’ve lost my appetite entirely, my anxiety at her nearness making the blood in my veins turn to ice.
Back in my dorm room, I quickly send a text to Reeve to let him know I’ll join him later and he should go on without me.
I sit on the edge of the bed, fists clenched against my knees.
Something’s wrong.
Not in the building. Not out there.
In me.
I’ve felt it since the elevator. Since her.
I close my eyes, but the tension doesn’t fade. It’s not just in my muscles. It’s under my skin.
And whatever it is—
It’s waking up.
Chapter Nine
Rey
The moment I’m alone in the room, I slide a hand into my jeans pocket. My fingers shake as I pull out Laufey’s note.
It’s crumpled and warm, and my heart races as I open the paper and spread it flat on my desk.
There are no words. No messages of love or encouragement, no mantra to persevere.
Just five runes.
ᚱ ᛞ ᚺ ᛟ ᚦ
Raido, Dagaz, Hagalaz, Othala, and Thurisaz.
Thurisaz was the rune I saw carved into the cobblestone not far from where Odinfather left me at the entrance of the university. The same one I tripped on and wanted to curse.
What does it all mean? There has to be some sort of connection to my mission. She wouldn’t risk Odin’s wrath to pass me this note for no reason.
The sound of Aric’s door shutting has me jumping. I walk over to the wall and give it a soft knock. The echo I get in return nearly makes me jump. Great, so not soundproof. My mind suddenly fills with all the things I might hear coming from the other side of this wall, but I quickly shake the thoughts away.