Page 51 of Soul Forge

“They’re…talking,” Elda realised, a strange, fascinated shiver running through her. It was exciting to see the world working so differently from how she’d been taught. She’d always known demons to be monsters, no matter what form they took, yet there were two of them in the cave with her that hadn’t struck her down without a second thought. She wondered what else she’d learned had been a lie.

Reiner looked between the two beasts, her brow furrowing. “Atlas doesn’t believe the creature is dangerous,” she murmured at last. “He thinks we should let it…” She paused, frowning at her mount. The Pegasus bobbed his head. “He thinks we should letherinside. Apparently, she gets cold easily.”

Elda turned to study the tulpar demon, watching the muscles coating her body shiver. Her wings were tucked in tightly, conserving whatever warmth she could manage in the night air. She was beautiful up close, her neck long and strong, decorated with a silken black mane that matched the long lashes surrounding her pale eyes. In the very centre of the white orbs was a black pupil, more oval than rounded, retracted to be no bigger than a pinprick.

When the demon began to relax, the pupil expanded, and she took another step inside, then another, until she was fully covered by the shelter. With two animals sharing the spacewith them, it was cramped, but there was enough room to lay comfortably between them without anyone accidentally rolling into the fire.

The demon nosed at the Soul Forge again, snorting when he didn’t move. She lingered a second longer, then turned her attention to the princess and her guardian. Elda froze, squeezing her eyes shut when the narrow nose touched the side of her face, huffing breaths gusting across her cheeks. Reiner hissed, and then a heavy thud sounded. Elda opened her eyes, expecting to find the tulpar demon dead with a mace buried in its skull. Instead, she found the creature settled on the ground right beside her, and Reiner staring like Nox had just grown a second head.

“You’re not going to attack me?” Elda asked quietly. The demon’s ears flicked forwards, listening curiously. “Just don’t bite me.”

When Nox stretched her neck to try and sniff the captain, Reiner recoiled. “Don’t even think about it.” She dragged her bedroll as close to Atlas as she could get it, leaning back against his side to keep watch over the new creature in their midst. The princess had no doubt that the valkyrie could spring across the small shelter in one leap if she needed to come to her defence.

“Do you think he’ll be alright?” Elda asked quietly, tucking her knees up to her chest and casting another worried glance over Sypher. He was immortal, yes, but the look on his face had been pure agony when Julian’s teeth sank into his throat. His skin was pallid and cold. It was like sitting next to a corpse.

“He’ll wake up,” Reiner told her, busying herself with tending to the fire and glaring at their new winged companion. After a few more sticks had been thrown into the small blaze, the captain unlaced her boots and sighed. “I can’t believe I’m out here in the ass end of nowhere with a pair of demons, a princess, and a vampire,” she muttered.

“Getting sent out here can’t have been easy for you,” Elda answered, struggling to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

“I told you it was my choice.” She arched one dark brow. “Do you really think your father would send me out to babysit you with Falkryn breathing down his neck?”

Elda shrugged. “You act like you were forced.”

“I wasn’t about to leave you, child. I helpedraiseyou.” The reply was gruff, her eyes on the flames. “I watched you stumble through life in that palace with nothing but a harsh hand to guide you. Your father was…monstrousto your mother. I didn’t want him to be the same towards you.”

The lump in Elda’s throat made it hard to speak. “You didn’t?”

“Of course not.” The captain reached up to unfasten her bun, letting the long braids cascade down her back. “I taught you whatever I could, whenever I was able. I was your shadow, Elda. Why else do you think I was always the one to find you in the woods?”

Casting her mind back, Elda realised Reiner was right. Every time she’d been brought home, the captain had been the one to find her. And Elda had complained every single time. Sometimes, she’d even resented Reiner for it. But the valkyrie had been there to offer her a hand when she was hurt, to teach her when nobody else would.

“That day in the library, when my father knocked me from the ladder,” Elda whispered, tears pricking at her eyes. “He told me nobody was coming to my rescue. Where did he send you?”

It was Reiner’s turn to swallow. “On a wild goose chase. He sent a unit out to search for some unknown demon on the edge of the forests. We foundnothing. Had I known it was an elaborate ploy to stop me from interfering with your punishment, I’d have taken your place.”

“I learnt how to splint a broken ankle that day.”

Reiner looked down at her hands, fisted in her lap. “And I learned that you could no longer rely on your mother to protect you.”

Something sharp lanced through Elda’s soul. “She knew I was hurt?”

“Aye. That was the first time she chose her own safety over yours. I don’t know how Hrothgar broke her, but he did.” The captain’s voice was rough. “I decided then that I’d never leave you again. When you were called on by the Spirits, I quit my post to follow you.”

The sound of the fire faded to nothing, Elda’s eyes widening. The threatening tears spilled over, cascading down her cheeks. How had Reiner left her father’s rule without suffering the same fate as Yarrow?

“Your oath,” Elda choked out.

“Overridden by a stronger one sworn to the Spirits themselves. I promised Irileth I would protect you with my life if she could help me overcome my oath to the king. She agreed to amend my pledge, switching it to her instead of your father.” The valkyrie looked between the tulpar demon and Sypher, the former snoozing peacefully, the latter finally breathing but still deathly pale. “So, forgive me if I’m overbearing.”

“Captain–”

“Rukya,” she corrected. “I’m not a captain anymore.”

“Rukya.” It felt strange to use her name – Reiner had always been the proud captain, the valkyrie sat atop her white Pegasus, a symbol of peace and safety for Eden.For Elda. “I never knew. You were always there, but I never understood why. I…” She swallowed past the tears, blinking them away. “Thank you.”

“Thank me by living long enough to become queen,” she answered, swiping a hand across her eyes. “If you live to ascend the throne, I’ll know I’ve succeeded.”

They were interrupted by the return of the vampire. Julian set the corpse of a small boar down by the fire, looking between the two women and deciding better than to ask what the tears were about. Reiner shot him a scowl and pulled the meat from Edward’s inn out of her pack. Julian shrugged and unsheathed his knife.

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