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Thea shifted in her seat, focusing her gaze on the Guild Master and ignoring the glances Kipp was shooting her way. She’d kept her distance from both him and Cal since they’d been discharged from the infirmary. Kipp had been trying to get her alone ever since, Cal less so. But she didn’t know what she’d say to them, didn’t know how to tell them how sorry she was.
Quiet settled across the hall and Osiris spoke. ‘Though it may be hard to believe…’ he started. ‘I was once where you now stand; a young man on the edge of becoming a true member of the guild. I know the fear, the excitement, the trepidation that courses through you now, and I know how hard you have worked to get here. This past season has been harrowing. And it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge those we have lost along the way.’ He gave a nod to the Three Furies.
A wave of sadness rushed through Thea, and she felt a stab of pity for poor Lachin and the future he would never have.
‘With you at the helm of our army, their sacrifices will not be in vain,’ Osiris called. ‘Through blood and sweat you have trained, you have fought to become part of this great force, the most noble part to play any of us can hope for in this adventure we call life. Tomorrow, you will make your commanders, your masters and our Warswords proud and come the night, we shall celebrate your victories.’
Osiris paused, scanning the faces before him, letting his words sink into the impressionable masses below. He cleared his throat and clasped his hands together. ‘Sometimes it can be easy, amidst the drills, amidst the exhaustion and the pain, to forget what it is we truly do here at Thezmarr. But our purpose is always worth remembering: we protect the midrealms at all costs. And at dawn tomorrow, our test will beg the question: are you worthy of it? Are you up to the task?’
Goosebumps rushed across Thea’s skin, and all around her, her fellow shieldbearers burst into cheers and applause, the sound thunderous.
As her cohort toasted to their imminent success, Thea slipped away from the Great Hall and went to find her sister.
Wren, Sam and Ida were in Wren’s rooms waiting for her. On the eve of what would become the next phase of her life, it felt only right to spend it with those who had been there from the beginning, those who had never wavered.
Wren had sweet-talked the cook into giving them a handful of desserts, which the women devoured as they sat cross-legged on Wren’s bed, quietly talking about what the trial might entail tomorrow. Thea knew they could never guess what awaited her, but their presence meant the world.
‘Have those two idiots come to their senses yet?’ Ida asked, stuffing an entire sugared pastry into her mouth.
Thea had confided in Wren about what she’d overheard Cal and Kipp talking about back at Hawthorne’s cabin, so it was no surprise to her that the others knew as well. However, she found it didn’t bother her. She knew her secrets were safe here.
She leaned against the wall, picking at her own dessert. ‘For what it’s worth, I think it was mainly Cal who had his doubts about me.’
‘The handsome one?’ Sam asked.
‘Yes, the handsome one.’ Thea smiled sadly.
Sam made a noise of displeasure. ‘That’s the problem with the pretty men, there’s not usually much going on up there.’ She tapped her head with a knowing look.
Ida snorted. ‘I didn’t realise you were all that interested in their minds, Sam.’
Sam shrugged. ‘If I were, I’d know to expect disappointment.’
Wren shook her head in amusement before growing serious. ‘I’m not saying this to excuse what Cal said, but… I think he’s in shock. He suffered a trauma and he’s trying to process it. Don’t take it personally, Thea. He’ll come around.’
That image of him and Kipp strung up in the cave flooded Thea’s mind anew and she had to swallow the lump in her throat before she spoke again, her voice small. ‘But he was right…’
‘No, Thea,’ Wren said firmly. ‘He wasn’t.’
‘Seconded,’ Ida agreed.
Sam drained her cup of wine. ‘Thirded.’
‘No woman is responsible for the weak acts of a man who’s had his masculinity so easily threatened,’ Wren stated, the strength of her words commanding them all. ‘A true man would be proud to fight at your side. He would recognise that you are a force to be reckoned with, Althea Nine Lives.’
Thea’s eyes burned as emotion swelled in her throat. These women had been here all along, quietly supporting her through it all.
Wren raised her cup. ‘You are infinitely more capable than you could ever dream, Thea, and tomorrow you’ll show them all.’
‘To Thea,’ Ida declared, ‘and her many lives.’
Thea tapped her cup against her sister’s and her friends’, and revelled in the determination that settled deep in her bones.
It was still dark outside when Thea left Wren’s rooms, the others snoring soundly. Tightening her cloak, she braced herself against the icy winter air and made for the Bloodwoods.
At the edge of the small clearing, where his arrow remained stuck in the tree, Wilder Hawthorne waited for her in the dappled moonlight.
‘You shouldn’t be out here,’ he said, his voice low. He cut a striking figure and, dressed in black leathers with a fur cloak draped across his broad shoulders, he looked more imposing than ever.
