Wind rushed past her ears; towers flashed in front of her eyes in a sea of blue glass. Perhaps the last thing she'd ever see.
"Scarlet Isidore is dead!" Her victorious assassins cried from her tower. Fools. Never take your eyes off the target until they hit the ground.
And then, just as she was about to slam into the cold concrete below, Scarlet Isidore, who had not had an elkor for over a century, took a deep breath and shifted.
Not into a common bird or beast. But into a mighty gryphon, her wings beating like thunder as she banked.
———
For you to understand what happened when the formless War Heir stepped off a balconey and shifted into a gryphon, you must first know that two hundred years ago, when Scarlet was merely five, plague and poverty had hit Miras and hit it hard.
Her entire adoptive family had died in the pandemic. Her mother, grandmother and two sisters—all dead within days. Scarlet had been forced onto the streets and learned to pickpocket in order to survive. And she'd lived like that, on the edge of starvation, until she was ten and caught at last.
The typical punishments for thieves hadn't been pleasant in those days, but one of the guards had taken pity on her and brought her in for testing at the Temple of Sarai. Naturally, she'd aced both the war-gift and elkor tests (her form had been a coveted cougar). And so her life on the streets had ended and her life in the army had begun.
It had been nigh on three hundred years since the War Heir of Miras had lifted a purse or picked a pocket, but the knowledge and skill never truly faded.
When she lunged at her assassins on the tower, she'd stolen that arrogant valkyrie's locket right off her neck and swallowed the Ember within. All without her noticing.
What could she say? Scarlet had been a very, very talented cut purse. She'd once stolen a pair of earrings—out of someone's ears. The locket had been nothing.
Secondly, you must understand that although Scarlet's war-gift might have long settled, and it might have been two centuries since she'd been nine, her animal form was almost completely gone. Only the merest stub remained, which she'd never touched. Until now. The Ember had brought it back, albeit in a very different form.
Thirdly and finally, you might also understand that Scarlet had no idea whether the Ember would grant her a winged elkor, or if they would even work without the flames inside being released by some sort of alchemy. What could she say? The goddess liked her alive.
———
Now as she just dodged a harshly pointed spire of the palace, Scarlet looked to the balcony she'd jumped off...and found the assassins staring at her, dumbstruck.
Instantly, they fled down the tower stairs. She grinned wildly, preparing to follow—
Then stopped.
There was only one place the assassins might go.
The place that their spies had been trying to find for months. The place that might hold all the answers they needed. The place where Scarlet's oldest enemy waited.
If she could find their base in the Western Marshes, she could change the course of a war. And now she had five people leading her straight to it.
Scarlet drew in a breath. It was a difficult mission, a mission only half of their spies had returned from. And she was a general, made for the battlefield and not for stealth. But...although her new elkor might feel unnatural and strange, Scarlet still felt better than she had in a long time with the knowledge she could finally
shift again. She was powerful. She was deadly. And she was done with letting Diaz
wreck havoc on her people and keep the Keeper Heir captive.
She'd do it. Not just for her country, but for her queen and her court. For Myra, her friend, her liege, the greatest War Queen in an age...She would do it.
Briefly, she thought of waiting for the others and recruiting a party to come with her. But as she watched the assassins dash to freedom, she knew there was no time.
It was now or never.
By the time Myra reached the Crystal Palace and burst into Scarlet's room, all she would find was a note, written hastily:

Escaped the assassins. Gone to follow them to the Marshes. Will try to join Valkyrie Ascension, gain Diaz's trust and return soon with information. Don't send anyone after me.

—Scarlet.

