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 thecourtyard. 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.
