by S. T. Bende
I sucked air through my teeth. The queen spoke of my best friend’s mom as if she were disposable. She really was a monster.
Constance set down her teacup and appraised me with a calculated stare. “I must go, but know one thing. Preserving the safety of one’s realm is the single most important thing a ruler can do. If my cabinet hears whisperings of anyone attempting to undermine the safety I have fought my entire life to secure, that subversive will be put firmly in their place. Anyone,” she reiterated, “no matter their relation to me or their ability to one day accede to my throne.” The queen leaned back in her chair. “It is not difficult to remove an heir. Especially one the realm does not yet know exists.”
With that, Constance pushed back her chair and stood. With a flap, she floated seamlessly to Signy’s door, letting herself out in a wave of white, and wings, and hate. Only when the door clicked closed behind her did I allow myself to exhale.
“I’m going to destroy the realms?” I whispered.
“No.” Signy leaned across the table to clasp my hands in hers. “If any part of that prophecy is true, it’s that you’ll guide the realms to peace. Please don’t put any stock in a silly prediction. You’re far too strong to let somebody else’s words guide your life.”
“What if it’s true?” I whispered.
“It’s not. I know that with absolute certainty.” Signy squeezed my hands lightly. I met her eyes, gratitude spilling from mine.
“Thank you. For always being there for me. For everything.”
“I love you,” Signy said fiercely. “Don’t you ever forget that.”
“I love you too,” I whispered.
We sat in silence for a long time, just holding hands. Eventually I had to leave to meet my roommates for dinner. Signy promised to check on me after she gathered more information about Larkin’s mission—she wanted to be able to give Elin her mom’s exact whereabouts when she broke the bad news. When I finally left the faculty wing, my mind was slightly less stressed. But my nerves returned the minute I stepped into the dining hall and locked eyes with Britney. A haughty smirk illuminated my nemesis’ face as she stepped onto a chair at the Styra table.
She had something on me. And she was about to share it with the entire school.
Chapter 11
“EVERYBODY SHUT UP!” BRITNEY clapped her hands together. “I have an announcement!”
Oh, gods. It was Granite High, all over again. How was she planning to humiliate me today?
“I know a lot of us were excited to meet Viggo Sorenssön, Alfheim’s first male Key in, what is it, two hundred years?” Britney pointed to the table where Viggo sat with his gaggle of admirers. He frowned at the smattering of applause, and went back to shoving forkfuls of what looked like chicken into his mouth. “But did you know you’re also in the presence of royalty?”
Oh, gods. Oh, gods, no. No.
“One of our new students has been keeping a very big secret. She just had a one-on-one meeting with the queen, and it sounds like they’ll be working together very closely in the future. Aura Nilssen.” Britney pinned me with her evil smile. “Would you like to share something with the rest of us?”
A lead ball lodged in my throat. Skit.
“Leave her alone, Britney.” The angry words came from the table by the window where Elin sat, glaring. Beside her, Jande blinked in surprise, while Finna had paused mid-bite, her hand still halfway to her mouth. “Don’t you have anything better to do than make everyone miserable?”
“Aura?” Britney’s smirk widened. “We’re waiting.”
I closed my eyes, trying to forget the confusion that flickered across Elin’s eyes. I should have told her. She was going to feel so betrayed.
“Au-rah?” Britney sing-songed. Her grating voice snapped me out of my head.
“Get down,” I hissed. A lot depended on my lineage staying secret, not the least of which was my own safety. If the queen’s thinly veiled threat was true, her attack dogs wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate the girl with a legitimate claim to the throne . . . as soon as they figured out I existed.
Double skit.
“Come on, Aura. Don’t be shy. Tell everyone how you’re not some random orphan like you wanted us all to believe. You’re really the granddaughter of the queen—the daughter of the crown princess who ran away and whored it up with Frigga only knows who. You’re the only living heir to the throne of Alfheim. And, I suppose, next to follow in Queen Constance’s footsteps.” Malice sparked in Bitch-Face’s eyes as she raised her goblet. “Long live Princess Aura.”
