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Aldrik and Vhalla had wrapped their lives around the “appropriate” decisions as dictated by the world. They’d hidden their wants and pushed aside what they had known to be true. What had it earned them? A world of death. She’d had enough of doing what the world wanted.
Bless bc its so true
She stared in shock at the ghost who confronted her. It couldn’t be.
Who had died in the public execution?
Oh god was it Tim
“Those who displeased him went into the rooms. They were exposed to the taint . . . At first they were fine, but then, their screams, their flesh. It changed, they changed. By the Mother, their screams—their screams as they ripped open skin to make room for talons and wings and horns and scales and—”
“If he finds me, I will be food. Or he will turn me into a monster.” Daniel looked to Jax. “Don’t give me to them. Don’t give me to his revels for his blood guard, drunk on gore and control. Don’t let his court of sorcerers have me.”
This is so fucked up
She watched as the shell of her friend, the man who could’ve been her lover, settled back after his decree. Daniel studied them with a wild glint to his eyes. A secret look that spoke of horrors only he knew.
Im so heartbroken for him
Two guards and a beast that crawled on all fours between them. The monster was worse than anything she had ever dreamed, could ever imagine. A long black tongue lolled from its gaping jowls. Teeth too large to fit in its mouth jutted out at odd angles, razor sharp; inky black saliva oozed between them and dripped onto the road. Talons scraped through the snow, whispering on the stones of the road underneath.
Then Daniel woke.
Oh fvck not good
Aldrik and the Easterner tumbled head over heels. The Emperor was far more coordinated and faster than the crazed and deranged soldier.
Aldrik doing this for Vhalla but also becauae of his own experience :(
His grip slackened. “I know,” he was half talking to himself. “I have been there. It feels like there is no other choice. That the world is too heavy, too horrible to ever lessen.
“Promise me you will stay alive,” Aldrik demanded. “Promise me that you will fight that man’s darkness. That you will stand with me in the sun.”
Were it not for her, he would not be in this state. He would still be that man with whom she had sat on a rooftop at the Crossroads.
Genuinely so devastated
Tears glistened in his eyes, overflowing at the corners. He reached for Jax, and the two men embraced. “Baldair would want you to know that.” Jax rested a palm on the top of his head. “You have been honorably dismissed from the guard.”
But one of them still had a dark cloud hanging over his head. Jax kept his head down,
My baby :(
“Oh, and if you two need a third, be sure to let me know!” With a wink and a laugh, he popped into the room.
IM OBSESSeD W HIM
“Are you both up yet?” Jax called through the door. “Let me know if you’re naked so I can come in.”
HAhahahahahaha
“The Fire Lord.”
Hot zuko shit
“She is Vhalla Yarl,” Geral spoke up. “I would know that mess of hair anywhere.”
Dead
“Will you end this?” “I will,” she vowed without hesitation.
“It would please me greatly, as it is the first decree of your future Empress.”
I just got so hot
“More like Stone-Hearted,” Jax sniggered.
A child-like squeal rose up in her throat as Vhalla shot out her finger, pointing at a lone tree in the distance. “My farm!” She clutched the reins tightly. “Can we go faster?”
Shes so adorable
“I heard so many stories, tall tales all focused on my little bird. I was worried, but I was proud.”
Papa Yarl :')
“Elecia is also my dear friend.” The woman in question looked startled that Vhalla would call her such. “She doesn’t let me get away with anything, Papa. She’s really gifted and strong, also.”
“My name is Aldrik,” he said simply. Vhalla stilled, even Elecia looked surprised at Aldrik’s casual introduction.
Aldrik stared down at him for a long moment, before kneeling as well, so he could speak at eye-level. “Just Aldrik is fine.”
“Aldrik is, well, I’m going to marry him.” Her father looked between Vhalla and Aldrik, clearly struggling to process this.
“Jax.” Elecia paused, flipping the knife in her palm deftly. “Is now really when you want to try to get cheeky with me.” “Knife throwing only excites me more.”
This is Casteel BEHAVIOR no wonder i love Jax so much
“By the Mother, Jax, it’s too early,” Aldrik bemoaned.
Thats what Baldair said that one time
They passed Jax and Fritz’s temporary chambers on the way to their rooms.
I was just thinking...is Grahm dead? Why isnt he with them
when her restless sleep was interrupted by a screech ripping through the sky. It sounded as though the heavens were being torn asunder, and it awoke both of them with a start.
Jfc
He taught her quite a few new things that night, ones that normally weren’t offered in Empress training.
Hot
Vhalla woke two mornings later with a sickness in her stomach.
Oh god
“Fritter,” Elecia said suddenly. “Fritter?” That name was new from Elecia.
Awww
Grabbing her stomach to try to quell the butterflies was still a regular occurrence,
*narrows eyes* You don't think i know a pregnancy trope when i see one!?
Vhalla gripped at her shirt above her stomach. She hurt all through her middle, a strange and growing agony.
Is she having a miscarriage or something
“Then talk to the man who will be your husband!” Elecia slid the door closed so hard Vhalla and Aldrik jumped.
Damn straight
But you cannot force her. Her body is healing. This isn’t a battle scar, and it’s not going to be fixed when we don’t see blood anymore. You are healing, too.”
Elecia has my heart sometimes and i hate it lmao
Because our love is more than something I can wear. Our time is far greater than what can be counted by two hands and some numbers. Because, even without it, I still have you.”
There were far bigger concerns facing her than the crimes Jax had committed years ago. She’d sort through it eventually.
Like i get it but im also annoyed that she pushed Jax away because of it. I miss my jax moments
“You looked like an Empress out there, little bird.”
Aldrik remained silent so that Vhalla could establish herself as their Empress.
Best quality in a man lmao
The hexagon extended upward five floors, managing to be both intimate and expansive.
Vhalla tried to assess how many books this library contained in comparison to the library in the Southern capital, and added the two together to gauge the size of the entire Imperial collection.
Vhalla is that math equations meme
She was garbed in foreign finery, revered as nobility, preparing to marry the Emperor. It was more than she could’ve ever dreamed—and it had come at a cost that was far greater than she could’ve ever imagined.
“Knowledge should always be shared,” Vhalla decreed thoughtfully.
As someone with a library degree i knew she was gonna say this before i read it bc its such a librarian mantra
“But,” Vhalla followed his logic, “if I had known the full truth about the Caverns from the start, I may have done some things differently.”
Damn we love our brilliant empress
Vhalla had a very limited scope as to who the late Emperor Solaris really was.
The question is why did he change so drasticallg
“Erion!” Her slippers made no sound as Vhalla sprinted across the length of the hall.
HE'S ALIVE
“We found him on the way to the East,” Vhalla tried to explain hastily. “He was feeling, he said that Craig had—” “My lady,” Aldrik interrupted her sharply.
Why is Aldrik so pressed rn
