Page 65 of The Last Valkyrie

What about the other things he said?I had so many questions.Who we conduct business with? How we conduct ourselves? A changing of the guard? What in Hel does it all mean?

I had so many damned questions, but he was already moving past my confusion to get to the crux of his position.

“However,” Da said, “since you’ve come all this way to greet me, argue with me, or . . . whatever you meant to do here . . . I will give you this final chance.”

“Final chance for what?” I assumed he was only speaking to me and not the other three.

“To fall in line.” His voice seethed with controlled anger. “To become the alpha you’re meant to be, so you might lead the Torfen name to prosperity with your cunning and acumen, Sven. So I know I cantrustmy son and hopeful pack heir to manage things when I’m gone.”

Lines creased my forehead. Was he giving me an ultimatum? It was difficult to parse through his words. I still wasn’t sure what he actually expected of me.What would I be “falling in line” to do? He refuses to clarify that vague notion.

A moment later, I shrugged the thought aside. It didn’t matter. I was on Ravinica’s side, always would be, and my father was essentially dead to me if he didn’t want to become allies in the coming conflict. If he wasn’t going to raise the Torfen banner, call upon the countless wolf shifters he had on speed dial, and swell our army with snarling teeth and wicked claws . . . then I had no use for him.

I spread my arms out beside me, gesturing to Edda, Ulf, and Grim. “I have my allies, Da. This is just a fraction of them. I have a pack, but it doesn’t carry the burden of the Torfen name with it.It’s a found family that is stronger than any bond you and I have ever shared.”

I hoped that explained my position clearly enough.

Ulf and Edda at least understood, their gasps ringing through the rain clear as a lightning bolt in the sea.

My father showed the first hint of sadness I’d seen, lines crinkling the corners of his eyes. It wasn’t sadness from learning about Olaf’s death, like a damned normal, sane father, but rather at me discarding his “offer” of peace, whatever the fuck it meant.

Just what are you planning, you conniving old fuck?

“A shame, son.” Salos composed himself quickly and stepped forward, closing the gap with his two allies and forcing his way through as I moved aside from Edda to let him pass.

Over his shoulder, he spoke, his voice more weighty and concerned than I’d ever heard, bringing goosebumps to my skin.

“Change is coming to Vikingrune Academy, cubs. We can either accept that and navigate ourselves so we’re best positioned for the future, or we can face the reaper like your brother did, and lose everything. The choice is yours . . . but the shift is coming no matter which side of history you’re on.”

Chapter 21

Grim

ONE OF THEWraithships was missing from the dock. TheYellow, which typically hauled in students from the frozen north, though occasionally went east.

It was the first thing I noticed when we got to the shore. I didn’t have time to think much more about it, or what it meant, because Salos Torfen and his two goons arrived shortly after.

The second thing I noticed was how pompous and austere Salos was. I understood now why Sven had never gotten along with him, and why he was so skeptical of the cunning alpha.

He reminded me of my own biological father—the few moments I remembered of him from my youth before he sent me off to die in the woods alone. Father had been the polar opposite—no pun intended—of my foster parents, Koll and Kerr.

Nothing was ever good enough for a man like Salos Torfen. Everyone who didn’t meet his impossible standards was a disappointment, and that included Sven and perhaps even his fallen son, Olaf.

I was glad Sven had managed to rid himself of the burden of trying to please a man like that. It would never happen. He would be fighting his entire life for a fragment of love and affection that would shatter the moment something, anything, went awry.

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