How had she found out?
An excited murmur whipped through the Great Hall. Heads turned in my direction, with some students grinning excitedly while others furrowed their brows in disapproval. Slowly, goblets lifted, and as the room clouded then began to turn, I registered the rumble of voices. “Princess Aura.”
My knees trembled, the spinning overwhelming me. As I stepped back toward the door, firm hands gripped my arms.
“Ignore her. Ignore them all.” Signy must have just come in.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to give Elin an update on her mom, but now . . .” Signy exhaled sharply.
“How did Britney find out about me?” I whispered.
“I don’t know. Either she bugged the faculty wing, or somebody’s feeding her information. The question is, who?”
“I can’t do this.” I tried to back away, but Signy’s iron grip made movement impossible.
“Yes, you can.” Elin had cut through the throng of students to stand with me. Her shoulders were back and her jaw set, though the corners of her eyes tugged slightly downward. There was no way she wasn’t feeling all kinds of lied to.
“I’m so sorry, Elin,” I whispered. “I couldn’t tell you. You would have been a target, too.”
Elin’s bottom lip quivered, but the hurt in her eyes dimmed. “How can I help?”
Gods, she was a good friend. The best I’d ever had.
“I don’t know.”
“Keep your head high and act like everything’s normal,” Signy advised. “It will be hard at first, but the attention will die down.”
“Okay.”
Elin linked an arm through mine. “You need to eat. Do you want to grab takeaway bags?”
What I wanted was to run to the nearest Bifrost stop and get the hell away from the sea of staring eyeballs.
“It will be worse if you make a big deal of it,” Signy advised. “Let’s go in—I’ll eat with you.”
“You will?” So far, I hadn’t seen any faculty members in the dining hall—I hoped she didn’t get in trouble.
“Absolutely. Elin, where is your table?”
“By the window.” Elin took a step into the Great Hall. Since our arms were still linked, I lurched unsteadily after her.
“All hail the princess. May her reign be exactly like her grandmother’s,” Britney trilled. My gut clenched, and it took everything in me to not haul off and slug her. Did she have any idea what she’d done?
“Elin, take Aura to your table. I need to have a word with Britney.” Signy broke away and marched determinedly toward the Styra table. She gripped Britney’s arm, wrenching her down from the chair to whisper heated words I’d have given my eyeteeth to hear. Britney’s face paled considerably and a flicker of fear sparked in her eyes. I had no doubt she’d think twice before messing with Signy again.
But what else could she do to me? As I trod through a sea of stares, some admiring, some judging, I knew without question there was no going back. Any friends I made would know me as their princess first; I’d never know if they liked me for who I was or for what I would one day become. From here on out, I could never be just Aura—nobody would see me that way. Not my teachers, not my classmates, not my training partner . . .
My steps slowed as I neared Viggo’s table. He appeared totally unaffected—shoveling chicken into his mouth and shooting the occasional half-grin at one of the adoring girls at h
is side. But he looked up as I walked past, and that second of eye contact held nothing but judgment. He probably blamed my grandmother for his parents’ deaths—since they’d been her warriors, he had every right. And now he probably hated me, too.
Well, there wasn’t anything I could do about that. Viggo didn’t get to judge me for the sins of my grandmother—a woman I’d never even spoken to until today. I pulled my shoulders back and blew right past him, staring at the wall until Elin and I reached our table. Once there, I dropped into the only chair without food in front of it—which thankfully placed my back to the chatter-filled room—and stared resolutely at the twilight-grey forest outside the window.
“So.” Elin slid into place at my side. “Do you want to start with chicken or salad?”
“I’m really not hungry,” I muttered, refusing to look at Finna or Jande. Their slack jawed faces were barely visible in my peripheral vision.
“She’ll have chicken.” Signy pulled an empty chair up to sit beside me. “And so will I. Another plate please,” she said to nobody. A fifth place setting appeared at our table.
Because, telepaths.
“You must be Finna.” Signy turned to my roommate as Elin dished food onto our plates. “I’m Professor Bergen, Aura’s aunt. It’s lovely to meet you.”
