21. Maddy
Chapter 21
Maddy
W hen I wake, I'm still tired, and I regret not following Eldith's example and going to bed earlier. I'm equal parts excited and nervous. It's only a display, not a battle against something that might kill us—like the Oskorela —but I truly want to impress Sigrun. And I want to see my bear.
I'm washing my face when I feel the swoop in my stomach just a second too late. I clip my jaw on the basin as I drop to the ground.
It throbs when I wake up. "Six hundred and seventy-three," I murmur. I didn't hit my head, which is good, but now the fear of passing out in front of Sigrun is at the forefront of my mind. I try to soothe myself with the fact it's rare for me to pass out twice in a day. It doesn't help, though.
When I reach the feast hall for breakfast, I realize I'm not the only one who is nervous about the strength display. There's a buzzing aura of tension and excitement in the space. Rooks are either sitting alone with focused concentration on their faces as they eat, or they're speaking quietly and slightly too quickly to each other in small groups.
I'm not particularly hungry, but I force myself to eat some porridge. I know from Harald's rigorous lectures that a warrior needs food in their belly to fight.
As I'm walking back through the High Hall after breakfast, to go and get ready with Sarra, I stop in surprise.
There are strangers here.
We never see anybody except the rooks here. Featherblade's completely inaccessible.
My curiosity piqued, I try to melt back into a column to see what's going on. There's a tall figure with black hair, pale skin, and a shadow-fae staff standing with a small woman whose elegantly styled black hair is filled with braids. The male is speaking animatedly with Valdis, who has her arms folded and appears to be less engaged than them.
I immediately get pulled to my memory gallery, and I'm well hidden enough that I don't fight it. I want to know if I recognize these folk.
I find him quickly, in a memory of bartered information with my parents. He's Lord Gloggvingr of the Shadow Court. I don't have time to relive the full memory, so I force myself to ignore the voice in my head that begins to replay what I overheard.
An uneasy feeling is coiling through my stomach as my brain puts two and two together .
A Shadow Court noble is here for the strength display. There's only one shadow-fae noble here that I know of, and that's Orgid.
Could these be Orgid's parents? I watch as the two shadow-fae nod one more time to Valdis and then turn and stride out through the High Hall main doors, following a nervous-looking human thrall.
I move quickly to Valdis. "You should be preparing for the strength display," she says when she sees me."Why aren't you wearing what Margaery found for you?"
"Why are they here? Who are they?" I ask.
"None of your business," she says.
"Are they Orgid's parents?"
She cocks her head at me, and then gives me a resigned look. "Yes."
"Why are they here?"
"Because they have influence."
"Influence?" They don't have any influence over the Valkyrie, or the gods, or anything happening in Featherblade, surely?
Valdis' voice drops. "They have influence in the fae courts, and Sigrun wants everyone to know that we are training an army here."
"Why does she need everybody to know that?" I ask slowly.
"Because someone, somewhere, is helping the Frost Giants. And until she knows whom to threaten directly, she'll make sure the word gets out."
I stare at her for a moment. It makes sense, but in order to get the word out there, you would need more than just a few court nobles, wouldn't you? Unless they're particularly gossipy ones.
The doors open again. Valdis' wings flutter out and her face breaks into a smile.
"King Mazrith," she says, and hurries forward to meet a fae who looks like no fae I've ever seen in my life. I drag my eyes from his incredible skin to the woman by his side as Valdis says, "And Queen Reyna." Valdis bows low, and my eyebrows shoot up in surprise. She doesn't look like a fae at all, and more incredibly, she has copper-colored hair. I've never seen any fae with red hair, ever.
Again, the gallery pulls me, and I duck backward to stand in the shadow of the pillar again. I'm drawn instantly to a statue of a teardrop. I hear a spy talking in hushed tones to my parents about an uprising in the Shadow Court against a cannibalistic queen, and a dark prince who has bound a human rune-marked to himself as a bride. I really struggle this time to ignore the voice and focus on the King and Queen of the Shadow Court. Valdis is talking animatedly to the fae I suppose is still her king, even though she is a Valkyrie.
The doors open again, and a young male steps through. He's barely twenty years old, but he too is wearing a crown, a magnificent gold affair that stands over a foot tall on his head. He has the telltale yellow hair of the Gold Court, and his robes are some of the finest I've ever seen. Erik, beside him, gestures around the room. His eyes land ever so briefly on me before moving back to the young king.
"Your Majesty, we're so pleased to welcome you to Featherblade for this rare treat. Sigrun wishes you to see the impressive display of strength of our next generation of Guardians of Odin."
The King of the Gold Court throws an uneasy look at the enormous King Mazrith, and gets a suspicious glare back from the red-haired queen. "I am pleased to be here, Erik the Kind. My mother sends her apologies."
"Of course. Is she still unwell?"
"The healers believe it to be connected to this Earth Court sickness." He glances around sharply. "There are no earth-fae nobles here today, I assume?"
"No, Your Majesty." Erik shakes his head. "They felt it safer to stay within their realm." He flicks a glance my way. "All other courts are represented, though."
Almost as though somebody has slowed time, my mind connects the pieces, and I realize with a heart-stopping jolt what is coming next.
Court nobles are not enough to spread the word. The King and Queen of the Shadow Court are here, the King of the Gold Court is here, and that means…
The door opens again, and in stride King and Queen Verglas of the Ice Court.
And right by their side is Freydis.