Curled around the crumpled note was a single gray feather, the only trace of the War Heir left behind.
———
It is strange to be attending a funeral for someone you know is not dead. Not that she had a choice. The moment she'd heard of Scarlet's reckless—but rather brilliant—deception, she knew she had to give her whatever protection she could, which included pretending to the world that her heir was dead. At least that way, the assassins wouldn't suspect she was on their tail—and no one would know that Scarlet had recklessly gallivanted after highly dangerous warriors without consulting them.
"We are deeply saddened to report the assassination of Princess Scarlet Isidore, Heir to the War Crown, High General of Miras and Leader of the Alliance's Aerial Legion." Myra began, addressing the assembled people of Triad. She'd managed to convince her speechwriter to cut off the full list of Scarlet's titles, which stretched on even longer
"General Isidore's death was caused by members of Valkyrie Ascension, who poisoned her guards and ruthlessly slaughtered anyone who tried to protect her. Though outnumbered, Scarlet fought to the end. We mourn her tragic loss at the hands of these monsters, who did not deserve to claim her death.
"Scarlet Isidore was a great warrior, a proud general and a credit to this nation. She stood strong against darkness and evil and fought ceaselessly for her country, and for the wider Alliance. She was my heir, my friend and my counsel. For two hundred years she served Miras, both in its legions and as a guardian of the wyverns and gryphons. Her loss is tragic. We mourn her and wish her well in her journey to the Spirit Realm, where Sarai, and both of her sisters, as well as their mother, shall welcome her with honour." Myra paused, then continued.
"Dur valkra kyran cal kerka zel," she said in Ancient Valkyrian. A great valkyrie has left us. "Les altuhura karl myroth carn. Zela karl aroth carn." The goddesses shall receive her. We shall avenge her.
The valkyries in the crowd quietened at her words in a brief moment of reflection.
"Scarlet Isidore's name shall live forever in our hearts," Myra swore. "We shall paint the world red with our vengeance. Her successor has not yet been chosen, not for any of the positions she held." It would hopefully be a very temporary position anyway, though she'd already thought of who she wanted to take it: Alysha, who was by far the best of the Unit Generals. "There can be no true replacement," she continued. "But whoever shall take her place shall serve her memory honourably, and continue her great legacy."
Myra nodded to the crowd, then stepped back.
Kestra, Layla, Nala and Lysandra would come next to express their condolences and provide the traditional mourning words from each nation. For now, her job was over.
"Any updates, Alexandrius?" Myra asked, finding him and the rest of the Circle of Spies waiting for her behind the stage.
"Nothing," he replied, shaking his head. "Same thing I told you last time. Diaz's underlings don't even know where the stronghold in the Marshes even is—they're brought back there by more trusted valkyries blindfolded. Though apparently it's some sort of haven in the middle of deadlier areas. They hardly ever see Anastasia, Diaz adopted the child and—"
"Calls her the Chosen One and the others with enhanced abilities just the Chosen. Back when Medea reigned, they stole children who were birthed from the sea just like we did, found the Embers two years into her rule and started enhancing abilties a few months later. They started fighting at fourteen and are trained from the moment they're found." Myra finished. "I know all this, Alexandrius."
"Right," he said, going red. "Basically, nothing valuable." He summarised. "Diaz was careful about what her followers knew, especially those more likely to be captured. I think most of the information the girl possessed was wiped away by a MindWeaver under Valkyrie Ascension's control anyway."
"So we're relying on Scarlet to get into a position of trust with Diaz and tell us what we need," Myra sighed.
"I wouldn't rely on Scarlet for anything," Daemon said. "After all, she left unders suspicious circumstances. What if the assassination wasn't an assassination at all, but a rescue mission? What if the note was only meant to confuse and stop us from following her?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Myra snapped. "I trust Scarlet with my life. She would never betray us for Diaz. Right, Alexandrius?"
"Of course," the Lord of Silvera answered, giving Daemon a harsh glare.
"I'm just saying," Daemon shrugged. "It's something we have to consider. Diaz certainly has spies in our ranks; how else would she know so much?"
"If that's true," Myra returned. "Then I suppose it's a good thing we're about to have one in hers."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Alexandrius warned. "Given what I've seen of the Western Marshes in that girl's mind...we'll be lucky to get Scarlet back alive."