“Thanks,” Finna choked out.
“And you are?” Signy faced Jande with her easy smile.
“Ja-uh-Jande. I’m in Finna’s Elementär class.” His voice trembled. When I looked over, he stared back at me with saucer eyes.
“Please act normal,” I blurted. “Just treat me like you did yesterday.”
“But you’re a puh-rin-cess.” Jande managed to squeeze an extra syllable out of the word. “That is amazing.”
“It’s really not.” I stared at my chicken-laden plate.
“Uh, yes, it is.” A bevy of crystal-lined bangles clicked as Jande rested his hand on my wrist. “We have a legitimate challenger for the crown, now. And you’re not a raging nut job! Do you realize what this means?”
“It means there’s a great big target on my back and I’m going to have to look over my shoulder every minute,” I offered. “Signy, you’ll make sure I’m safe, right?”
“No!” Jande squeezed my arm so tight, I winced. I glanced up to see fire burning in his golden-brown eyes. “It means we have someone on our side to fight for us. I was lucky to get a spot here—the Kongelig doesn’t want anyone like me in a leadership position. I don’t fit their mold, and I sure as Helheim don’t endorse their intolerance. There aren’t going to be any gay students in next year’s incoming class, and there never will be again if those bigots get their way. But you.” Jande’s eyes flashed, molten orbs blazing infinite passion. “You can change all that. You have to change all that.”
“I don’t know if I can,” I whispered. “I don’t know how to do any of this.”
“You’ll learn,” Signy asserted. She handed me the pepper, and I dusted my chicken with it. “We’ll get through all of this together. Yes, it’s a storm right now, and yes, I will ensure that you’re protected. But the gossip will fade. And when it does, the safety of the realm will be of even more importance. I understand you four were supposed to be brainstorming ways to recover the Sterkvart crystal?”
“We will, after dinner, but . . .” I raised my shoulders hopelessly. “Kind of hard to think about that right now.”
“It’s more important than ever that you think about exactly that,” Signy said fiercely. “Aura, the day will come when you’ll take the throne—it may be years from now, or it may be sooner, but it will happen. And when it does, your constituents will respect you all the more if you contribute to their security in a time of crisis. If they see you acting as a leader now, it will give them hope when they have none.”
“Maybe, but—”
“But nothing. Eat your chicken,” Signy ordered, every bit the proxy parent she’d always been. “Finna, Jande, I understand your discipline had a meeting this morning. What did you determine?”
“Well, um, we . . .” Finna trailed off. She stared at me with a mixture of awe and fear.
“Please act normal,” I begged again. “I swear, I’m not like her.”
“I know,” Finna said too quickly. But then she reached over to squeeze my hand. “I know,” she said again. And her sympathetic gaze let me know she understood.
“Thanks,” I whispered.
Finna nodded. She raised her chin, now all business. “Well, Professor Bergen. We confirmed the Sterkvart originates from a crystal that has a strong, organic link to the core of Alfheim. This means it’s extremely unlikely the Sterkvart itself has been taken off-realm. We can focus our efforts on tracking it here.”
“That’s great!” Relief coursed through me, my personal paranoia momentarily forgotten. “So, we . . . what? Comb the realm region by region until it turns up?”
“That’s the thing.” Jande frowned. “The Elementär faculty already did that, and they can’t get a trace on it anywhere. Its pulse should make it easily detectible, but nobody picked up on anything. Anything.”
“How is that possible?” Elin asked.
“We don’t know.” Finna leaned forward, her chicken seemingly forgotten. “We’re going to have to partner with the other disciplines—maybe the Astrals will be able to pick up on something we missed, or the Empati?”
“Empati are supposed to be scanning the realm,” I offered. “I’ll talk to some of the other students, see if they’d want to work with us.”
“I’m sure they will,” Signy confirmed. “It’s in everyone’s best interest that the crystal be found. We can’t afford to lose another limb now that the queen has sent hunting parties off realm.”
“Why would she do that knowing the connections are being severed?” Elin put her fork down.
