It’s startling to me that, despite hearing how she cut down a dragon, it’s only now dawning on me that she could have easily cut through the bars if she wanted to.
There must be a part of her that chooses not to.
I wonder if her world feels safer within the confines of this space. After all, on her first outing into the sun, a fire-breathing dragon tried to burn her to death.
I turn back to Thaden. “You said that only we know about her, but you haven’t spoken of?—”
I was about to sayher mother, but at that moment, Thaden’s daughter turns away from the bars, and I have my first full view of her back.
Fuck me.
“Dear saints,” I whisper. “She asked me to protect you.”
General Glass told me very clearly that her people had little room for compassion and none for weakness.
Now I see the stumps protruding from the little girl’s shoulder blades and the beginnings of a single, deformed, silver feather.
No wonder she could plow through a dragon.
Her mother is a Valkyrie.
“What is her name?” I ask him.
He replies in a hush, as if speaking the child’s name aloud can only threaten his hope. “Galeia,” he says. “It meansnew life.”
I come to a decision, even though it could be the most dangerous vow I’ve ever made. “I will help her.”
Chapter 35
That afternoon, I kneel in front of the little girl’s cage again.
This time, I’m alone with her, but I also have my hammer and toolbox with me.
Over the course of the day, Thaden told me everything he knows about the blight, the way it feeds off death, and how dangerous it is to travel near it. He told me about his human mother, although he refused to name her, and the way Tamra shook her head indicated she doesn’t know his mother’s name, either.
He also explained how he traveled from here to the wasteland the first time—and again this morning.
It’s a journey I’ll experience again soon.
I’ve asked Tamra to come back with me, but she has yet to make a decision.
As for my choice to raise Galeia, it doesn’t feel as overwhelming as I thought it might. I raised my siblings until they were nine years old and were separated from me. I know how to care for children. And I won’t be alone. Erik is the only other person in this world who will understand Galeia.
I won’t force this choice on him, but I know his heart. He won’t turn her away.
I’ve prepared myself for the journey back to him, right down to the weapons harness I’m wearing, but right now, I have a much harder task in front of me.
“Child,” I murmur to Galeia as I settle down on the hard rock. “Come out of that cage.”
I don’t expect her to understand me. Thaden made it clear that Galeia lives by her instincts. If Erik were here, things might be different, but I’ll just have to do my best.
Of course, Thaden could bring her out of the cage to me, but I need her to trust me.
I need her to choose to come with me.
If she doesn’t, I have no hope of surviving her claws if she gets frightened.
I breathe out my anxiety because, damn, I’m putting my life on the line.
