Excerpt

Death is effortless, unless you're an Afterlife Assistant. Predicting death, harvesting souls, and bringing them to their afterlife of choice? Not an easy task for the unskilled.

Luckily, the Afterlife Academy teaches all there is to know about Afterlife care. We'll learn who the deceased are, what they believe in, and where they need to go.

In my case, I'll be taught to find warriors that died in battle and deserve a special place in Valhalla.

Afterlife Academy, I'm ready. Teach me how to be a Valkyrie.

The wind tugged on my sleeves as I approached the tall building where I'd spend the next three years of my life. The Afterlife Academy. The finest institute for those wanting to become an afterlife assistant, like me. With the dark brick and ornate columns, it stood proud on the grass plateau, the school grounds stretching out into a forest.

I set my luggage down and admired the crest hanging above the front doors. Strong wings held a shielded but elegant A. How I dreamed and planned to come here, and now finally, it was my time to shine and carry the Valkyrie torch.

With my heartbeat throbbing in my veins, I crossed the lines of the protective circle around the school that only allowed elementals to pass. Half-expecting to be cast back, I breathed a sigh of relief as I set my first foot on campus grounds.

As if someone turned on the volume of the world, the buzz of chattering students reached my ears. The first day of class hadn't started, but the school grounds were swarming with other elementals and their respective course markings.

Elves polishing Reaper scythes, Dragons with signature Shinigami tendrils, and Spirits with winged footwear. An eclectic mix of different types of elementals and their typical Afterlife accessories.

As they walked by, my attention was drawn to another group. Wind Children with dark wings proudly paraded their wolves across the courtyard, bringing both envy and excitement to my heart. I wanted to be like that. I was going to be like that.

It was family tradition to become Valkyries as soon as we came of age and I wasn't about to break the chain and disgrace my family name.

I rolled my luggage past the group of second -and third-year Valkyries and followed the sign towards the administrative part of the college.

A woman behind a reception desk greeted me. "Hi. How can I help you?"

"Hi. I'm just here to get registered for Valkyrie 101."

"Certainly. I'll need to see the course paperwork and your family identification."

I rummaged through my old bag, grabbing both my registration documents and my family scroll. "Here you go. My files and my proof of identity."

The woman nodded, a little wisp of dark smoke escaping from her nose. That could only mean one thing. She was Shinigami. A Japanese Afterlife caregiver, a job exclusively fulfilled by Dragons.

Cool. I knew the teachers were all licensed experts, but I hadn't expected the person tending to the administrative tasks to be one too.

She flipped through the paperwork and pushed her glasses up to look at me. "Please confirm your name," she croaked.

"Ylva Helgudóttir, daughter of Helga of the West Wind."

"Excellent. Please mark the paperwork here and here."

"Certainly." I focused on the whisper of wind that was my heart and soul, drawing the relentless power to the surface. I didn't need much, just a small breath to sign.

The fresh scent of flowers danced in the palm of my hand as I conjured just the smallest gust of silver wind.

I pressed my thumb into the paper and let my elemental magic slash into it, signing it with the signature pattern of my specific wind. A mark nobody else could copy or repeat.

The old Dragon studied the form and nodded. "Thank you. Welcome to the Afterlife Academy. Here is your brochure with a map, your class roster, and the keys to your shared dorm. Make sure to check in before sundown tomorrow."

The silver keys felt cool in my hand and I curled my fingers tight around them. My own room, which I had to share with just one other person!

Crazy times. This was going to be fun.

The excited chatter and murmurs around me were a clear indicator that I wasn't the only one looking forward to my first day of college. A happy clique of Elves with green hair and a couple of cheery looking Dragons were grouped in the main hall, all bouncing with various degrees of excitement.

Leaving the others behind me, I used my map to navigate towards the dormitories. According to the descriptions, it looked like they were all located in different areas. Probably to avoid orgies and hook-ups? Not that I cared. What people did in their free time was their business.

The main building ended with a set of heavy doors that lead to a straight path outside. With neatly-kept grass on the sides and the odd tree off in the distance, it was a nice walk towards the robust building ahead. A simplistic logo with a wolf's head above the entrance confirmed this was indeed the Valkyrie wing and nothing else.

Good. Every course attracted a specific type of elemental. Elves became Reapers, Spirits became Guardians. Fae turned up for their Banshee course and Dragons studied to become Shinigami. Only Fairies were accepted for the Angel course, and nobody besides Wind Children chose to become Valkyries. That was just the way it was and had been for as long as elementals were in charge of human afterlife care. The noblest of tasks.

I checked the number on my keys and followed the doors down to room number four. My new home.

As I walked through the long corridor, I caught a glance of someone familiar further in the hall and glared at her.

"Astrid."

My nemesis threw her hair over her shoulder and clacked her tongue. "Ylva. I see you're here too."

"Where else would I be?" I countered. Almost every Wind Child signed up for Valkyrie 101 as soon as they could.

"I was hoping somewhere in the gutter. Or the College of Beyond."

I rolled my eyes. "Think again."

"Oh well. You'll drop out soon enough. You don't have it in you."

"We'll see about that." Without a second glance, I turned away from her. The lock on my door rattled slightly, but the air greeting me was clean. That was good.

I pushed my shoes off onto the doormat, pleasantly surprised with the wooden floor. This empty room would be my home for the next semester. Two beds, two wooden desks, and a matching set of creaky closets. Not particularly fancy, but it would do.

From the settled dust, it was clear that I got here before my roommate. Nice. That gave me the perfect opportunity to nose around and choose one of the sides.

I rolled my luggage to one of the beds and threw my sweater on it. There. Claimed my bed.

Before I unpacked, I checked the attached bathroom. The smell of chlorine hung in the small ensuite and it seemed like the toilet, shower, and sink were clean. Nice. It was quite a relief that I didn't have to share stalls with the rest of the hall. I wouldn't have enjoyed that.

I tested the spray of the shower, pleasantly surprised with the pressure behind it. Lovely.

"Mmm," I hummed to myself as I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. My white hair was growing out and it was almost long enough to push behind my ears. My pale complexion almost camouflaged me against the white walls, which was quite comical.

Satisfied with the bathroom, I lunged onto the bed. Class only started tomorrow morning, so I had plenty of time to kill.

After waiting around for a little while, my stomach grumbled and I swung my feet back on the floor. If I could find the dining hall, I'd grab a bite to eat and chat with some of the other Wind Children from our village. There were bound to be more people here that I knew. A perk and a downfall.

If I went down in flames, I'd be the talk of the town. The disappointment of the century and the failure of my family.

No, that wasn't going to happen to me. I wanted wings, my own wolf, and the keys to Valhalla. I didn't care what it would take, I would become a Valkyrie.