Page 4

Bryn spiraled into sorrow as her thoughts of Revna took over.

In the days she had watched her sister, she had created a routine for herself.

Wake up, check that Maude was still breathing, think of Revna until she was nauseas, try to imagine all the different ways her life would have turned out if she had been borne to someone else, fall asleep with false images of another life.

Rinse and repeat. By the time she had completed the first round of her routine, the sun was just beginning to disappear behind the Icewall Mountains and the frigid night temperature was already creeping through the large arched windows.

She had never noticed that the room the Shadow King had appointed for Maude was lavish enough to befit a King's daughter, but cozy enough that it invited getting lost in one's book as they sunk into the plush cushions adorning the hard, moonstone surfaces.

As Bryn had taken in the sight of Maude alive and breathing before all else, she never saw how the massive room was actually quite fitting for her sister.

Large windows were open to the elements, with gauzy curtains billowing in the wind that became opaque when fastened shut for privacy.

The pale stone floor had golden threads running through it, the moonstone walls bare except for the occasional vines that crept in from outside containing the ever-famous night-blooming roses and jasmine.

The dark purples and shimmering white of the petals provided the splash of color needed on the otherwise empty walls.

Sprawling plush carpets lined the floors, providing warmth all the way to the massive four-poster bed that was centered in the room.

A canopy that was so deeply purple it looked black hung over Maude’s head, the matching silk sheets providing the comfortable, sensual feel that the Shadow Elven were famous for in the past.

It was only because Bryn was staring at the silken sheets, her eyes unfocused as she categorized the colors, that she noticed a hitch in Maude’s breathing. She froze, unsure if her eyes were tricking her, and waited to see if her sister would move again.

Just when she was about to give up and scold herself for seeing things, Maude shifted again.

Her fingers twitched, stretching out before curling into a tight fist. Eyes flickered behind closed lids, and her face tensed.

Bryn did not dare move or breathe; she only prayed to the Allfather that her sister would wake up.

Within moments of the hope crossing her mind, Maude exploded back to life.

Maude shot forward, taking in a ragged, gasping breath.

Her hand went to her chest as she continued to swallow lungfuls of air.

She was drowning, her lungs were filling up with the metallic tang of blood that coated each breath she sucked in.

The sensation of a sharp blade being pulled from her chest— the tearing of flesh from within her body— rippled through her until suddenly— nothing.

Where there was sharp pain before, now there was nothing but the stretch of her skin as her lungs stretched and the swelling of oxygen in her blood that breathed life into her cells. The rusty, iron taste left her mouth and was replaced with a stickiness that made her thirsty.

Forcing herself to calm down, she took deeper breaths, letting her lungs expand fully before she slowly released them and took note of her surroundings.

The last thing she truly remembered was her uncle’s blade sinking deep into her chest, pulling the life from her as she drifted into the Void.

Now, her hair was loose, the heavy tresses hanging over her shoulders in a dark red curtain before pooling around her waist. She was dressed in a simple silk camisole, the black fabric soft against her skin.

She ran a hand over her sternum, sure that the uneven and jagged telltales for a scar would be present, but found only smooth skin .

Beside her, someone released a shocked gasp.

Before Maude could process her reaction, she spun off the bed to the opposite side, her hand reaching for the dagger on her thigh.

Except it wasn't there; her thigh was bare below the silk shorts she wore that matched the camisole.

It was then that she really saw who sat at her bedside.

Standing there, hazel eyes wide with disbelief, was her sister.

She had certainly seen better days— her copper hair was wildly curling around her face, and dark circles were smudged under her eyes like she hadn't slept in weeks.

Familiar constellations of freckles were scattered across the bridge of her nose, dark against her unusually pale skin.

Down the left side of her face, black ink stood stark in the shape of three runes as all the color had drained from her cheeks.

“Brynna?” Maude croaked, her voice hoarse with disuse. “Wha— Where are we? What the fuck happened?”

Her sister stood cautiously as if any sudden movement would spur Maude into action.

She tried to remain standing, but her tense muscles began to spasm from weakness, and her body gave in to the demands of keeping her upright.

She pitched forward toward the bed, but Bryn was there to catch her before she could collapse entirely.

