‘Why not?’ Freya replied with a light shrug, placing a slice of apple delicately upon her tongue. ‘Someone had to.’
‘Alma said I should be wary of you.’
‘Did she now?’ Freya couldn’t help but smirk as she chewed, the tang of fruit sharp on her tongue. ‘And what else did Alma whisper about me in the shadows?’
‘That you aren’t one of us.’
Ah. That one landed. Freya stiffened ever so slightly, her gaze darkening for the briefest of moments. So, Alma was playingthatcard, testing the line between loyalty and dissent.Dangerous. Intriguing.
‘But she also said you would never harm me,’ Ylva added, her voice softer. ‘That you would protect me. That you would protect all of us. That you would put the valkyrians before yourself.’
Clever, Freya mused. Alma wasn’t just planting seeds. She was nurturing them. A quiet plea, carefully disguised as praise. When war bared its teeth, when the sky darkened with fire and ruin, Alma wanted to be certain Freya would stand among them. A sword sister. A shield.
‘And what do you think?’ Freya asked, her voice a shade quieter now.
Ylva tilted her head, a tumble of white-silver hair cascading over her shoulder like snowfall on midnight stone.
‘I don’t know you, do I?’ she said. ‘But you bear valkyrian runes. You wear the armour, wield the weapons. So, you are valkyrian. And when the moment comes, I believe you will do what is right.’
Freya watched as Ylva rose and moved across the garden to join a group of girls gathering for their evening meal. The goddess remained seated on the log, biting into another sliver of apple, her smile growing like the curl of smoke from a smouldering fire.
Yes, she was valkyrian.
And yes, she was a god.
But more than anything else…
She was a mother.
Hadrian rather enjoys explaining the difference between dragons and wyverns to me. In truth, I’ve never seen much of one myself. He tells me that one of the primary distinctions lies in their size. Wyverns, it seems, are far larger than dragons, especially the females, who tower over their male counterparts with impressive, awe-striking stature. Dragons, on the other hand, follow the opposite rule. The males are the larger of the two, their size dominant, their presence meant to command.
Curious, how fitting it all feels when seen through the lens of their lands. I can’t quite imagine drakonians taking kindly to the idea of female dragons outgrowing the males.
They’d likely have an absolute fit.
Tabitha Wysteria
‘We should be close,’ Kai said, lifting his gaze to the yellow-blue stretch of sky above. For days now, they had followed the dragon's winding path, a dark silhouette against the heavens, until it became clear the creature was bound for Kairus. At some point they had lost sight of it, but not the destination.
‘You ought to glamour yourself,’ he said curtly, eyes scanning the barren stretch ahead.
‘There’s no one here,’ Dawn replied, arms folded, her voice edged with defiance. ‘I’ll do it when we’re closer.’
‘It’stoo risky.’
‘Well, I honestly don’t care.’
Kai stepped forward, the tension rippling through his frame as his hands clenched into fists. ‘Must you make everything so bloody difficult?’
‘Why?’ She cocked her head with mock sweetness, her purple eyes sparking with irritation. ‘Because you’re used to people doing your bidding? The moment someone refuses, you stamp your feet like a spoilt prince?’
‘I’m not the one throwing a tantrum.’
Dawn barked a laugh. ‘I’m not going to do it just because you told me to.’
‘Fine.’
‘Fine.’
