THE MAIN DINING HALL was considerably fancier than its academy counterpart. Not only were the tables set with linen napkins and what appeared to be legit silverware, but they were etched with ornate, mythological carvings that ranged from Thor’s hammer to an eight-legged horse to a massive, fanged wolf. And every single female gracing the long rows of tables had dressed for dinner.
Every female but one.
I skulked between Axel and Helene, neither of whom had mentioned the dress code, and wished fervently that I’d changed out of my training clothes. I didn’t own anything formal, but even the apron-dress the seamstresses had gifted me would have been better than the leggings, belted tunic, and cape I was currently rocking. Despite my attempt to channel invisibility, more than a few women looked up in disapproval as I slunk onto one of the polished benches at a corner table.
Way to make a first impression, Saga. Nailed it.
I averted all eye contact as I unfolded my napkin, set it across my lap, and filled each of our glasses with water from a nearby pitcher. Axel settled on the bench to my left, and Helene slid in across from us. They both looked up with easy smiles as a server carried a full tray to our table.
“We eat as a family here. Others will probably join us shortly,” Helene explained as the server unloaded a plate of vegetables, a loaf of crusty bread, and a tureen filled with what had to be the mutton stew. Brown chunks of meat floated among peas and carrots in a thick broth.
“And for you, Miss Helene.” The server set a plate of cheese and bread in the center of the table before whispering, “I know how you feel about the mutton.”
“Gods bless you, Thyra.” Helene placed a hand to her heart. “This is my new friend, Saga. She’ll be sharing the cheese platters with me on mutton night, if she knows what’s good for her.”
“Hey,” Axel protested. “I love this stew.”
“Lucky you. You get the whole bowl to yourself.” Helene smirked.
“Hei, hei, Saga. It’s lovely to meet you.” Thyra offered a friendly smile. “If there’s anything else you need, just let me know.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” I glanced down at my plate. “Oh, do you have an extra fork? I seem to be missing mine.”
“Fork?” Thyra tilted her head.
“You know, like . . .” I looked to Axel’s plate, but his fork was missing too. And Helene’s. I picked up my spoon. “Like this, but pointy?”
Helene shot me a curious glance. “We don’t have pointy spoons here. Was that something you used in your old tribe?”
I snuck a glance at the table across from ours. Sure enough, its occupants stabbed chunks of mutton with their knives—no pointy spoons in sight.
Good Lord. I’d wandered into a world where forks hadn’t been invented yet. Either that, or they hadn’t made their way to Vikingdom. Bizarre.
“Uh . . . yeah.” I set my spoon down. “Sorry, my mistake.”
“Valkyris must seem very strange to a newcomer,” Thyra said kindly.
She had no idea.
“Ja, but Saga’s starting off strong.” Axel slung his arm around my shoulder. “She landed me for her archery tutor. Somebody’s having a lucky week.”
I rolled my eyes good-naturedly. “I never said I needed a tutor. Only that we could shoot together.”
“You wound me, Saga.” Axel’s eyes pulled downward in feigned sorrow. “Most girls would kill for alone time with me.”
I swatted his arm away with a laugh. “I think you’ll find I’m not most girls.”
“That you’re not.” Axel sighed. “You’d appreciate me, wouldn’t you, Thyra? Or would you crush my heart, too?”
From the way Thyra’s cheeks pinked, I had a fairly good idea of her answer.
“Axel! Sorry about him.” Helene turned to Thyra. “I swear, we can’t take him anywhere.”
“It’s quite all right. Just wave if you need anything else.” Thyra picked up the tray and scuttled off, the pink now stretching all the way across her ears.
“You’re awful.” Helene shook her head at Axel, who crossed his hands behind his head and leaned back.
“You love me,” Axel grinned.
Helene’s sigh could have been heard across the room. “Axel suffers from what we in the healing arts like to call ‘delusions of grandeur.’”
“I have no idea what that means,” Axel said happily.
“It means you have a more-than-healthy amount of self-confidence.” Helene smirked.
“That I do.” Axel winked. “After all, I am descended from gods.”
“Excuse me?” I choked on my water.
“That is unequivocally not true.” Helene sighed. “You have to stop telling people that.”
“It is true, and I’ll tell who I please, thank you very much,” Axel said. “It’s well known in the Andersson family that some Asgardian somewhere blessed our lineage with a touch of the divine.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” Helene chuckled.
“Oh, I will, Leeney. I most definitely will.”
“Axel! There you are!” I looked up from doling out cheese to find two girls racing across the dining hall. They practically tripped over each other in their haste to claim the empty seat next to Axel. I was pretty sure I saw at least one thrown elbow.
“Hei there!” The taller of the two reached our table first. She slid gleefully onto the bench, adjusting her low-cut dress for maximum cleavage.
Snort.
“Birna.” Axel nodded. “Brigga. How are things?”
The busty girl’s doppelganger frowned as she took the seat across from Axel. She leaned forward on her elbows, optimizing the view of her own chest, and pushing Helene out of the way in the process.