“Maude, you need to sit down. You’re too deconditioned to be moving so quickly,” Bryn said, her voice unusually shaky as she helped her into the bed again, sitting her up against the massive amounts of pillows.

“Tell me what happened,” Maude begged, her voice seeming small in the face of all the unknowns around her. She was grateful that one familiar thing had been here when she woke up, but the lack of reasoning in her surroundings frightened Maude. “Where are we?”

Bryn was quiet as she searched Maude’s face, trying to determine what she should tell her.

“Ulf stabbed you through the chest in the Palace of Wind and Embers right after Father took the Bone Dagger,” Bryn started, cutting through the gentle reminders of what happened. Maude was grateful for it. “You jumped in front of a blow meant for me.”

Outrage dripped in the last few words.

“Of course I did,” Maude said incredulously. “He would have killed you.”

“And instead, I got to hold you as you died! ” her sister shouted, standing from the edge of the bed and pacing through the spacious bedroom.

She stopped abruptly and faced Maude again.

“I felt you die. I watched as you left me again ,” Bryn seethed.

She flinched at the rough truth before swallowing the motion. It didn’t matter, though. Her sister's anger deflated.

“Forgive me,” Bryn said hoarsely, scrubbing her hands over her face. “I am not handling this as I should; that’s not your fault.”

Maude swallowed before nodding, unsure of what to say in the thickness of all this emotion hanging between them. Bryn continued before she could ask her to, again grateful that her sister cut through the bullshit.

“When you died, we needed to get out of the palace before Father’s guards could drag us off. We ran.”

Bryn paused, seeming to weigh her next words carefully.

“When we scaled the walls, we took off north at Liv’s instruction. We traveled for days through the snow until we got to the Icewall Mountains.” Bryn hesitated. “Maude, you should know that none of us wanted to leave you, and it weighed on us the entire time.”

Maude nodded sharply before waving her on, hoping Bryn would continue with her story.

“When we got to the mountains, Liv opened a door in the wall that led to a long walkway,” Bryn said quietly, her eyes shining at the memory.

“Bryn, where are we?” Maude asked softly as she prepared herself for what would come out of her sister's mouth.

“The passage had soldiers lining the walls who led us through to the other side of the mountain range… into Nida, the capital city of the Elven Kingdom of Shadows.”

“That’s impossible,” Maude breathed.

This wasn’t real. Nida didn’t exist anymore.

“That’s what we thought, too,” Bryn confirmed. She had started pacing again. “It seems Liv was hiding a bit of truth about herself from you all. ”

Maude tensed.

“She is Elven. An orphan from the Kingdom of Light who has been living as an informant for the Kingdom of Shadows for the last two hundred years,” Bryn said carefully, watching Maude’s face as she spoke.

She let out a cracked laugh. Of course Liv was Elven.

She had suspected as much from how she moved but thought it impossible.

Maude had assumed she had come from a mortal line that had some Elven blood diluted into it.

Thoughts of how she had trained with Liv for weeks and always suspected something was different brought to the surface another who had trained with them.

“What about Gunnar? Is he alive?” Maude asked, desperate for some good news.

Bryn hesitated again for a beat too long, so Maude held her breath, readying for the blow.

“Yes, he’s alive,” she said finally. “But he still hasn't woken from the deep sleep the Elven healers put him in to work on him.”

Maude closed her eyes and thanked the gods they could get healers to him in time. A thought occurred to her then.

“If you left my body in Logi, how did I end up here?” she asked, slightly wary of the response her sister would have for her.

“The Elven say that the Valkyrie brought you here instead of Valhalla,” Bryn said, skepticism heavy in her words. “The Shadow King brought us to you. By the time we got here, you were already in a deep stasis. We had no idea that you would be here when we arrived.”

Fear and dread spread in her stomach, oily and heavy.

This didn’t make any sense. She had died in Logi…

right? Shaking her head at the ridiculousness of their conversation, Maude tried to focus.

She knew she had died and, like a coward, had welcomed it.

Her head spun with all the information Bryn was giving her.

"How is that even possible?"

Bryn said nothing, only letting her eyes drift down to the fatemark on Maude’s chest.