by S. T. Bende
I seriously doubted it.
Vendya left shortly after that, toting multiple garment bags and a self-satisfied smile. No doubt, she was pleased with her handiwork. And I had to admit, I was kind of excited to wear the pocketed dress. But I couldn’t help but be nervous about what I was wearing it for.
Two more days.
Between tomorrow’s state dinner and Saturday’s cabinet meeting, I had two days of doing things that were extremely outside of my comfort zone. Then it was officially summer vacation.
I was so ready for that break.
Chapter 4
“IS IT FALL YET?” Later that night, I held tight to Viggo’s hand as he led me across the courtyard. We’d taken a break from our respective exam prep to enjoy a moonlit stroll around campus. It should have induced relaxation, or possibly scored me a long-awaited make-out session. But I was too drained from my day of regent lessons, finals, and dress fittings to do more than slog listlessly after my boyfriend.
The handful of students we’d passed seemed to share my exhaustion—all of Alfheim Academy was spent from exam week. But while they only had one more day until they traded their academic worries for a summer of freedom, come Monday, I’d swap my regular study schedule for How To Be A Queen 101, constant damage control, and a master class in not ripping Narrik’s head off. I’d never minded hard work, and I was grateful to be in a position to make a difference. But I couldn’t help feeling that no matter how hard I tried, I’d always be underprepared.
No wonder my mom had taken that gap year.
“Hey. You’ve got this.” Viggo squeezed my hand as we rounded a corner and stepped inside the castle. “Are you set for your Empati final in the morning?”
“Mostly.” I followed Viggo along the empty corridor that led to our dormitory. “I’m supposed to channel those light beams in my hands and demonstrate my ability to use them as both weapons and protection.”
“You ready?” Viggo asked.
“For the protection component, yes. It’s basically the same thing I learned to do last term with my aura—project a shield and bring someone, or in this case, something, else inside it. It’s harder with the hand beams since I have to actually create those, but it’s doable. The destruction part . . .”
“Not your thing, huh?” Viggo rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand. I shivered at the light wave of goose bumps traipsing up my arm.
“I don’t like accessing anything that reminds me that fifty percent of my DNA is coded to destroy.”
Viggo stopped inside our common room. He angled his torso so he faced me. “You’re not coded to destroy, Aura.”
“I’m half dark elf,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, well Ondyr is full dark elf. And he’s one of the most decent guys I’ve ever met.” Viggo pointed to the end of the room. Ondyr was heading upstairs, entertaining a group of third-years with a story that, apparently, involved a lot of hand gestures. The students followed him in varying states of laughter, while Jande trailed behind gazing adoringly at his boyfriend.
“Yeah, well.” I smiled. “He’s a good guy.”
“See?” As Viggo led me past the fireplace, I glanced at the clock on the wall. Curfew was in three minutes—we’d definitely cut this one close. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. Besides, you slay with swords and that killer right hook. It’s all the same, right?”
“I guess.” My quads burned as I climbed the stairs. “What else do you have tomorrow?”
“I’ve got to run the waterfall in under thirty minutes for Conditioning, and execute a sword sequence for Advanced Weaponry. Then History of Alfheim in the afternoon, and our dinner after that.”
“Yikes. Full day.”
“Tell me about it.” We walked in silence until we hit my floor. Our steps were slower than usual as we shuffled down the hallway. Once we reached my door, Viggo tilted his head back and closed his eyes. “I think I’ll sleep for a week.”
I stifled my yawn. “You and me both.”
Viggo slipped his arms around my waist. “What time’s your Empati final?”
“Nine.” I rested my forehead against his chest. “But I still have to read over Eunice’s briefing on Vanaheim’s royal family, and—”
“Hey.” Viggo lifted my chin with two fingers. “I’ll help you with that at lunch. Or after our History of Alfheim final. But you’re stretched too thin. Get some sleep.”
“It’s our first state dinner in seventeen years,” I whispered. “And we could really use this win.”
