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I arrived at the Afterlife Academy, eager to meet up with the one person I needed to talk to the most. The one that really deserved an apology.
I didn’t even bother going to the Valkyrie dormitory first, I just went straight to Triad territory. With the wind encouraging me, it felt like flying. I didn’t care who saw me or who I bumped into, I was doing this.
My footsteps echoed on the wooden floor as I ran towards Thea’s flat. My heart beat in my chest, thundering in anticipation. I had so many things to tell her, I couldn’t wait.
“Thea?” I knocked on her door, hardly patient enough to wait. When there was no reply, I knocked again. Was she still refusing to talk to me?
“Thea?”
The door shrieked as it swung open and I sighed loudly. Did she leave it open again?
When was she going to learn?
“I’m coming in!” I shouted, wanting to make sure I wasn’t intruding on another shower moment.
The flat was empty.
My heart jumped up in my throat, the panic pulsating through me. Empty? What happened? Where did she go? D-Did she quit?
The surprise ebbed away and another, heavier emotion flooded me. An unexpected sadness, almost grief. I’d grown to rely on her, something I only realised now she was gone.
She hadn’t even said goodbye...
My stomach tightened and my elated mood disappeared just like that. If there was nobody to celebrate with, was it really a victory?
Just as I was about to leave, a soft hand tapped on my shoulder. Thea?
Sparkling grey eyes greeted me. “Hey.”
“I’m sorry.” The apology rolled from my tongue before I could stop myself.
The amusement tugged on her lips and she smiled. “Sorry?”
“For acting like such a jerk. Please don’t leave the Academy because of me.”
“Leave?” She looked confused for just a moment, before her smile grew even wider. “No.”
That was what I feared she would say. I just... I didn’t want her to go. I wanted to learn more Banshee sign language, I wanted to get to know her. There was something here, something that was deep and profound. Maybe I didn’t have a name for it, but it was worth exploring. I knew that much.
“I’m sorry, Thea.” I quickly made sure to add the appropriate gestures to it. “Sorry.”
“You. Mean.”
“I know. What I said was wrong. It’s not a waste of time and I am serious about it.”
“Secret. Keep?”
“Of course, I kept your secret.” I crossed my heart. “I promised, didn’t I?”
Some of the hard lines on her forehead disappeared and she nodded. “Good.”
“So...” I gestured to the empty flat, the wooden floors exposed and illuminated by the sun. “Are you leaving the Academy?”
She shook her head and signed another word that I didn’t know. It looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.
“Detention? You’re not giving me detention, are you?”
“No.” She gestured to her temple.
“Temple.”
“Big.”
“Pyramid?”
She rolled her eyes at me and grabbed her head, wobbling it back and forth.
“Ooh, head.”
“Yes.” She brought her hands together to make a sign I did remember from my homework. “School.”
“Head... School... That makes no sense.”
“Together.”
Why did I always struggle with words when it mattered most? “Headschool?”
“O. F.”
That was even more confusing. “Head. O. F. School? Of? Ooooh, Head of school! Headmaster. You’re the new headmaster?”
She chuckled. “Finally. Yes.”
“That’s... That’s amazing. You’re the headmaster now? Really?”
She nodded, pride beaming through her smile.
“That’s great. I’m not the Heir anymore.”
Thea’s grey eyes widened, the shock portrayed in her entire face. “You OK?”
“Yes, I... I chose this for myself. I’m done doing what others want from me. I want to be Bryn, just Bryn.”
Maybe that was selfish of me, but the East district deserved an Heir and a leader that was suitable for that job. I wasn’t. They would get someone much better and that was all that mattered.
Now that my future was wide open, I could choose to fill my life with something I was passionate about. Hopefully, Thea would still want to teach me.
I looked at her, catching her sparkling eyes in my gaze. We stared at each other for just a moment, neither of us talking or signing. There were so many things to be said, but it didn’t feel like the right time.
“So...” I fiddled with my shirt. “Headmaster, hmm? Excited.”
“Yes. No Valkyrie to teach.”
I grimaced. We were a terrible bunch to teach, especially when she couldn’t speak. “Fair enough. I have a question though... How are you going to organise everything if the other teachers or students can’t understand you?”
She signed a simple word. “You.”
And that was the beginning of the rest of my life.
— The end —
If you enjoyed reading about Bryn and the Afterlife Academy, there’s another series a little ahead in time with a different heroine, Ylva. You’ll get to see more about dusk wolves, some of the other shadow animals, and meet Bryn as an older, more mature version of herself.
This is Valkyrie 101: How to become a Valkyrie.