Page 101 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen
He helped her to her feet. “We must go.”
Without warning, Vidar led her out into the hallway. Her guards straightened and she tried to make eye contact with Blár, but Vidar was already pulling her in the opposite direction.
“What—what are you doing?” she asked as his stride hastened.
“We are leaving this fortress.”
Leaving?
Panic filled her chest, tightening her until she couldn’t breathe. Had Vidar figured out Blár was planning on leaving tonight? Was that why he was so bent on taking her out of this fortress? No. She tried to calm the stirring emotions tightening her chest. Now that she agreed to free the queen, he probably wanted to go to Aesileif’s location before she changed her mind. But still, something wasn’t right.
She cleared her throat. “W-Where are we going? To free the queen?”
“You’ll see.”
“But—”
Vidar cast her a blank look over his shoulder. “You will help in this war, Kolfinna. Whether you like it or not, you are the key to our people’s freedom.”
They were moving too fast; she didn’t have time to comprehend his words, nor the strength to rip her hand away from his.
Her panic only grew, deepening by the fact that something was verywrong.
Were they … leaving for a battle?
Vidar didn’t bother looking at her. Instead, he glanced back at her guards. Her heart skipped a beat; had he noticed that Blár was among them? Or had Blár accidentally slipped up? But he only ordered, “Move to General Rakel’s location with the drekis. We will be leaving shortly.”
All the guards exchanged glances with one another—and she caught Blár’s furtive glance her way—then they spun around and headed in a different direction. Vidar continued hauling her off, his wings twitching.
When she thought they would never stop traversing the fortress, Vidar ripped the door to one of the rooms open and stepped inside. Aslaug, the older woman who Kolfinna had been locked away with her, had been gazing out the barred window. She rose up to her feet, eyes panicked.
“Is it time?” she asked.
“Yes. Come with us.” Vidar waved her forward, and she approached toward them hesitantly, before he snapped, “We’re leaving immediately. If you’ve changed your mind?—”
“No.” Aslaug’s eyes glowed with animosity, so pure and raw that Kolfinna had to look away. “Never.”
The three of them rushed down the hall once more. Vidar’s wings kept trembling, as if he was fighting off the urge to fly away with speed. Kolfinna tried to wrap her mind around what was happening. Clearly, Vidar was readying for some sort of battle. Was this where they would free the queen? The visions from the sword had certainly triggered all of this.
Her head pounded with all the possibilities. She wanted to free the queen, her mother, but she needed more time to think and plan what her next steps would be. Just because she wanted Aesileif free didn’t mean she was aligning herself completely with the fae, but that also didn’t mean she wanted to stay completely aligned with the humans. She needed more time. She needed to find some middle ground.
But she didn’t have time, because Vidar took them to one of the courtyards, and Kolfinna’s heart nearly dropped from her chest.
Hundreds of serpentine drekis were stationed and ready, armor hanging over their large, scaled bodies. Two or three elfriders were already strapped on each of their backs, shadowy magic harnessing them in place. Hundreds of armored soldiers stood behind them in lines. Ready for battle.
In the distance, she caught Agnarr with his own group of soldiers; he was giving them orders, or a speech, from the looks of it. Dread pooled in the pit of her stomach. Why was he still here? Shouldn’t he be gone to the military headquarters? Or … were they going to head there, too?
And how had they gotten all these soldiers ready this fast? They must have been preparing for this since yesterday. Maybe Vidar had ordered it the second she had gone into a trance from the sword. Maybe … maybe?—
It didn’t matter why. It just mattered that this washappening.
“What’s going on?” Her voice came out shrill, and she noticed that Aslaug walked with purpose, with furrowed brows. What was she planning?
Vidar whistled and one of the riderless drekis flew toward them. It dropped his head in front of him, and he touched its scaled head fondly. The dreki gently pushed against his hand, a low purr sounding from its throat. Crisscrossing scars ran along the dreki’s head, and one of its horns was chipped at the tip.
“This is Baldur,” Vidar said. “Treat him with respect and don’t fear him, else he might toss you overboard.”
Aslaug licked her lips nervously. “I’ve never met a dragon before.”
