Trelix squeezes me tighter and then sets me on my feet. "So, you liked that?"

"Oh, yes! I don't know—how can I explain?" I babble. "It's like everything makes sense now. I get it! I understand what all the hours and hours of riding lessons were for. It's like I've been training very hard for a goal that I didn't understand. It's like it's all falling into place in my head."

Trelix chuckles. "Well, let's use up some of that energy. Go run a lap."

I pick up my shield and run, moving my body as swiftly as my racing brain calms me down. I run as fast as I can, and when I finish my lap, I ask Trelix if I could run another. After that lap, I'm calmer and more coherent.

"So the next time I tell you that you're gifted with the pegasus, you'll believe me?"

"Yes, sir," I say. "You were right, and I'll believe you when you tell me stuff. Now, can I hit someone with my new sword?"

He smiles at me. "Yeah, let me suit up, and I'll let you try out the sword. Do you want to use that shield or the other one?"

I don't want my new shield getting banged up, so I opt for my old one. When Trelix returns, I see the ebony mane of the black helmet he's carrying. With all the excitement of my new armor and riding Lenox, I forgot about the helmet. I know it's mine because it's the helmet of a Knight and different from the Mounted Guards' ponytail ones.

When I put my helmet on and slide the engraved nosepiece into place, a feeling of invincibility fills me. I'm powerful and sure of myself—I'm a Knight.

As soon as my helmet is on, Trelix hits me in the head with his sword.

"Hey, I wasn't ready yet."

He looks at me with a devilish smirk. "You are a Knight. You are always ready." Then he swings at me again. This time I jump out of the way. I unsheathe my sword, and the two of us fight on the ground and then mount up and battle on unicorns. The skirmish finally ends when he hits me so forcefully, I'm thrown off the back of Stryder and hit the ground with a thud.

"Ow," I say when I can breathe again.

Trelix holds his hand out and yanks me to my feet. The armor is incredible. I'm rattled, but I'm not in pain. My fall from Stryder was barely anything.

"Had I'd known this change would occur, I would've had them rush even more on the armor," he says once I'm on my feet. "You're getting quite skilled. I really had to think on some of those moves."

That makes me smile. "I like the sword. Aside from riding Lenox, that has to be my favorite. I like the hand-to-hand, too. Who knew? If you'd have told me a year ago that I'd enjoy any of that stuff, I would have laughed in your face. After all, a proper lady would never hit anybody. How undignified," I say with a high-society affect.

Trelix shakes his head. "Humans and their rules."

We chat briefly, then I dismiss Lenox and leave to put Stryder away. While at the uniquestrian center, I track down Levise and excitedly recount my experience with flight. She's thrilled about it and asks if next time she could watch.

When I walk back to the castle, many of the elves watch me, and a few of the Guards even salute. This is respect. I like it.

When I arrive at the Temple, I can't find Master Sarpedon or Gurador. I'm starving, but I want them to see me in my armor. I search through many of the hallways and empty rooms until a voice from behind me says, "Well, well, don't we look official?"

I beam at Gurador. "What do you think?" I turn in a circle so he can see the whole picture.

"I thought you were fierce until you did the little spin," he says with a laugh.

I pull my sword and put it to his throat. I move so fast that he doesn't have time to defend himself.

"I surrender," he pleads, holding up his hands. "You are indeed very fierce. My mistake."

I sheathe my sword and smile at him. He smiles back. "The spin adds something. Makes you seem very tough and strong. Not at all like a little human."

Gurador takes me to the main meditation chamber to see Master Sarpedon. Before I enter, I put my helmet on.

Sarpedon looks up, momentarily alarmed, and then smiles. He slithers over to me and formally salutes. This is a great honor for me because I'm supposed to salute him first, according to the code. Sarpedon keeps things formal and goes through the entire Templar greeting. I kneel in front of him so he can impart a blessing upon me, and once he's finished, I stand.

"Well, Master, what do you think?" I want his approval, even though I just received all the validation a Knight could ask for by the way he greeted me.

He smiles. "I am pleased to be witnessing your destiny."

I hate when he talks like that. I just want him to tell me that I look good. "Do you like the armor?"

