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‘Did you?’ Thea murmured.

Kipp looked pale to Wilder, and for that, Wilder couldn’t blame him, but the Guardian made a good show of plastering on his usual grin. ‘Course I did. You’re basically a Warsword already, Shadow of Death.’

Thea broke away from Kipp and Cal swooped in next.

‘You’ve got this, Thea,’ he told her.

‘Thanks,’ she said, a flush blossoming across her cheeks.

Wilder watched as Adrienne stood up and approached Thea, her expression hard, determined. She grasped Thea’s hand in hers, holding onto it as she spoke. ‘My friend and I have parted many times over the years to face unimaginable perils… and we always survive, always find our way back to each other. So, I’ll say to you now, Althea Embervale, luck be with you, but you don’t need it. You’re the warrior I knew was coming all along.’

Wilder watched in awe as Thea’s face transformed into a wicked grin. ‘Thank you.’

It was Audra who came next, placing a firm hand on Thea’s shoulder. ‘Go get your things. Weapons, armour and such. You won’t need much else.’

Clearly numb, Thea nodded and disappeared up the stairs.

Wilder made to follow her, but the Bear Slayer blocked his path, pulling him aside. Wilder wished for nothing more than to make sure she was alright, that she had everything she could possibly need.

‘Another dose of wisdom to share, is it, Elderbrock?’ he said flatly, making to push past his fellow Warsword. ‘Been in this position before, have you?’

Torj wore a pained expression. ‘Not exactly.’

‘Then why are you blocking my way?’

‘Just listen to me for a second.’

Agitation vibrated in Wilder’s chest. ‘I’ve given you more than a second.’

Torj pinned him with a stare. ‘The closer you get to true happiness, the more you fear it,’ he said. ‘It’s a fear that slips quietly through the cracks, that lies in wait for those weaker moments before it pounces. It’s thewhat ifs while you wait in the dark…What ifit all goes wrong?What ifyou lose it all?’

Wilder went rigid where he stood, his worst fears coming to life in Torj’s words.

The Bear Slayer gripped his shoulder, hard, bringing him back to the present. ‘But my brother, those are not the questions you need to ask. Not today, not now. Instead, ask yourself:what if you got everything you ever wanted?’

‘She’s about to partake in the Great Rite, Torj,’ he heard himself say, his voice on the verge of cracking.

‘As she has wanted to do since she could walk,’ Torj reminded him. ‘Be strong for her.’

Wilder swallowed the rock in his throat. ‘I am not as fearless as I once was,’ he admitted. ‘Not now I have something to lose.’

‘Is that not what it means to be a Warsword? To face the fear anyway?’

Torj’s words hit Wilder like an axe to the chest, and he was momentarily rooted to the spot as the truth of what his friendhad said sank deep into his being. And by the time he’d gathered himself and turned towards the stairs, Thea was descending them.

The sight of her took his breath away.

Clad in the armour he’d had altered for her, her bronze hair rebraided in the style of the foreign warrior women from beyond the Veil. Her sword was strapped to her back, both Malik and Audra’s daggers belted at her waist. She wore a heavy fur cloak around her shoulders, and her eyes, once wide and worried, were now clear and fierce.

Torj had been right to stop him. She had needed that moment alone.

Steeling himself, he left Thea to her farewells so he could gather his own things from their room. He made it quick, knowing that the call of the Rite would only be growing stronger for Thea, as it had for him, and those who came before.

He strapped his scabbards to his back. Sheathed every dagger he owned on his person. Scanned the room for anything she might need on the journey to wherever they were going. He looked for practical tasks to quieten the raging fear coursing through him, but nothing could stop the force of it. Wilder wanted to protect her from everything she was about to face, but that was not who she was and he knew it. Thea would face the Great Rite alone, as she had always intended, as she was always meant to.

Wilder splashed water on his face, and when he rejoined the group downstairs, Thea was waiting for him in the doorway, the wind and snow howling outside like a cyren’s song luring her across the ancient deep. He took his place at her side, marvelling in the strength of her, the determined set of her jaw as she surveyed their companions who’d gathered around.

Wren rushed forward, flinging her arms around her sister before whispering something only Thea and Wilder could catch.