FREYA
Freya made her way home. She wasnât upset at the loss of the nightboar. She was grateful to be alive.
The sun was setting, and the light was dancing through the swaying leaves above her. As she got closer to home, Freya wondered if she should tell her family anything. Theyâd probably only worry about her falling again, or maybe theyâd think she was lying about meeting Aurik.
Maybe it would be better to surprise them once sheâd made friends with him properly. Raga knew to wait to tell their parents what was really going on. Maybe she should do the same.
As she got closer to the edge of the colony, Freya could hear soldiers shouting as they flew through the trees.
Something felt wrong. Freya felt her heart leap as if it was trying to escape her chest.
In a whirl, Freya rushed toward home. Aurik had been in a rush to leave. He was right that something was wrong.
Once at the base of her home tree, she could hear disquiet coming from above.
Freya rushed upward to learn what was going on. A sense of foreboding crept up her spine and sent a shiver through her feathers.
Someone was here.
She heard an unfamiliar voice coming from the sitting room behind the front door. Freya climbed the rest of the way up silently to catch as much of the conversation as she could.
ââin the ensuing battle. She saved my life, but Iâm sorry it was her and not myself.â The womanâs voice was full of sorrow. âIâm so sorry. There was nothing we could do.â
Freya heard a heavy thud, as if someone had fallen.
âNo, no, no,â she said aloud, as if she could change anything.
Freya felt stiff and cold. Goosebumps raced up her arms. For some reason she thought of the beasts from her dream, chasing her sister. She somehow found the will to reach for the door.
Freyaâs father held her mother in his arms. Mother was beginning to weep as she covered her face with her hands. Fatherâs face was turning red as his lower lip trembled and his eyes narrowed. They both looked at Freya but didnât say anything.
They didnât have to.
A Valkyrie soldier was on her knees before them with her hands clasped together as if pleading. This soldier had striking yellow hair braided into a mohawk and bright yellow wings.
Freya recognized this must have been the commander, Alvyna, that Raga had so recently spoken highly of. On the wooden floorboards near her hunched figure was a pile of Valkyrie armor stained with dried blood.
âWhatâs going on?â Deep down, Freya knew.
Her mother collapsed to her knees with a wail. She held onto one of Lonanâs pants legs to keep herself upright.
Lonan held his hand out to his daughter in the doorway. His mouth opened as if to speak, but no words came out.
Freya stood in the doorway.
In a moment that seemed to last an eternity, the Valkyrie soldier rose to her feet. She turned to face Freya.
Alvynaâs green eyes were striking and made even more so by the tears glistening in them. Even in sadness, this woman was so beautiful, and so fierce. Freya couldnât blame Raga for falling for her.
âI am Commander Alvyna Leif of the Valkyrie. Iâm so sorry. Raga Mourning, she has given her life in battle. Her sacrifice brings great honor upon her family. There will never be a warrior who could dream to replace her.â Her voice stayed steady, but her lips trembled.
Freya didnât know much about love, but she could see Alvynaâs heart was broken. She looked down at the bloody armor that so recently had shielded her precious sister.
The world around Freya began to crumble and fall apart. A weight seemed to fall over her and push at her chest. A burning heat crept up her neck to land behind her eyes. She hadnât started crying yet, but she could feel the tears coming.
Then she heard her motherâs wails get louder. Thatâs when the dam broke, and hot tears spilled from Freyaâs eyes. A choked sob left her throat, and she bit down hard on her tongue.
Without thinking, Freya reached for Alvyna.
But Alvyna took a step back. âIâm so sorry. I have to go.â A blur of yellow wings passed Freya as the Valkyrie took a running leap. She didnât bother closing the door behind her. Whether she wanted to be alone or to keep the distraught family from seeing her cry, she left in a hurry.
âFreya.â Her father held his hand out to her while he knelt next to his wife.
Cries from a mother who lost a child filled the home that now seemed too large and empty. Gwylan had collapsed to the floor and her husband knelt behind her with one hand rubbing the down between her shoulders.
Freyaâs body seemed to move on its own as she fell into her fatherâs embrace.
Surely this couldnât be happening. How was her sister dead? She had just fallen in love.
Freya felt herself falling into a void. She couldnât hear anything, not even her motherâs crying. She felt an empty place in her chest. A light had left the world, and without it everything seemed fractured.
Lonan managed to get his wife up and to bed with Freyaâs help. Then he sent his daughter to do the same.
That was even worse. Raga had made her bed neatly before sheâd left. That would be the last time sheâd ever make that bed.
Being in the room she shared with Raga made Freya think of all of the times theyâd teased each other, confessed their secrets, fought and made up. She needed Raga. Who else would be her friend?
She sat on Ragaâs bed and put her arms around her knees. The room was cold and dark, but she didnât want light. She wanted her sister.