Page 35 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen
“Yes.” He grinned savagely, his teeth gleaming white and sharp. “You are on your monthly cycle, are you not? It is the only explanation for your horrendous mood and anger.”
Freyja’s cheeks bloomed with red and her hands wrapped around her cutlery knife. Kolfinna shrunk away from the woman, not wanting to be close to her ire.
Vidar clapped his hands together, and the two finally stopped glaring at each other to turn to their leader. He stared at them both unflinchingly, unamused, but also not angry at them like Kolfinna had expected him to be. “If you are to fight, take it elsewhere. You both are excused.”
Freyja released the knife and lowered herself into a bow. “Thank you, sir,” she said rigidly, before stomping toward the doorway.
Agnarr scoffed, bowed to Vidar, and then trailed after her. The door slammed shut behind them both, and Kolfinna stared down at her lap.
What the heck had just happened?
“Are they … leaving to fight?” Kolfinna wasn’t sure what to think—if anyone from their military fought like that in front of their superiors, she was sure they would be severely punished for the unprofessionalism. But here, it seemed normal. Either the fae army was laxer than the human armies, or everyone here was close enough to act brazenly.
“Yes,” Vidar answered simply.
“Is that … normal?” She didn’t even know if she was fishing for information, or just out of pure curiosity.
“Yes,” Rakel said, blowing out air. “It is easier to let them fight it out than to intervene and calm them. Anyway, you will train with Agnarr first tomorrow. It will probably be better to have someone knock some humility into him before your training session, so you should really thank Freyja when you can.” She said the last part with a cackle.
Dread built in the pit of Kolfinna’s stomach. She didn’t want anything to do with the brutish fae male. She never did well with powerful, domineering men who perpetually glared.
Floki chuckled and ate the rest of his meal. “I look forward to when it’s my turn to train you, Your Highness. I would love to see how your magic differs than that of your parents.” There was an expectant gleam in his eyes that Kolfinna didn’t like—she had an odd sense that she didn’t want to appear like a fool and disappoint everyone, even though she shouldn’t have cared.
“I don’t …” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She couldn’t tell them that she didn’t want to train with anyone andthat she never wanted to be near that cursed sword again, but she didn’t know how creative they would be in convincing her to cooperate. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to find out.
So much for gleaning information out of the other three. Agnarr seemed to hate her, Freyja seemed too frigid, and Floki seemed sharp enough to see through her. She doubted she’d be able to get any of them to open up to her.
“Can I be excused?” she asked with another exhale.
Vidar stared at her and then at her half-eaten dinner. “Eat everything on your plate first.”
“I am not a child,” she said, feeling her cheeks grow hot.
“I will not repeat myself.”
Rakel stifled a laugh, while Floki grinned too. Kolfinna’s face burned hotter and she wasn’t sure what was worse—their laughter or Vidar’s order. But nonetheless, she began eating.
11
ELEVEN – KOLFINNA
When Kolfinna arrived backin her tower room, led by Astrid, who seemed to have waited outside the dining room the entire time, she was shocked to find a familiar face sitting on her bed and flipping through an old book.
Her bone-straight midnight hair was down to her shoulders now, and she looked different without the royal guard uniform, instead donning the characteristic black leathers of Vidar’s army. This must have been theold friendRakel had mentioned. The same one who had betrayed her and tried to kill her.
Kolfinna stopped in her tracks, eyes narrowing. “Yrsa?”
Yrsa raised her head. Across from her, Aslaug sat cross-legged on her bed with her hands on her lap. She was, noticeably, without her book.
“Kolfinna.” Yrsa grinned like she hadn’t tried to kill her the last time they had seen one another. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“It’s been a while? That’s all you have to say to me?” She bunched her hands together to keep from pouncing on her. She could still remember the horrible realization that Yrsa, who she had considered her friend, had tried to murder her. Kolfinna had been at her lowest, having gone through torture by Hilda’shands, and then the ultimate betrayal by Yrsa. She turned sharply to Astrid. “What is she doing here?”
Astrid blinked at both of them. “Um, well, she’s your new guard. I thought … Rakel mentioned she was your friend?”
“She was being sarcastic,” Kolfinna gritted out. “I’m not friends with Yrsa.”
Yrsa’s brows came together. “Come on now, that’s mean, don’t you think?”
