“What if we get rid of the cult? If they’re eliminated before then, can we stop them from raising Droga?” I asked hopefully.
Lady Magdalina pursed her lips. “Perhaps,” she said, but she didn’t sound like she believed it.
My throat had gotten tight, and my hands were cold. “Tell me the day.”
Lady Magdalina cocked her head. “The cult will initiate the ritual on December fourth of this year, during a total solar eclipse. It will be sometime before then that they will try to abduct you. If they get you away from your mate, they will succeed.”
I licked my dry lips. “That seems too soon. The prophecy said I would die at the end of my fourth winter in Malovia. Next December will only be my third winter.”
“You’re assuming you will die the same day your blood will be harvested,” Magdalina replied. “That is false. You will live to see Droga rise, and you will live to see the destruction he will wrought, before your end. You will endure one year of his reign, and resist against it, before you die.”
I shivered. “Is there anything else?”
“That’s all I can give you. The gods did not tell me everything,” Lady Magdalina said smoothly.
“And my death?”
Lady Magdalina blinked. “Before the first of the snow melts away at the end of the fourth winter.The end of your second winter here in Malovia has come to a close. Odette has foreseen the Hidden King drawing near you. You know what that means, my dear.”
I stood slowly from my seat. “Thank you for being honest,” I replied. At least I could count on her not to bullshit me. She respected me too much for that.
“I am here for whatever you need, Emmaline. The gods have tasked me to be your guide,” Magdalina said softly. “I intend to keep that promise, until your quest is done.”
I nodded. Without another word, I left her office.
Her words seemed like my epitaph. I would try to stop the cult from taking my blood, but I wouldn’t be successful. Droga would rise again, and as the Worldweaver, I’d fight him.
Then, as Odette had predicted, the Hidden King would take my life. I would die. Lady Magdalina was sure of that. I’d been certain of it, too, but now I had undeniable proof from someone who had answers directly from the gods.
I had two more years— two winters— before I’d give up my magic for Malovia, and perish at Elijah’s hand.
It didn’t seem like enough time. Two years would go by in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t enough time with my friends, with my family… with Ethan.
My appetite had completely vanished, but I knew I had to keep my strength up, so I choked down some food from the cafeteria before heading down to Arceanean Swordplay withLodburzanin tow. I’d been practicing with my sword all semester, but since my knee had gotten busted, nearly everything I’d learned had been thrown out the window.
“We’ll be practicing on the dummies today,” Professor Desmona said as she strutted around the outdoor practice arena, a hand on the sword in her hilt. “I expect to see clean hits and fast drills. Your exam will be far from easy.”
I liked Professor Desmona. She was one of my favorite teachers. What wasn’t to love about a six-foot badass griffin Marked who only dressed in armor and was known for kicking ass? She was one of the few women in Malovia who’d been knighted by King Lycus before he’d passed away, and that was incredible.
Alexei and Kiara were with me in this class. They stood by with their swords as each of us waited in front of our chosen dummy. Desmona inspected each of our swords, to be sure we’d sharpened them properly before we began the exercise.
A couple of people got dismissed. Desmona didn’t accept shoddy work.
“I always looked up to Professor Desmona,” Alexei said quietly after she’d passed by. “A griffin knight. Can youimagine?”
“Why couldn’t you be a knight? You’re strong,” Kiara commented.
Alexei blushed and said, “Oh, not me. I’d never earn a king’s favor like that. You have to be special to become a knight, and I’m just… not special.”
Kiara frowned. She went to say something, but Professor Desmona said, “Those of you that are still around, get to it. If your work is sloppy, don’t expect to make it through the rest of the session.”
The sound of swords swinging through the air and colliding with dummies resounded around the practice arena. Alexei hammered away at a dummy with his blade like he’d been born to do it. Kiara wasn’t very good with a sword, but she could at least keep up.
Not me. I’d been at the top of the class before I’d gotten hurt. Now every stance I took hurt my knee. I tried it from a couple different angles, but whenever I twisted to swing, it sent a shot of pain jolting through my bad knee. Within fifteen minutes of practicing, my leg was sore.
I mentally felt Ethan checking in, like he did during every swordplay class, and I told him to go away.
I took another jab and fell forward, slamming into the dummy and almost collapsing into the spring mud. I struggled upward, only to hiss when my knee ached. Desmona stopped by my dummy and watched me for a few seconds, taking count of my poor work. It was damn obvious that if I faced a monster in this condition, it’d take my head off before I had a chance to kill it.
