“She locked the door.” The girl pouted, as if this alone offended her sense of justice.
I tapped Val. “It’s no problem for her.”
The girl’s gaze slid to the sword, wide with reverence. “They say she used to come here when she was queen and give the children chocolates.”
My heart pinched.Hard. I had trouble keeping the tears from spilling; the innocence of it punched me straight in the soul.
I could see Valkaryn here, young, whole, kneeling among laughing children, handing out sweets. A queen who had loved her people.
“I’ll tell you what. Once I liberate this city from this controlling monster, I’ll come back with the real king, and he’ll bring you chocolates.”
Her eyes lit up. Like stars. “Really?”
I pressed my fist over my heart. “I vow it.”
She grinned and skipped off to bed like I’d just given her the best news in the world.
‘You were a good queen,’I told Valkaryn as I sat with my back against the closet wall and peered out at the sleeping children through the crack in the doors.
‘And you will be a great one,’she responded.
A queen?
I was Kaelric’s mate, sure, but did that make me a queen once I got him his crown back? Even then, my work wasn’t over. The clothes and jewels didn’t matter, not when the Creator himself had handed me a task I still barely understood.
Because I’d never forget the task the Creator gave me, and in all the craziness of turning wolfkin and coming here, I hadn’t spoken to Val about it yet.
‘Val, can we talk about the task the Creator gave you that I need to help you with?’
‘We will, Brynn, but let’s do it after you save everyone.’
I wanted to know more about how we were going to take magic from the Elites. Would it hurt them? Cassian was an Elite. He wouldn’t die, right? The thought of him, his easy smile, his loyalty, sent a jolt of fear straight into my chest.
But as usual, Val was right. Godric was being tortured for information, and it was time to act.
When it was almost midnight, and I was praying everyone was asleep, I crept to the locked door. I passed the sweet, sleeping children, bundled in mismatched quilts, little chests rising and falling in peaceful rhythms, and I hoped that come morning, they’d live in a new reality, one where the adults weren’t controlled by an egotistical madman.
‘Brynn.’Kaelric reached out to me, his presence warm and anxious, and I wondered if he was going to sleep at all.
‘Yes?’
‘I always thought it had to be me that defeated Harrow, got revenge for my family, and returned my crown.’
‘I know this is hard for you.’
He was the most protective male I knew, and he was used to thinking of me as a weak human. That I needed guarding. That the world would crush me if he didn’t hold it up.
‘But,’he continued,‘if it can’t be me, I’m glad it’s you, my love. You and my mother are two of the strongest women I know. I pity the man that steps in your way tonight.’
It was the biggest compliment I’d ever get from him. The words settled in my heart like molten gold. He believed I could do it. Without him.
‘Thank you.’
As if in agreement with him, Valkaryn pulsed in my hand, and the entire room glowed purple for a split second, soft, like a blessing.
I heard a gasp and turned to see Karla sitting up with a grin.
“Good luck,” she whispered.
