The street begins to curve as we continue along, and the buildings grow closer together. We’re approaching the peaceful river and the large arched bridge that crosses it.
Mina whispers in my ear, “This is the mighty Ayele River.”
She walks closer to the bridge. The waters are a crystal clear blue, and several warriors float by on carved long boats. Odessa leans back to hear something Julius whispers in her ear, and she nods in agreement before the ground starts to vibrate lightly. Mina stands a few paces in front of us, her wings appearing and flaring slightly. Her head tilts back, and she scans the surrounding rooftops.
Mathilda positions herself between me and the group of people that followed us from the Great Hall. Her wings alsoreappear and flare slightly, as if she’s about to spring into the air. There are fewer citizens gathered on this end of the street, and some were downright glowering at us before the vibrations began.
A stark difference from the smiling and waving citizens we passed at the beginning of the parade.
The ground shakes more violently, the small vibrations turning into an earthquake. Odessa grabs my arms as the ground shudders beneath us. It’s not enough to knock us off balance, but the citizens on the street clutch each other and duck into doorways. Our gathered group moves in closer together, panic flashing on many faces.
But then, all of a sudden, it stops.
I breathe a sigh of relief and check our surroundings. There is no damage, not even a knocked-over flower pot.
Odessa plasters on a smile before turning to me. “Julius was just telling me that because we started so late, we’re now cutting into your training time.”
My eyes shift to Julius, and I find him sneering at me.
Are we going to ignore the earthquake? And what is his problem with me?
Odessa doesn’t notice his sneer as she continues, “So we’ll have to end the tour prematurely and turn back now.”
Evander slips in behind us to Mina’s side, and Odessa turns us around and back towards the Great Hall. Mina and Mathilda turn together as one. But the tone of the group is disgruntled and slightly alarmed. This apparently was not the plan. Julius takes up Odessa’s other side and flashes me his usual look of smug arrogance.
Maybe he wants Odessa to stay the Queen, and I threaten that future for him?
I lean in to whisper to Odessa, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize we were on a tight schedule.”
She simply waves me off.
“Don’t fret. There will be another time to explore the Capital and the other islands.”
Grasping my arm, she resumes our stroll up the street.
“Are earthquakes normal here?” I whisper.
There are still some people lingering to wave at us, but most have left either because of the earthquake or because they were not expecting us to come back this way. The people still on the street seem surprised to see us return.
“No, they started a few months ago. What magic we have left is struggling to keep our world balanced.” She winces.
Their world has literally been falling apart since my mother left.
“Why doesn’t Odin replenish the magic?”
“The magic is too far gone, and we haven’t been able to reach him. But that doesn’t matter anymore. You’re here, and with you, in your rightful place, all will be restored.”
A commotion behind us halts our group, and Evander raises his wings out wide, blocking our view. His wings are massive, and the light is completely gobbled up by the long black feathers. Mathilda and Mina spread their wings out on either side of him, effectively cutting us off from whatever is on the other side of them.
If Evander’s wings are the night, theirs is the moon. The white feathers reflect the light sharply enough that I have to shield my eyes from the rays.
A raven from atop a lantern flies down in the direction of the shouting, and a grunt can be heard before it cuts off.
Odessa curls her lip. “Well, this is a city of warriors. There are plenty of drunken fools roaming about,” she says sharply. “Nothing to worry about.”
Evander, Mina, and Mathilda hold their stance between us and the disturbance, but Odessa resumes the parade route, pushing us farther away from them.
There are whispers around us as the people in our groupmurmur about the commotion. I can only make out a single word repeated several times—rebels.