He laughs. "Yes. I like your armor very much. Do you like your armor?"

"Yeah," I say excitedly. "I feel so official. I feel like a Knight. I feel like I could clobber someone right now."

"Well, my clobbering days are well passed. Perhaps Gurador is available?"

"Nah. I already bested him in the hallway."

His eyes widen with surprise, and he chuckles. "I hear you are an accomplished fighter."

"Trelix still beats me every time. The only way I'll ever get him is with a sneak attack."

"Did you come to show me your armor, or did you have another reason for being here today?"

"Well, I wanted to show you my armor and tell you that I flew today. Lenox and I flew. I flew on Lenox. We flew together," I explain in a rush of words.

I can tell he's excited for me because he's not blinking. He doesn't blink when he's paying close attention. I continue on, in a rapid explanation of every detail I can remember while I pace the small room and act out some of my favorite parts.

"I am very happy for you and your pegasus," Sarpedon says when I finish speaking.

"Well, that's not it. That's not what I came to tell you. I wanted you to know that I understand what it is you and Trelix, and Jonah have been trying to tell me. I get it now."

"What do you get?"

"Everything! Okay, wait, let me start over. It's like this. When I first ran into Jonah, he told me all this crazy stuff that I really didn't understand. But I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I was like, Okay, follow him. He seems to know everything.

"I just did what he said. And then King Ohad gave me this wacky story about me being a Knight and all this other stuff. And I thought that being a Knight would be fun. But it wasn't fun. It was really hard, and I hated it."

I stop when I realize I might've just insulted Master Sarpedon. I wait for him to comment, but when he doesn't, I continue. "Well anyway, I really hated everything about being a Knight. Then the gryphons attacked, and I thought, Okay, well, better do what they say now and start trying, or I'll get eaten. Which is a weird thought for a human because we don't ever think something will eat us unless we're in the ocean and start thinking about sharks or something.

"But no one goes around thinking, I hope something doesn't eat me today. And when I was faced with that thought for real, I thought, Well, better figure it out. But I didn't. I just went through the motions. I stopped complaining so much and just shut up and did what everyone said.

"Then today, I was on Lenox, and I remember Jonah telling me way back that if Lenox took off with me on him, I would just roll off his back. And when I was up there today, and his massive body used all that force to take off, I stayed on. I thought, All right, I get it. This is why I was training so hard. So that when this moment came, I could handle it. You see?"

It takes Sarpedon by surprise when I stop talking. "What am I to see?" he asks.

"I had to train to be prepared. I know you guys kept saying that, but it was in one ear and out the other. The goal I was training for was never clear. I had to ride all those unicorns for all those hours to be prepared to fly with Lenox. But it's more than that. I know how to use a sword. I can run fast for a long time. I know magic spells and stuff with the wand. I know this stuff because I'll have to use it. I need to use it when I search for the key."

I run out of air, so I have to stop to catch my breath. Sarpedon waits patiently until I begin again. "I'm not explaining this right. I know I was learning all of it for when I look for the key. But I never believed that I'm some chosen one who has to not only save the world but two worlds. To stop a war and all that stuff. Really, me? I could never be that person. It was never real to me. All the stuff you were saying about Ziras and portals and stuff. I knew I was not your girl."

I pause again to make sure that he is paying attention to what I'm about to say. He's hanging on my every word, so I continue more confidently. "Today, I realized that I am that girl. I can do this. I have been trained. You have not made a colossal mistake. What I need to do is important. I have to do it, but not only that, I want to do it."

I stop talking and get self-conscious after baring my soul. Especially because I did it in that rapid-fire way that Master Sarpedon doesn't approve of.

He smiles at me. "I knew this day would come. I am very joyful that you now see what we see. You are a Knight, Sir Agatha," Sarpedon says with another salute to me.

I drop to one knee before him and bow my head. "Thank you for everything you have taught me. Thank you for your patience and kindness. You are an excellent teacher, Master."

He puts his hands on my head and says a long passage in a language that sounds a lot like Chinese. I stand to leave, but before I do, he says, "Talent is a gift received. Implementation is a gift given."

I'm not sure what he means, but I thank him anyway and head back to my room. I'm anxious to call Jonah so he can see my new armor.