“Hey!” Helene objected.
Brigga shot Helene a catty look before turning her attention to Axel. “We didn’t see you in the Dragehus.” She pouted. “We waited all afternoon.”
“I had other business to attend to.” Axel winked. “Nice of you ladies to keep an eye out for me, though.”
So, Axel was that guy—the one all the girls fought over. I guessed there was one in every era.
“Axel,” Birna purred, “if you’re not busy tomorrow, I’d love to get your advice on training. I’m getting one of the babies as my dragon charge, and you’re the best at managing them.”
Axel nodded. “It’s all about working out the power dynamic. Establishing your dominance”—the girls burst into giggles at the word. Seriously?—“but keeping your animal happy by letting it think it’s in control.”
“I’d love for you to show me how to assert my . . . dominance.” Birna batted her eyelashes, earning an award-winning eyeroll from Helene.
“Gods, Birna, does that ever actually work for you?” Helene pushed Brigga so she was once again in front of her own plate.
Brigga and Birna shot Helene twin glares.
“Well, Helene, I don’t see you with any marriage offers. Guess that great big brain of yours isn’t worth so much after all,” Birna snarked.
Axel raised his hands. “Stand down, Birna.”
“Come on, Axel. She’s obviously—"
“She’s obviously my friend. And nobody talks to my friends like that.”
Birna flinched at Axel’s angry tone.
Brigga jumped to her sister’s defense. “She only meant—”
“I know what she meant. And I won’t tolerating anyone talking to my friends like that. Ever.”
“She started it,” Birna muttered.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. The table suddenly felt very small.
“It’s true. Helene’s had it in for us since we started spending time with Axel.” Brigga twirled her hair around one finger. “Think it’s a coincidence that we were downgraded to a double room last month? She used her influence with her precious ‘Aunt Freia’ to make sure we—”
“Enough.” Axel groaned, interrupting her. “Brigga, Birna, find someplace else to sit. I don’t have the patience for your drama tonight.” Axel angled his shoulders to me. “Saga, will you pass me the stew?”
Birna’s eyes widened before narrowing into slits. “Saga, is it?”
“Mmm hmm.” I slid the tureen to Axel, and resumed selecting cheeses. The brown one was new to me—probably another sheep product.
“Are you the girl Erik brought home?” Brigga asked. I briefly wondered if these two had a thing for Erik, too.
Of course they do, Saga. He’s hot.
No, he’s not. He’s a jerk.
“Um . . .” I shifted nervously in my seat.
“Great. Now you’ve made both of my friends uncomfortable.” Axel eyed the girls coolly. “Get out of here, now. I mean it.”
Brigga and Birna’s faces clouded over. They fired matching hate-filled glares at me and Helene before stalking across the dining hall and sidling up to a guy-filled table. They were clearly on the hunt.
Jeez.
“Now, where were we?” Axel knifed a piece of mutton and took a vigorous bite.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Helene murmured. “I can handle Birna.”
“You’re my friend, Leeney.” Axel shrugged.
“Ja.” Helene smiled. “But now who will entertain you in the Dragehus?”
“Please,” Axel scoffed. “Do you really think they were my only source of entertainment?”
I choked on my cheese. “Excuse me?”
“In case you hadn’t noticed, assassins are fairly desirable around here.” Axel patted my back until I stopped coughing. “Especially the highly good-looking ones.”
Helene sighed. “Like I said. Delusions of grandeur.”
“Like I said. Descended from gods.” Axel grinned at Helene before returning his attention to his stew. “Have you been to the Dragehus yet, Saga?”
“Uh . . . no.” And I wasn’t entirely sure that I wanted to.
“I’ll take you over after our shoot around on Friday,” Axel declared. “Helene, how’s that Horned Greenwing you’re taking care of?”
“His tail spike seems to be healing.” Helene sipped her water. “But if he keeps fighting with his stall-mate, I’m going to have to separate them permanently.”
“Wait until springtime.” Axel chuckled. “Last year, he got into a massive dominance match with one of the other juveniles. Ended with a chunk of somebody’s back sitting on the stall floor. I can’t remember whose.”
“Excellent.” Helene groaned.
“You’ll break him,” Axel promised. “His last trainer was useless, but you’ve got the knack for it.”
“Wait. I thought you were a healer?” I asked.
“I am,” Helene said. “But training is a core component of the healing program. We have to be able to coerce the animals in our care into letting us look after them. It’s fairly easy with the cows and sheep—and humans, for that matter—but dragons require a bit more finesse.”
I could only imagine.
“It’s only one term of actual training and another term of riding. Anything beyond that and we call in the riders to wrangle them. Every good healer knows it pays to have friends who can manage the more . . . unmanageable animals.” Helene nodded at Axel. “Why do you think I put up with this guy?”
“Because I am a delight,” Axel retorted. “Obviously.”
“Obviously.” I smiled.
Axel tucked into his food, and I grinned at Helene before doing the same. For the first time since I’d gotten here, I felt just a little bit at home.
And for that, I was a lot bit grateful.