My chest tightened from the lack of oxygen and I directed the burn down to my stomach, imagining it like a spark falling down on a pit of coal, just like the hearth at home.
Something within me reacted to the spark and this time, I managed to contain my excitement. With every thought, I called upon the inherent magic within me. The magic of my mother and my mother’s mothers. The silver wind that had been passed down to me, that I commanded like it was me. We’d been Valkyries for as long as we could remember and I wasn’t going to be the one that broke that long line. Not a chance.
It wasn’t until the heat under my hands retreated that I realised I’d spoiled my good thoughts with those of pride, fear, and worry. While my family was supposed to lend me strength, thinking about them just app
