The dirt at her feet was damp. At least it wasn’t mud.
Two rainy weeks had passed with no news. Finally the rain had stopped, and Freya was able to get back out to hunt. The family had food, from the crops Father grew, but Freya wanted to put meat on the table. She wanted to contribute.
If Freya could only fly, she would go visit her sister and ask what was happening.
Mother would come home from meeting her ladies. “Nothing again today,” she’d report. “I guess everyone’s staying inside because of the rain.”
There was more to it than that. Even Freya knew people were staying in more ever since the Council had ordered a bulk of soldiers to patrol. It wasn’t uncommon to go a while without hearing from Raga, but Freya had a knot in her gut this time.
But life had to go on, so Freya was out hunting today. She inhaled the scents of the forest and began the climb into the nearest tree. Years of being flightless had forced her to adapt. Her father had taught her to use a bow and arrow, and she had learned from the ground what others learned as aerial combat.
Raga had been the one to encourage her climbing and hunting from above. Even if she couldn’t fly, it was safer for their kind to be in the trees.
Although Adaryn didn’t eat a lot of meat, her whole family had insisted Freya learn to use the bow for protection. Even her mother had said she’d have to use it if she wanted to be allowed out in the forest alone. So she kept climbing. She gripped the tree with her hands and legs, finding footholds that could hold her weight.
The feel of the bow on her back was familiar. It felt safe to her. Even if all she was doing was hunting small game, she had the skills to sight and hit a moving target. She was thankful she’d been taught.
Plus, being out hunting gave her freedom. She didn’t have to work at home knitting with Mother or visit the other Adaryn.
The way the others always looked at Freya made her feel awful. Their awkward attempts at sympathy, or whatever it was they were trying to communicate, just made her feel broken. At least hunting in the forest, she had a purpose. Even when she failed, she was trying. It was better to be a broken girl with a purpose than a broken girl who was only good for being stared at.
Up in the heights of a tree, she scanned the ground for game. She had a fantastic view of the land. If she looked back, she could make out the faint outlines of Adaryn homes in the thickets beyond. Farther back, she could see the dark stone of the plateau the royals and the Council called home. The royal castle was built at the top, out of her line of sight above the treetops.
Suddenly, a shuffling sound caught her attention. Freya narrowed her gaze and made out a small herd of nightboars in the distance.
She was excited. Nightboars were rare. She’d caught a young farrow once. The meat had lasted her family for weeks. Remembering the taste of the smoking fresh meat brought a smile to her face.
First, she had to get closer. Freya began her aerobatic progression through the upper levels of the forest cover. Young boar was delicious. Freya made up her mind to bring one home today. She would show her family that Raga wasn’t their only valuable daughter.
Boar were dangerous if she got too close. They could tear her up if she fell from the tree. But it was worth the risk.
She leapt from one branch to another. And this time, light got into her eyes, and she fell.
Freya’s palm only scraped the bark as she tried to grab a branch.
She was falling. This hadn’t happened since she was little.
It felt almost like a dream. She should have been able to grasp the branch. She flailed her arms and legs, looking for something to hold onto.
She was coming closer and closer to the hard ground below. The sharp tusks of the monstrous nightboars pointed up in her direction.
She began to hope her family would find her body, but then thought better of it. What shame a fallen daughter would bring to her parents. Better they never found her. She’d already brought enough shame to the family by being their broken daughter.
A hard force collided with her body. At first, she thought it had to be the ground, but she opened her eyes to see the sky. She smelled the animal hair smell of the hogs, briefly. Then all she could smell was trees and wind. And something else. Something lovely and masculine.
She kept her eyes closed for another few seconds. She put her arms around the neck of whoever this was who had rescued her. She wasn’t ready to look at them just yet.
Freya was above the treetops with the warmth of the sun on her skin. The cool wind blew away the hot tears pricking the corners of her eyes.
Strong arms were wrapped around her, holding her to a man’s chest in a vise-like grip. She began to relax a fraction. She thought she was about to die. She started trembling. Her muscles were stiff. She couldn’t look up to see who this was. Did he even know her?
It wasn’t long before they made their descent back through the treetops to the forest floor. Freya could hear the rushing of wind through feathers as they began to glide down.
His boots crunched the foliage below. Her savior dumped Freya on the ground unceremoniously. She wasn’t expecting to be dropped, and she let out a grunt as she landed on her backside. After a moment of catching her breath, she looked up and lost the ability to inhale further.
He was tall, and glorious. Wide gilded wings spread at his sides, and the sunlight reflected the same gold in his eyes. The finery he wore confirmed she was in the presence of a member of the royal family.
She looked down immediately.
Anxiety and shame flooded through Freya. Whatever he had been doing, he’d had to stop doing it to rescue a flightless bird. He might tell the whole royal court about this. She’d never live it down.
