Page 36 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen
“You tried to kill me!”
“And isn’t it great that I failed?” She grinned at her. “Who would have thoughtyou,of all people, were the heir?”
Kolfinna wanted to strangle the woman. “Get out of my room. You can guard me from outside.”
“Sure, sure.” Yrsa rose to her feet and tossed the book in Aslaug’s direction—it slammed onto the wall and fell on her pillow, the spine cracking. “But we’re going to be together for a long time, so might as well go back to how things were before. Don’t you agree?”
She was being too nonchalant. Too uncaring. It prickled under Kolfinna’s skin.
“Why can’t you be my guard?” she turned her question to Astrid. “I’d rather you than her.”
“I—” Astrid looked between Yrsa and Kolfinna, and then cleared her throat. “I’m one of your guards, but this is your other guard. You need two, since you keep trying to escape.”
Kolfinna’s headache was beginning to grow worse, so she pushed past Yrsa and plopped down on her bed, and then waved at the doorway. “You both can guard me outside my room.”
“You do realize you’re a prisoner here, right?” Yrsa lifted an eyebrow. “You can’t order us around.”
“You do realize my father is in charge of this entire facility, right?” Kolfinna shot back. She wasn’t sure what willed her touse that card—that her father was the elf commander—but it only seemed appropriate in that moment.
It had the desired effect; Yrsa screwed her mouth shut, rolled her eyes, and stomped into the hallway. Astrid watched the two of them with puckered eyebrows, and then bid her goodnight before closing the door softly.
Kolfinna flopped down on the bed, all the fight leaving her body. She was too bothered by all the events from the past week. But especially the last few hours.
“Your father is … the commander of this place?” Aslaug picked up her book from her pillow and brushed her fingers over the worn cover. “The elf commander?”
“Yes, unfortunately.” She propped herself on her elbows. “I’m sorry about your book. Yrsa is … She’s a bit rude.”
“You don’t need to apologize on her behalf. I’ve read this book about a hundred times already. Maybe more.” She rested the book on the trunk by the foot of her bed. “Why are you locked away here, if your father is in charge?”
“It’s … a long story.” Kolfinna wasn’t sure she wanted to divulge any more information; at the end of the day, she really didn’t know anything about this woman. She could be a spy for Vidar, for all she knew, and her whole background could be a lie to try to coax Kolfinna into confiding in her.
“I understand what it’s like to have family do terrible things to you.” She stared off at the barred window before tucking herself under the covers. “Well, goodnight, then.”
Kolfinna signed and stripped out of her dress, took out all her hairpins, and donned a thin nightdress. She flopped back down onto the bed, her limbs growing heavy and her eyelids drooping. She didn’t even want to think about tomorrow, let alone the future. She would have to take this day by day, she decided, yanking the covers up to her chin.
The next morning,Astrid brought Kolfinna a set of training clothes—a simple green tunic with slits on the sides for easy movement, fitted pants, boots, and a hair ribbon. She finally felt comfortable, for once; she liked the dresses, but they made her feel like she was pretending too much. Like she was trying to be pretty, when she was actually better dressed like this—ordinary and drab.
After she begrudgingly swallowed down the eggs, buttered toast, and honeyed milk Yrsa had brought her, the two women led her through the walled city to wherever Vidar wanted her. She smoothed her clammy hands on the front of her thighs, glancing at the soldiers soaring through the skies, practicing drills midair and on the ground, and the elves running laps and sparring.
“What is General Agnarr like?” Kolfinna asked. She was supposed to practice with him today, and judging from the last time she had seen him, he was the last one she wanted to be around. Floki, Rakel, and Freyja seemed calmer and better than he did. He looked like he could, and would, kill her given the chance.
Yrsa tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear. “I dunno. I’ve only been here a few weeks.”
“I’m obviously not asking you,” Kolfinna said, dodging a wayward ball from a group of young kids playing on the cobbled streets. They were going toward the fortress, but for some reason, her guards had chosen to walk through the town to get to it, instead of like yesterday where they had gone through the connecting towers and walls.
Astrid led them through a main road where soldiers and fae bustled throughout. Most people here were soldiers, but there were a few fae who had been rescued, and some Ragnarök members, if Kolfinna had to guess since Yrsa was here too.
“General Agnarr is the strongest of the four generals,” Astrid said. “I don’t know much about him personally, since I’m a part of General Rakel’s forces, but there are a lot of rumors surrounding him.”
“Such as?”
“He’s very handsome.” Astrid grinned.
Kolfinna rolled her eyes. “That’s … not exactly what I wanted to find out.”
“Okay, okay. Let’s forget the obvious,” she said with a giggle. “Well, other than his clear attractiveness, his impressive build, and his smooth voice?—”
“For someone who doesn’t know anything about him, you sure know a lot,” Yrsa snickered.