“You can only do what you can do,” Viggo reminded me. “And you’re no use to us in a sleep coma.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Sleep.” He dropped his head and pressed his lips against mine. My pulse quickened and I stood on tiptoe, lacing my fingers through the thick, black waves of his hair as I pulled him closer. He nipped lightly at my bottom lip and I sighed, sliding my other hand along the planes of his chest. He spun me out of the doorway, pinning my back to the wall and trailing his fingers along my neck. I shivered as he shifted his attention to the sensitive spot below my ear, and I dug my fingernails into the fabric of his shirt and stifled my sigh. I didn’t want to flag my roommates’ attention . . . or that of the prefects who lived three doors down. But I did want to stay right here, kissing Viggo Sorenssön, for absolutely ever. He was the literal picture of calm and confidence. Whether it was because he’d been raised on a dark realm, or his parents had given him a solid foundation, or because that was him, I didn’t know. What I did know was that when he held me, it was impossible to do anything but enjoy being exactly where I was, for as long as his tongue was doing the swirly thing against . . .
“Mmm.” I couldn’t stop myself as Viggo raked my bottom lip between his teeth.
“Shh,” he reminded me.
Yeah. Right.
Viggo brought his lips back to mine. He kissed me lightly before resting his forehead against my brow. “I should go.”
“Or you could not go,” I said hopefully. “And we could keep doing this,”
He chuckled. “Much as I’d love that, I meant what I said. You need to sleep.”
“For the record, I would gladly forego sleep if you’d just go back to that thing where—”
“Aura. Viggo.” The voice from my left made me jump. Renwyn, one of the prefects who lived on my floor, was emerging from her room. She wore a flowery robe, fluffy slippers, and a sleep mask atop her forehead. “Lights out was five minutes ago.”
“Sorry, Renwyn.” Viggo released his hold on my waist and stepped away. It took everything I had not to whine.
“Yeah, sorry,” I echoed. No, I’m not. “We were just, uh . . .”
“I know what you were doing.” Renwyn sighed. “And I don’t care, except that you’re doing it after curfew. And I know full well you both have exams tomorrow.”
“Right.” I stuck out my hand. “Well, goodnight, Viggo. Thanks for the study session. It was very . . . enlightening.”
Renwyn rolled her eyes. “I’m too tired for this. Go to bed.”
“On it.” I saluted as Renwyn stepped into her room and closed the door.
Viggo turned to me with a quirked brow. “Enlightening?”
“Well, what would you call it?”
He stepped closer, slipping his hand around my neck and cradling the back of my head. With tantalizing slowness, he tilted his face, moving until his lips pressed firmly against mine.
Stupid Renwyn.
My breath shuddered as Viggo pulled away. I took in his hooded eyes, swollen lips, and the wrinkled shirt I’d only just released from my too-tight grip. Gods, I wanted him to stay. So very much. “You’re sure you have to—”
He stopped my plea with one last kiss. “Goodnight, Aura. I’ll see you at breakfast.”
“See you,” I muttered begrudgingly. He raised my hand to his lips and kissed my fingertips. With a wink, he turned and sauntered down the hall. I permitted myself one lingering stare before I slipped into my room and closed the d
oor with a sigh.
Morning couldn’t come fast enough.
Chapter 5
MORNING DID COME QUICKLY. Too quickly, from the looks of the bags under my eyes and the fog addling my brain. Despite my normal aversion to coffee, I hit the bitter liquid in the dining room with a vengeance. After two cups plus a brisk walk around the courtyard, I was ready to conquer the world—or at least, my Empati exam.
It took me two tries, but I successfully summoned the protective beams from my hands, encasing one of the hot pink, chipmunk-like creatures our professor had placed in a containment unit on the edge of the forest. Since I’d landed one of the more active animals as my protection subject, my teacher awarded enough additional points to make up for the fact that my first attempt had produced zero hand beams—and a borderline dangerous series of heat-inducing sparks.
Maybe the coffee had been a bad idea.
