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“Are you going to be joining us on this … expedition?” Kolfinna said, for lack of a better word.

“No, although I’d love to. Interns aren’t allowed to go onrealmissions. Anyway”—Nollar’s gaze shifted to someone across the room—“I’m going to talk to Mímir for a bit. There’s this one thing he was showing me last week with his power that I wanted to check out.” He gave a small wave. “So, bye for now.”

He went over to Mímir, who was sitting on one of the couches flipping through a stack of papers.

Kolfinna turned to Eyfura. “Why is he here if he’s a student?”

“He’s interning with us this week and since this meeting isn’t entirely confidential, he’s allowed to be here. You’ll see students interning here from time to time, since it’s the Royal Guards’ headquarters.”

After a moment of silence, Eyfura continued with a smile, “I hope you can get along with him. He might not look like it, but he’s the top student in his class this year. Captain Asulf has high hopes for him.”

Before Kolfinna could reply to that, Mímir clapped his hands loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. “Everyone, please quiet down and take a seat,” he said.

Eyfura nudged Kolfinna toward one of the couches. The hot cup of tea Nollar had given her stung her hand and when she brought it to her lips, it nearly scalded her tongue. She placed it on the glass tea table beside a plate brimming with butter biscuits meant to accompany the tea and a side of plump strawberries. If the circumstances were different, she could’ve scarfed down the whole plate of fruits and pastries, but her stomach was coiled so tightly she was sure she’d vomit with a single bite.

“Everyone, have a seat.” Fenris’s hair gleamed like fresh blood in the dim lighting. He folded his gloved hands together on his lap and waited for everyone to situate themselves on the couches. Silence hung in the air. “Before we begin, I’d like to properly introduce everyone to Kolfinna. She’ll be joining us on this mission.”

The room turned its attention to Kolfinna. Their expressions ranged from suspicion, curiosity, and disdain. Her skin crawled with all the stares; people didn’t normally know she was a fae, and here she was in a room full of people who knew exactly what she was. Her stomach knotted together tighter and tighter. She fought the urge to shrink into the seat and disappear within its folds.

“Question.” One of the Royal Guards raised a hand. “How can you expect us to fight alongside a murderer, Captain?”

Like a dam breaking from a flood, everyone started talking at once.

“A murderer?” a white-blond-haired man on the couch said. Kolfinna vaguely recognized him as the ice elemental she had faced on the day of her capture.

A mousy brunette with a mole beneath her eye leaned in toward him, eyes wide as she murmured, “Oh, I heard about that.”

“Andshe’s a fae.”

“I heard one whole unit had to be sent out to subjugate her.”

“My friend said fae eat the hearts of their victims.”

“Didn’t she murder a noble?”

Kolfinna’s face grew hot under the weight of their sharp stares; it was as if they were peeling back the layers of her skin to see what was underneath.

A murderer. A fae. The two were almost interchangeable to these people.

I’m not a murderer, she wanted to say, but her tongue was too heavy and her throat had constricted at the thought of Lord Estur. And it would’ve been a lie if she said that anyway, because shehadkilled him, even if it was justified. Even if she didn’tfeellike a murderer—like a monstrous person for doing such a horrible thing to someone. Any time she thought of Lord Estur, she thought of Katla’s hair woven between his fingers, her face crumpled into an expression of fear, and her headless body a few feet away. And each and every time, she didn’t regret her actions.

Fenris’s voice cracked like a heavy whip. “That’s enough.”

Everyone hushed until there was silence.

“We’re here to discuss the mission,” he said. “If you have a problem with Kolfinna being here, or if you’re uncomfortable working alongside her, I’ll take you off the list of participants.”

The Royal Guards exchanged glances with one another. Kolfinna digested that tidbit of information: everyone was here voluntarily, which surprised her. If she had a choice, she wouldn’t want to explore ruins that no one had survived. But there must’ve been some sort of prestige attached to successfully completing the mission. Maybe they thought they’d be able to get a firsthand look at the ancient artifacts? Or maybe the king would reward them greatly?

Nollar broke the awkward silence by jumping to his feet and pointing at the heavily embroidered, silver-threaded curtains. “Do you mind if I pull the curtains back? It’s so dark in here. I’m sure some sunlight will help.”

“Do as you like, Nollar,” Fenris said.

Nollar unfurled the curtains, letting the sun’s golden rays stream into the room. He cracked open the window a few inches to let the breeze kick in. Kolfinna briefly wondered what it would be like to raise her vines from the ground below and shoot off into the distance towards the chirping birds, the bright sky, and the soft breeze. How long would it take for the Royal Guards to catch her? If the room were empty, she might’ve dived out the window.

“Kolfinna is a valuable asset to this mission.” Fenris’s voice brought her back to reality. “She’s a powerful fae, and what’s more, she’ll be able to read the runes written within the ruins. We hope these runes will help us navigate the ruins and their history. We truly believe she’ll be the key to helping this mission,” he said smoothly. “These ruins were investigated by a team of our most knowledgeable historians and they’ve concluded they’re from before the Great Purge and the Last Fae War. These ruins are fae ruins where fae predominantly visited,nothumans. This also means that there are possibly many things in there that are unbeknownst to us humans. Having a fae on our side is extremely beneficial for this mission. I don’t want to hear any more opposition about her being here.”

Kolfinna waited, but no one broke the uncomfortable silence. Mímir flipped through his notes, the rustling of paper the only sound in the room.