Page 192 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
The wyverian prince slipped past him and took the seat closest to the princess without hesitation. Bryn knew, somewhere beneath his irritation, that Kage had done it out of instinct, out of protection, by placing himself between Bryn and the girl as though she might suddenly decide to carve their eyes out with the butter knife resting beside her plate. Still, the gesture stung. The thought that Kage believed him too weak to defend himself against a child stirred a quiet flash of annoyance.
‘Why are the valkyrians here?’ Kage asked, watching the princess with sharp attention as she continued spreading her jam with almost excessive care.
‘They came to us,’ Willow replied.
‘Did you call for them?’
‘No.’ The princess paused, frowning slightly. ‘Should I have?’
At that moment the doors to the dining hall opened.
A valkyrian woman stepped inside.
She wore the distinctive armour of her people—silver-plated and said to be unbreakable. The design protected only the vital parts of the body, leaving much of the rest exposed. The valkyrians insisted it was for freedom of movement in battle, though many suspected another reason entirely, one the warriors themselves preferred not to acknowledge.
The valkyrian who entered was striking to behold. Her skin was dark as midnight, her golden eyes bright beneath a closely shaved head. White valkyrian runes covered every inch of her body, their pale glow standing in beautiful contrast against her dark skin.
She stopped at the far end of the long table.
‘Please, come and join us,’ Willow said pleasantly. ‘This is Alma. She sent two of her valkyrians to scout the witches and follow their movements, but they never returned. Didn’t they, Alma?’
‘That would be correct, princess.’
‘So she assumed they had been captured or killed and sent a few more,’ Willow continued, reaching for another slice of bread and carefully spreading jam across it. ‘Then she discovered the problem was far greater than expected and decided to come to our rescue. Isn’t that right, Alma?’
‘It is indeed, princess.’
Willow licked the jam from her fingers and turned her curious gaze upon Kage. ‘Do you know what I am?’
The question seemed to strike him, though he did not allow it to show openly. Bryn had spent enough time with the wyverian prince now to notice the subtle shift, the slight tightening of Kage’s shoulders.
‘Yes.’
Bryn burnt with curiosity but did not dare interrupt.
‘Then you know what is coming,’ Willow said, tilting her head as she continued licking the sweetness from her fingertips.
‘No.’
‘The end is coming.’
Bryn stiffened at the words. He leaned forward despite the warning in Kage’s black eyes.
‘And how do we prepare?’ he asked.
‘You don’t.’
Willow turned towards Bryn as though she had only just realised he was sitting there.
‘If they find me,’ she said calmly, ‘you will all die.’
Bryn frowned, struggling to follow the strange thread of the conversation. Who exactly was searching for Princess Willow? The witches? The question hung unspoken in his mind while everyone else at the table seemed to understand perfectly well what was being said.
‘Well,’ Willow added with a soft chuckle, ‘some of you are already dead.’ Her green eyes drifted to Kage.
And in that instant Bryn froze.
He did not know why the thought had not struck him sooner. Perhaps it had brushed the edges of his mind before, only for him to push it away, refusing to consider that death might explain Kage’s strange behaviour. Yet suddenly everything began to make sense.
