I clenched the Vanguard’s ledger in my hand, making hurried strides towards the cliff. She was leaning against her favourite tree, waiting for me.
“You! Come here,” I bellowed, splaying open the ledger. She lowered her head and took small steps towards me, like a guilty dog knowing that a punishment was coming for them. “What’sthis?” I moved the ledger closer to her face and pointed at her name.
“I’m ready,” she said. “I’m ready to join your men. I can shoot and fight, you know I can. I hit the targets even from a moving horse. That’s even better than some of the other men. I’m ready.”
“So you decided to write down your own name on an official document, which your mother has to read and sign, by the way.”
Her eyes welled up and she fought her quivering lips. “Mother will never let me join the Vanguard.” Then she looked at me with pleading eyes and said, “But I’m ready.”
“You’re right. Your mother will never allow it. Do you know what this means?”
“Of course I do! I’m not stupid!” she snapped. “It means that I will never, ever be able to join the Vanguard.”
I held her shoulders and lowered myself to level our gazes.
“No, little one. It means that—”
“Stop calling me little! I’m not little anymore! I will betentomorrow.”
“Let me finish,” I bit, then lowered my voice. “It means that we have to find you an alias.”
“Analias? What’s that?” she asked, struggling with the pronunciation.
“An alias is a false name that you give yourself to hide your true identity.”
Her face swelled with hope, “Yes! An ay-lee-us. Does that mean I could—”
I nodded.
She gave me the tightest hug, which had me wrapping my arm around her back. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I won’t let you down, I promise.”
“So what are you going to name yourself, not-so-little one?”
She eyed me. “Well, I always wished my parents had named me Cordelia Elara and not the other way round. Do you think it would be too risky, to choose Cordelia? Do you think mother would know?”
“I think the name might remind her of you, but I don’t think she would know.”
“All right, so it’s Cordelia something.”
“I think you could do better thanSomething,” I cooed. The terrifying eye roll she gave me again made me think,poor future husband. “Did you know that Cordelia means both daughter of the sea and heart?”
“It means heart, too?” she asked. “You’re thinking of Cordelia Heart?”
“Mmm, not quite. How about Cordelia…Kindheart?”
She looked at me as if I had just offended her and quickly replied, “Kindheart? I’m planning on shooting arrows at our enemy, Captain Galen, not tucking them in bed.”
I barked out the biggest laugh before putting on myI’m-thinking-long-and hardface.
“Then howabout…Cordelia Wildheart?”
She grinned at that. “Yes! That’s my ay-lee-us—I’m Cordelia Wildheart. It’s a true warrior’s name.”
“Come, let’s sit.”
I opened the ledger. Her grin intensified and she leaned over my shoulder. She watched me cross out the name Elara Briartide and beneath it writeCordelia Wildheart.
“Wait outside,” I ordered. Then I exited the small cabin with my hands hidden behind my back.
