The Icebound Land- Character Reaction

5

"I'll read next, Gilan," Hal offered. The book was passed along to the skirl, and he began reading.

ON THE BARREN, WINDSWEPT ISLAND OF SKORGHIJL, WILL was running.

Will groaned and banged his head against the table. Alyss gently pulled him back up. "You're going to give yourself a concussion," she said mildly.

He had done five laps of the shingle beach. Now he turned toward the steep cliffs that reared above the tiny harbor. His legs burned with the effort as he forced himself to climb, the muscles in his thighs and calves protesting. The weeks of inactivity on the wolfship had taken their toll on his fitness and now he was determined to regain it, to harden his muscles and bring his body back to the fine-tuned edge that Halt had demanded of him. Halt said nothing, but a glow of pride ignited in him.

He might not be able to practice his archery or knifework, but he could at least make sure his body was ready if the chance came to escape.

And Will was determined that such a chance would come.

Will and Cassandra exchanged a glance. "Good lot that did me," he said bitterly. She gave him a sad little smile.

He drove himself up the steep slope, the small stones and shale slipping and giving way under his feet. The higher he went, the more the wind plucked at his clothes until, finally, he reached the top of the cliff and was exposed to the full force of the north wind—the Summer Gales, as the Skandians called them. On the northern side of the island, the wind drove the waves against the unyielding black rock, sending fountains of spray high into the air. In the harbor behind him, the water was relatively calm, sheltered from the wind by the massive horseshoe of cliffs that surrounded it.

"That description gives it a lot more credit than it deserves," Erak said.

As he always did when he reached this point, he scanned the ocean for some sign of a ship. But as ever, there was nothing to see but the relentlessly marching waves.

"At least Slagor isn't there yet," Cassandra said.

He looked back into the harbor. The two large huts seemed ridiculously small from here. One was the dormitory where the Skandian crew slept. The other was the eating hall, where they spent most of their time, arguing, gambling and drinking. To the side of the dormitory, built against one of the long side walls, was the lean-to that Erak had assigned to him and Evanlyn. It was a small space but at least they didn't have to share with the Skandians, and Will had rigged an old blanket across one end to provide Evanlyn with a little privacy.

"Thank you for that," she said. Will nodded.

Lydia leaned forward curiously. The Princess was named Cassandra, and yet... "Are you Evanlyn?" she asked. Cassandra nodded. "Your name was on that cabin...?"

The Princess gave her a small smile. "That was the cabin we stayed at for the winter, thanks to Erak," she said, nodding. Lydia smiled in return. (A/N: I don't remember if Lydia ever found that out in the BB books, and I didn't feel like looking through them to see😅)

"I was wondering who that was," she said.

She was sitting outside the lean-to now. Even from this distance, Will could see the dispirited slump in her shoulders and he frowned. Some days ago, he had suggested that she might like to join him in his attempt to keep fit. She had dismissed the idea out of hand. She seemed to have simply accepted their lot, he thought. Cassandra bit her lip in embarrassment. She had given in, and over the past few days, their exchanges had become increasingly waspish as he tried to boost her spirits and talked about the possibility of escape—for he already had an idea forming in that direction.