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“Fuck Marshal,” I say “He’s a bastard and disloyal and we don’t need him to win this”

Not one of the I I’ve learned overto the ter it

“If we’re going to play their ga at Rupert “We’re going to Marshal’s party”

“Is that what you’re going to wear?” Elizabeth asks, eyeing me from across our dor a wispy, flowy dress with long tendrils hanging from the skirt

“What’s wrong with this?” I ask, sotten used to the ease of the unifor about what I’ to wear, the better

“It’s a party, Hildi Play the part”

I narrow irl with soft, pink hair She looks like a child I suspect so very different lies beneath the façade “What do you mean, play the part?”

“You’re a Valkyrie A total badass This is the first event you’re going to since you killed Headmaster Garland, and Head to sway the rest of the students on campus to follow you, then you’ll need to lead them”

“And that starts tonight?” I ask, feeling like this is overly complicated

“It’s already started” She tosses ht leather pants I stare down at them

“Seriously?”

“Of course Those pants will show everyone that you’re rough, resilient, determined”

“How do you figure that?” I stroke the buttery leather They are high quality

“Only a certain kind of person can wear a pair of pants like that They’re like aruy wants in the them off”

“I’ me off,” I mutter “I didn’t know you were such a complex thinker”

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“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, Hildi Axel, but you can trust me I think I proved that”

She’d gone after Ar sure he was safe I don’t know much about Elizabeth, other than the fact she’s Fae and has i side of this war We need allies If I need to put on a pair of leather pants to prove my trust, I can do that

“I’llout the door

I undress and pull on the pants, tugging theet the strange sense that the leather is ic, and if Elizabeth can charreat, she’s a worthy ally, indeed

Now I just need a shirt

I bend before the trunk at the end offor h the portal It was filled with a few personal ite with necessities It’d also held Morgan’s blade—the one forged by Damien The one I’d used to kill Headmaster Gardener