Page 76 of The Last Valkyrie

Ma guffawed. “Alfheim? As in the land of the Ljosalfar?”

Corym’s smile widened. “The same, ma’am.”

“You wouldn’t want to hear hisfulltitle,” I said smugly. “We’d be here all night.”

She spun around to face me, and I giggled at the saucers she had for eyes. “Gods, lass, you weren’t kidding—we don’t have near enough time to discuss everything you’ve been doing!”

“Told you, Ma.”

“What are these strapping young lads to you, aye? Care to let me venture a guess?”

I shook my head, my cheeks flaming red. “I’d rather you not.”

She winked at me, a tug pulling the corner of her lip into a smirk. “Bodyguards, then.”

I nodded desperately. “Yes. That. Bodyguards.”

She grumbled to herself and walked past me, then turned to face all of us. “What else do you have for me, lass?”

My head tilted. “Have for you, Ma?”

Her face darkened, losing all its whimsy. I recognized the expression of vengeance tainting her dark eyes, and I knew immediately what she was talking about.

Shit.

“Did you succeed in our mission I sent you on, daughter? You’ve been gone two terms now, so I imagine your Shaping powers finally bloomed.”

I clenched my jaw. It was a bit presumptuous and unlike her secretive self to speak so plainly about this in front of mixed company, but maybe that was because she’d deduced what the guys were to me—how close I was to them—and knew that no secrets would pass between us.

As I prepared for the shit-storm that would follow, I nodded deeply. “I have. It took a while to discern the betrayers, Ma, but I finally got to the bottom of it.”

Her eyes widened in anticipation, her entire life’s work since leaving Vikingrune Academy showing on her face, making her look like an eager child.

“. . . And if you’d like to know who tainted our family name,” I drawled, “then look no further.” My hand swept behind me. “They’re standing before you.”

Silence. Confusion on Lindi’s face as one eye bulged larger than the other. She swiveled her gaze past me, back to my men. “I beg your pardon?”

I stepped aside to continue gesturing at my men, who had all grown rigid, straight-backed, and uncomfortable being put on the spot. They repositioned themselves, shifting their weight, putting their hands behind their backs, glancing at one another in slight terror.

Sorry, boys, it can’t be helped. My mother is like a bloodhound when it comes to this.

“With the exception of Corym, these four men are the descendants of those responsible for ruining the Lindeen name, Ma. I read the tomes, the records, made the family tree, double-checked my work. Everything I could think to do.”

Righteous fury showed on her face, eyes narrowing on my men like she was ready to Shape right there in the house and kill them all. Maybe she even thought I had brought them here so she could get herownrevenge against them.

“Through inquisitions, backstabbings, a case of poisoned soup in one instance, and other backhanded measures, the ancestors of Grim Kollbjorn, Sven Torfen, Magnus Feldraug, and Arne Gornhodr made sure to do everything in their power to rid the world of our family name.”

I felt myself getting a bit smaller then, taking a moment to withstand my mother’s potent wrath—invisible yet heavy on my shoulders as she stared at me.

With a soft smile to my guys, I watched them stare at me in mixed expressions of shock and pride.

It filled me with renewed confidence, and I squared my shoulder when I faced Ma again.

“And rather than deciding to assassinate them as you wished, Ma . . . I fell in love with all of them.”

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