Astrid and I practiced until the evening fell and the forest had grown cold. The slivers of sun peeking through the crown had long gone and recruitments were long closed.
I failed.
Exhausted and disheartened, I fell down into a small ball. I tugged my knees up, not able to contain the tears streaming down my face. It was humiliating to cry in front of my classmate but I couldn’t stop myself. Years of dreaming, months of hard work, all down the drain. It was time to accept the truth.
My dreams of being a Valkyrie were dead. It was time to admit that the army wasn’t going to let me join the squads and even if they did, I’d be more useless than a marionette doll.
It was time to go home.
“We can keep trying,” Astrid suggested softly.
I shook my head. “No point. Let’s go, I need to pack.”
