And there she also finds something unexpected: a kindred spirit. She comes to serve Freydis, a shy princess who couldn’t be more different than the confident and self-possessed Yafeu.
But they both want the same thing: to forge their own fate. Yafeu inspires Freydis to dream of a future greater than the one that the king and queen have forced upon her. And with the princess at her side, Yafeu learns to navigate this new world and grows increasingly determined to become one of the legendary shield maidens.
For Yafeu may have lost her home, but she still knows who she is, and she’s not afraid to be the flame that burns a city to the ground so a new world can rise from the ashes. She will alter the course of history - and become the revolutionary heroine of her own myth.
Willow Smith is a singer, songwriter, and activist.
Jess Hendel is a writer based in Los Angeles. She received her MFA in Writing for Screen and Television from the University of Southern California and her BA in Sociology from Amherst College.