His beautiful gold eyes were full of fury. She almost wished she’d fallen to her death.
In an instant Freya threw herself forward on the damp ground to grovel at the feet of the royal who had saved her. This was bad. She never wanted a royal to even look at her.
“In all my life I never thought I’d see an Adaryn fall from a tree. What a shame you bring to our people. Not even fledglings would be so clumsy. I couldn’t let you die in such a pitiful way. We deserve better from you.” The deep voice washed over her as he began to reprimand her.
Freya held back tears. With all the strength she could muster, she started to pull herself up off the ground. She didn’t want him to see how upset she was, although she knew she was shaking like a leaf.
“What—What is this?” His hand was at her back, feeling the empty space where her wings should have been. “You don’t have wings? What happened?”
His tone had softened to curiosity. All the heat had gone out of him. She realized she wasn’t about to get any more of an apology than that. She’d better answer him.
“I don’t have wings.”
“And yet you were up in the treetop.” His hand gently explored around the harness of the quiver at her back.
His touch sent a chill through the pale feathers at her nape as this stranger explored her. It didn’t feel like how her sister touched her. It felt like he was handling something that belonged to him. But there was tenderness in his hands.
“Look up at me.”
The royal stepped around to look her in the face.
She lifted her chin. She expected to see pity or anger from the golden eyes of the royal.
What she saw was intrigue. He was looking Freya up and down as though she was fascinating.
“What happened to them? How long have you been unable to fly? Were you born like this?” He fired off his questions rapidly.
Freya was taken aback. Everyone else just cast her off with a disapproving glance, and yet here was one of her royal superiors asking about her. It made her feel important.
“I was born like this. My mother had me far too early and my wings never got a chance to develop, Your Highness.” Freya nearly stuttered as she answered with her head bowed in respect. “A physician removed them when it was clear they were becoming deformed.” She couldn’t help but cringe as she remembered.
“Please, call me Aurik. What is your name? I’d like to know more about you. How did I never know there was an Adaryn like you in my colony?”
Aurik Aurelian, the Heir to the Adaryn throne. The realization nearly made all of the air in Freya’s body leave her. And he’d held her in his arms. She had never had a man put his arms around her like that. She wanted to like the feeling, but she was too afraid of him.
What could he possibly want from a flightless bird?
“I’m Freya Mourning. My family lives on the outskirts of the Colony so it’s no wonder you didn’t know I existed.” She explained while keeping her eyes to the ground.
“A lovely dove. Well, I’d like to change that.” The prince spoke enthusiastically.
“What?” Freya was still shaky, and she didn’t understand what he was saying. “Change what?”
“I’d like to get to know you. Better yet, I’d like to help you.” He took a step closer and reached his hand out to her.
Freya hesitated a moment before taking the outstretched hand. She felt obliged to do what he wanted. But she knew what men sometimes wanted of women, and she worried he’d want that from her.
His touch was gentle. His hand was warm and soft.
Turmoil boiled within Freya as she looked up into the glorious handsome face of her people’s prince. He was practically glowing, with his eyes wide and a smirk spread across his lips.
She summoned her courage. “Why? Why do you want to know me?”
Aurik stepped back and removed his hands from Freya’s. His eyes still glimmered with a flurry of excitement as he looked her up and down once more. He straightened up to his full height and a look of pride enflamed the prince’s gilded eyes.
“You are one of my people, and as such it is my duty and my responsibility to see you are able to meet your full capabilities and live a long and happy life.”
“I—I don’t know…,” Freya began.
She was interrupted by shouts from what appeared to be another flock of soldiers. They were flying back in the direction of the Adaryn colony.
Aurik stiffened and shifted his wings to take off.
In a moment, the soldiers were gone. Even from a distance, it was clear they were in a hurry.
“Freya, I have to go. I promise you though, if you meet me here again, I’ll help you. If you want me to, that is.” He held her by the shoulder again. His gaze into her eyes was intense.
She nodded. She didn’t know what else to do. This was her prince. That meant she had to do what he said. Didn’t it?
Aurik’s massive golden wings spread wide. With a swift motion, he was propelled up toward the treetops and disappeared through the leaves. Freya watched in awe as his form gradually faded away in the direction of the castle. Now that he was gone, she was grateful for him. He’d saved her life, hadn’t he?
And he liked her. He was interested in her.
A feeling of elation rose in Freya’s gut as she thought of herself befriending the prince. He wanted to know her. He saw something of value in her. She let herself take joy in that.
It wasn’t too long before feelings of trepidation snuck their way into Freya’s heart. Although she would be glad to have a new friend, she wasn’t used to the attentions of royalty. Out of the blue, her future king was offering to be her friend.
It seemed too good to be true.