The second half of my test had gone moderately better. I’d been the first of my classmates to successfully blow up one of the small wooden boxes placed atop a tree branch. Not only did I not break the branch—or set fire to the tree’s trunk like poor Svarri did—but I managed to disintegrate my box so that only ashes were left coating the branch where it once sat. Hopefully, my clean destroy scored me high enough to advance to fourth-year Empati studies—or at a minimum, move beyond the meditation modules. Zen-ing out would never be my strong point, but I was definitely getting into the whole energy-warrior thing.
Having two disciplines wasn’t turning out to be as awful as I’d thought.
After lunch, Viggo, Elin, Ondyr, and I filed into History of Alfheim. The guys aced their presentation on the Alfheim-Svartalfheim conflict, fleshing out Alfheim’s role in perpetrating the hostilities and earning high praise from Professor Telsha. Zara and her partner, Juli, went next. Their report examined the long-term psychological, cultural, and environmental effects of the Alfheim Barrier. It was an enlightening ten minutes. Although Eunice had given me multiple briefings on the subject, Zara and Juli covered points the palace had never brought to my attention.
“I don’t understand.” I raised my hand. “I knew Minister Narrik forced citizens to mine minerals, and used them to power the barrier. And obviously, that would diminish supply in the affected areas. But you’re saying that he also ordered entire regions to be stripped? Of all usable resources? That would cause near-immediate ecological collapse.”
“It did.” Juli fingered the end of her lavender braid. “The mines that the minister selected for stripping became completely barren. Within a month of their depletion, the surrounding ecosystems began to die.”
“How is that possible?”
“The minerals that were removed provided necessary elements to the soil. Without them, life became unsustainable. And—”
“I understand the scientific part.” I flushed. “What I don’t get is how Narrik could issue an order with such a destructive outcome. Anyone with half a brain would know that stripping could only have one possible result. One utterly decimating, irreversible result.”
Zara tilted her head. “It’s not irreversible. Or, at least, it didn’t used to be.”
“What do you mean?”
Zara set her note cards on the table. “My parents used to work on restoration teams.”
“What are those?” Viggo asked.
“Definition’s in the name, man.” Ondyr shook his head. He leaned over to whisper to me, “You sure you can’t do better than this guy?”
Viggo punched his friend in the arm.
“Gentlemen,” Professor Telsha admonished.
“Sorry, Professor,” the boys said in unison.
“Restoration teams are a partnership between Elementär and Empati. They’re designed to restore,” Zara spoke pointedly to Viggo, “the balance in an ecosystem. The Elementär orchestrates the elemental components necessary to facilitate a restructuring, while the Empati manipulates the energy to create the ideal conditions for that restructuring to occur.”
Seriously?
“And that works?” I asked.
“Absolutely. Restoration teams used to play a big part in protecting Alfheim,” Zara said. “It was accepted that realms whose inhabitants draw on their resources eventually experience some degree of decline. The realms that thrive are those whose residents take care to give more than they take. The teams were the givers—they replenished what was depleted. Lots of realms use them—Vanaheim and Asgard, for sure.”
My spine straightened. One of my biggest problems had just been solved by my friends’ homework! Who said school wasn’t useful?
“That’s it, then!” I beamed. “That’s what needs to happen. We’ll send a restoration team to the meadow elves to stop their fields from dying.”
“It’s not that easy.” Zara shot Juli an uneasy look. “Restoration teams aren’t operative anymore.”
“What? Why?”
“Because, Princess.” Juli tugged at her braid. “The protection agency was disbanded at the start of Minister Narrik’s tenure. We thought you knew that.”
“I did not.” I racked my brain, trying to remember if Eunice had ever mentioned the teams in her briefings. Note to self: get a full accounting of all agencies disbanded by Minister Monster. “Let me get this straight. Narrik ordered the stripping of regions, which was basically an ecological death warrant. And then he broke up the department capable of fixing it?”
