Chapter 35
BATTLE PREP
Mathilda, Mina, and Elowen help me carry the armor up to my room.
My bed is strewn with armor and our weapons.
The moment feels bleak compared to my time getting ready to go out with Mathilda, but similar all the same.
The candles lit around the room cast shadows, but the sparse light is a warm glow.
There’s a comfortable silence as we’re each lost in our own thoughts, mentally preparing for the battle ahead. The only sound in the room is that of clothes being shed and armor being donned.
The metal of the chain-mail clinks together lightly as Mathilda hoists it up over my head and waits patiently for me to concentrate on vanishing my fledgling wings. They’re just as long as my unbound hair, and the silver feathers have begun growing in length.
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 have to 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. Blood pulses 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.
My thoughts circle around Gran, Torin, Maggie, and Lizzie.
If I fail, how long would they survive against an invasion?
“That’s ok, Elowen. We will face this together,” I reply, my small bit of hope fizzling.
There’s something still lingering in Elowen’s eyes, but before I can ask, she pulls away from me. The confidence we had all felt with the application of our war paint dissipates.
We’re walking into a battle severely outnumbered. If Odessa has rallied the remaining warriors in the capital, we could be facing this battle with no hope of winning.
As we file out of the room, I push aside the negativity. I will not face this afraid. I will face this with my head held high and my friends at my side. We quietly make our way back downstairs. The only sounds are those of our armor clinking and our boots thudding against the wooden floor.
Tane, Evander, and Lachlan are waiting for us in the castle foyer. Their faces all show varying degrees of resolve; they’re ready. I glance around for anyone to say farewell to, but it seems only our circle is in the castle.
A stillness seeps down the empty halls. I glance around at the stone walls decorated in tapestries of ravens, wolves, and longships. This is my home. I finally found my ancestral home, and now I have to leave it.
No. I’m not a victim; I’m a survivor.
I can choose how I react to this.
But my chest tightens at the thought of never returning. I push it aside and follow the others out the door. The silence follows me through the threshold and then pops as I enter the courtyard. It’s completely filled with every person on the island, and my heart stutters to a stop.
The enormous crowd gathered in front of the castle fractures the silence with loud cheers and the beating of drums. I glance sidelong at Lachlan.
“What is this about?” I ask over the loud cheering. His smile burns away all my doubt and dread. He leans in to whisper into my ear, rain and cedar clearing my head.
“They’ve come to wish their queen farewell.”
The realization squashes my doubt and fills me with hope.
“They truly support our cause,” I whisper back to Lachlan.
He grins. “They truly support ye, Key.”
My eyes burn with tears as I take in the cheering people, their faces reflecting their happiness and faith in me. My heart thumps fiercely at the sentiment.
As we walk through the crowd, they throw blue and purple wildflowers at our feet. Shouts of well wishes for our safety reach my ears, and I smile gratefully. Several warriors beat axes or swords against shields in a steady, comforting beat in line with war drums and our footsteps.
I wave to the crowd. Children squeal and wave while clambering onto their parents’ shoulders for a better look at our court as we pass.
My people, these are truly my people. My mind flashes back to the parade when I first came here. Those cheers now seem forced compared to the ones now.
The support and loyalty that I’ve earned burn wildly through the crowd.
We weave our way through the cheering and to the horses that Agatha has saddled and ready to go for us.
Evander, Mina, and Elowen opt to fly back to the capital, so the rest of us mount our horses a few feet from the portcullis.
My armor is not the hindrance I assumed it would be as I grow accustomed to moving around under its weight.
Our hoof beats are thunderous as we gallop towards the beach. It was nothing but rolling green land and a few timber houses when we first landed here, but now the land is teeming with tents and newly built houses.
With each gallop away from my home, my anxiety rears its ugly head, but after a few rounds of mindfulness, I successfully push it back. I send a silent thanks to Torin for not only growing my confidence on a horse but for teaching me how to still my mind in the face of so much chaos.
If I ever make it back to the human realm, I’ll wrap him up in the strongest hug possible.
If I ever make it back, my mind repeats, but I battle the thought away.
I made my choice to stay here and serve this realm because serving this realm protects the humans. I release the lingering guilt and focus on the battle before us.
The sun is just beginning to set, a second darkness spearing for the land from behind the cliffs as we finally reach the bay. The glittering black sand kicks up around the horses before we dismount. Lachlan gathers our horses to lead them back to Agatha. She stays mounted on her horse.
A somber expression graces her face as she stares down at me.
“Listen to the gods, Lena. They will guide ye. And above all, stay safe, my queen.”
I nod my farewell and turn towards the boats before I think better of it and turn back to her.
“Thank you, Agatha, for supporting me.” I cross a hand over my chest, the sign I’ve learned is the utmost respect between warriors here.
Her somber expression is replaced by a grateful smile. “I would ha’ followed your mother anywhere. I will follow ye just the same. She would ha’ been so proud of ye.”
Her words fill my soul and lighten my chest.
“Thank you,” I breathe. The emotion flows freely through me, and I embrace it.
Agatha smiles broadly at me and takes the reins from Lachlan. She leads the horses back to the castle, leaving us alone on the bay. My eyes follow her before falling on my friends around me.
Lachlan interlaces my hand with his as he leads us to the long boat tied up offshore and guides me onboard.
I stop and turn, looking back at this island that has become my sanctuary for the past several weeks.
Tane helps Mathilda on board, subtly giving us a moment of privacy.
We haven’t even left yet, and the familiar pains of homesickness begin to stir low in my gut.
Lachlan’s gaze is heavy on the side of my face, and he gently squeezes my hand, sensing the turmoil swirling inside of me. “We’ll be back home soon.” I gaze up at him, soaking in the last few seconds of peace and admiring the surety of his gaze.
He strokes his palm across my cheek. “I promise.”