Oh, gods. Elin didn’t know. The queen must not have let Larkin tell her.
“Elin,” Signy said slowly. “Have you talked to your mom today?”
“I was going to check in with her after dinner. Why?”
“The queen sent a tracking party to Midgard this afternoon. Your mother captained the mission.”
“What?” Elin sucked in a breath.
“Apparently, a handful of Protektors were called into a meeting and immediately Bifrosted out so their plan couldn’t leak,” Signy said. “From what I understand, your mother was furious she wasn’t able to say goodbye to you. But she’s a seasoned warrior, and I know she’ll be home quickly, and safely.”
Elin’s breathing hastened.
“I’m sure she’s going to be fine,” I blurted, convincing myself every bit as much as my friend.
“Sorry, Elin,” Finna clucked.
Jande nodded in agreement. “That sucks.”
Elin’s jaw twitched.
“Okay.” I folded my hands together. “Obviously, we really need to prevent the tree from losing its Midgard limb. We’re forming a task force. I’ll talk to the Empati tomorrow and see who’s willing to help us. Finna, Jande, any tools you have that will help us track an untraceable crystal, bring ’em on. Signy, do you think you can reach out to any other disciplines for us? Ask the faculty members you trust to send us any students who want to help?”
“Absolutely,” Signy vowed.
“Thanks.” Curious stares nipped like daggers at my back, but I ignored the room and focused solely on my friend. “We’ll make sure your mom gets home safe, Elin. Now everybody eat up. We have work to do.”
The week that followed my outing as Princess of Alfheim passed with unfathomable slowness. I distracted myself from the unwanted attention by diving into the Sterkvart hunt. With Signy’s help, we’d rounded up ten students across five disciplines, who’d agreed to meet twice a week in our dorm and dedicate much of their free time to tracking the crystal. Per the queen’s command, the whole school was in on the hunt. But our task force was uniquely poised to pursue results. We’d pulled in some of the brightest, and more importantly most tr
ustworthy, students in the Musa, Elementär, Empati, Astral and Dyr disciplines. We’d had two meetings and managed to eliminate the desert region from our potential locations list. Apparently if the Sterkvart was taken out of a moderate climate, it would weaken, dissipate, and emit a compulsory energy trace signifying its death. This meant it wasn’t in the glacial mountains, either.
Two down, infinity to go.
“Where are we with the Empati?” Elin asked quietly. She, Finna and I sat in the wood-paneled academy library, where filtered sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, and clusters of students studied quietly at long tables. A few shot me curious glances, but things had calmed a little since the initial excitement.
“They send me updates every morning after their sunrise mediations, but so far nobody’s picked up on anything.” I made a note on my tablet. “We’re going to scan the meadowlands tomorrow morning, so wish us luck.”
“Good luck,” Finna said sincerely. “Any word from your mom, Elin?”
“Still nothing.” Elin gritted her teeth. “I can’t believe that monster sent her away without letting her say goodbye.”
“I can’t believe she hasn’t brought Larkin’s team back yet,” I seconded. “We know the crystal’s tethered to Alfheim. Right, Finna?”
“Right,” Finna confirmed. “But I suppose there could still be intel on Midgard. Someone who knows something. I’m guessing that’s what your mom’s team is looking for?”
“I guess,” Elin bit out. “Let’s talk about something else. Aura, how’s it going with your hot training partner?”
“He’s not hot. And it’s fine, I guess. When he’s not being a jerk.” Like that morning, when he’d literally run circles around me on the training field. Then laughed.
“Maybe arrogance is his mask,” Finna offered. “I’m no Empati, but I’d wager that behind the snark and dimples is a guy who could use a friend.”
“I seriously doubt Viggo needs anyth—arugh!” I clutched my stomach and rolled out of my chair. My shoulder hit the ground with a dull crack. Books, students, and furniture blurred together in a dizzying whirl before the light streaming through the library windows narrowed my world to a singular, pain-centered focus. I zeroed in on the too-bright beam, breathing into the agony long enough to croak out, “It’s happening again.”