I sigh as they vanish, and I immediately miss their weight. I wish my parents had been here to see them. I smile sadly to myself while imagining a younger me flying with her mother. My wings are not quite strong enough for flight yet, and I haveto be very careful that a wayward draft doesn’t buckle my fragile tendons.
According to Mina, that pain is excruciating.
Mathilda settles the chain-mail over my torso and straps the chest and shoulder plates into place. Her armor glints in the sunlight that streams in through the windows again. The brightness of the sun’s rays is ironic given the shadows darkening each of our eyes. We stand there silently together.
Mathilda is the first to break the silence as she tightens the straps holding my armor into place. “How does that feel? Can you still raise your arms?” she asks.
I raise my arms above my head and then back down to my sides with a quick nod. “We should have had you practice in your armor to get used to it. I’m sorry.” She grimaces.
But I smile sadly in return. “We didn’t have enough time.”
Mina tightens the straps on Elowen’s armor, and then they switch places. Their movements are sure, as if they’ve done this a million times.
I suddenly feel very out of place.
Mathilda stalks to the bathroom and comes back with a vial of black kohl. “War paint?” she asks, looking around the room at us.
“Of course,” I agree and move to stand in front of her. She smears a good amount around each of my eyes.
“May your blade be as fierce as Freya,” she declares. The words settle into my bones. Mina is the next to have her war paint applied, followed by Elowen.
I grab the vial of kohl from Mathilda. “Your turn.”
Mathilda’s eyes narrow. “Make me fierce,” she demands.
My smile grows. “You already are.”
After I finish making her look like a warrior from a nightmare, we begin retrieving our weapons from the pile on my bed. My ax slides into the straps on my back while I sheath my father’s sword at my side.
The responsibility of morale falls on my shoulders, and I clear my throat.
“I would just like to say—” I take a breath, looking around the room at my friends. “That it’s been the honor of my life to be here and get to know you all.” Tears begin glistening in Mathilda and Mina’s eyes while Elowen looks down at her feet. I push on. “Before I came here, I didn’t have very many friends and had always dreamed of having just one, and now here I am, blessed to have you three.” Mathilda sniffles. “I won’t say I’ll never make a mistake, but I vow to always strive to be the queen you all deserve.”
Elowen quickly raises her head, her eyes meeting mine.
The usual striking blue color has turned a milky blue.She’s seeing something.
“There’s something wrong,” she whispers. “We need to hurry.”
She squeezes her eyes shut. Panic weighs my arms down, but I force it aside and square my shoulders. Elowen’s eyes shoot open, and she looks between all of us. But there’s a wildness to her gaze.
“Are you ok?” I ask.
She shakes her head, her strawberry-blonde hair whipping back and forth. “Talons and fire.”
The three of us share a look as Elowen covers her face with her hands.
“What does that mean?” Mathilda asks as she moves closer, placing a hand on Elowen’s shoulder.
“One is not the same,” Elowen whispers through her fingers.
Mina shivers lightly. “That is not ominous at all.” Mathilda pats Elowen’s shoulder gently.
“Elowen?” I whisper. “Is there anything more concrete you can tell us?”
But she shakes her head, shoulders slumping in defeat. Bloodpulses quickly in my veins, and my head pounds with her words.
But I take a deep breath, knowing the only way through this is forward. There’s no going back now. War is on the horizon, and we are divided. If I can’t pull the realm together, we will be defeated, and the human realm will be at risk.