“That’s why we chose this subject for our presentation,” Juli explained. “We have to find a way to make this better. But without the restoration teams, we have no idea how.”
My head throbbed. I’d known the realm was broken, but I had no idea things were this extreme. Or that we’d once had the means to right our wrongs . . . and decommissioned the agency that oversaw them.
“Thank you, Juli and Zara.” Professor Telsha made a mark on her tablet. “That was a highly informative presentation. You’ve given us lots to think about, and I appreciate your being so proactive in looking for alternate solutions to these long-term issues. Next, we have Elin and Aura. Ladies, whenever you’re ready.”
Crêpes. I’d been so focused on the debacle that was Narrik’s legacy, I’d nearly forgotten it was our turn. With a nervous sigh, I grabbed my note cards and followed Elin to the front of the class. Viggo shot me a thumbs-up, while Ondyr pulled a goofy face. I shook my head and cleared my throat.
“Okay.” I drew a breath. “Our presentation is on the differences between the current and previous monarchies, how they succeeded and fell short in serving the purpose of Alfheim, and how we can learn from each moving forward in a new era of Alfheim’s history.”
I nodded at Elin, who grasped her note cards in white-knuckled fingers. Our performance today would determine a huge chunk of our grade. Very little unnerved my best friend, but apparently failure by oral report was Elin’s Achilles’ heel.
“At the birth of the cosmos, Alfheim was created,” Elin began. “Its purpose was to instill love and light throughout the nine realms, holding balance against those laced in darkness, and keeping our worlds from falling under their purview. Over time, our population grew and it became necessary to develop a system of governance. The Norns selected Alfheim’s original ruler, Queen Osewyn, and her descendants went on to form the ruling family that has governed Alfheim through millennia, right down to our two most recent monarchies—that of Queen Helena and King Leon, and their daughter, Queen Constance.”
“As time went on and populations increased, more light was needed to sustain the nine realms.” I glanced at my note cards. “The Alfheim Tree was created as a transportation system. Alfheimians channeled our energy through its branches, each of which connected to a different realm—Asgard, Vanaheim, Midgard, Nidavellir, Muspelheim, Jotunheim, Svartalfheim, and Helheim.”
“King Leon and Queen Helena made distribution of light a priority during their reign,” Elin chimed in. “Their advisors foresaw a period of increased darkness, accompanied by an unlikely alliance betwee
n a government official and a member of a dark realm. Periodically throughout Alfheim’s history, officials have been lured from the light by the promise of wealth or power. This instance was no different, and once the perpetrator was apprehended, Leon and Helena vowed to prevent recurrences by giving more power to their constituents—most specifically, their youths. The co-regents established Alfheim Academy as a training ground in which the next generation could develop new systems to fulfill our purpose. Its presence provided its students with a sense of ownership over the well-being of the realm. Empati were taught to evaluate intentions so potential problems could be headed off early. Elementär learned to cultivate crystals to enhance, block, and channel energies. And of course, Musa were trained to inspire the masses.”
I bit back my smile. “Queen Helena and King Leon personally oversaw the development of disciplines, curriculum, and structure still in place at the academy today. They believed that education was the single most important factor in not only creating a sense of community and purpose, but in shaping the future of their realm. Through working together for a common goal, Alfheimians would be better positioned to both achieve that goal, and improve the quality of life for citizens of all the realms. Their legacy was to foster education, and inspire forward-thinking youth to lead the realm to a more progressive future.”
I glanced at Professor Telsha. Her approving nod eased the knot in my stomach. So far, so good.
“After her parents’ deaths, Queen Constance ruled as they had,” Elin said. “She prioritized developments in the arts, believing this to be a means to inspire everyone. And as darkness festered in those realms prone to turmoil, she increased the academy’s focus on the Verge department, creating stronger warriors for the day when their service would be most needed.”
Elin glanced at me, and Viggo nodded encouragingly. He knew what was coming—he’d listened to our rehearsal twice over the weekend. Because, boyfriends. But that didn’t make this any easier to say in front of my entire class.