Tracked: A Valkyrie Saga Book 2

Chapter 5 - A Shoulder to Lean On

That stupid idiot boy of my sisters had gone and screwed everything up. For the first time in five generations we might actually have a way to generate some leverage between us and The Hidden, and Kaiden had gone and stabbed her. All because she was more powerful than even I could have ever imagined. I mean having five Gifts is not just unheard of, it is a complete miracle. And that miracle had dropped right into our laps, as clueless as a newborn lamb.

Delia Ray Olsen is the key to not only unlocking the mysteries around The Hidden, but she will also be our secret weapon to finally defeating them.

However, Edison had just called to inform me that her family out of the Americas Northeast Kingdom was here to steal my miracle away from me. I would not just stand by and allow Queen Deveroe to swoop in and take Delia from my territory and supplant her within her own. I don't care who her family was, Delia was ours. I gave Edison strict instructions to do whatever is necessary to ensure that the Olsen's are unsuccessful in their mission to take Delia from California and I was preparing a full debrief on the Olsens. I did enjoy the challenge that Delia presented me with, not to mention the fire within her that was obviously absent from Florence's little brats, but if that willful child was just a little more agreeable than we wouldn't have to take these types of measures.

--Prince Hernan Collins

I was starting to shift my weight from one foot to the other and trying to think of some excuse to get me out of this room when the doorbell rang. I glanced up and saw that Elijah didn't look surprised when he opened the door and let Edison, Dominic, and Tobias into the house. Sean was very interested in the newcomers and left our little group to be a part of the second round of introductions.

"You okay?" Max asked me and I saw that all three of my Musketeers looked worried about me.

"Yeah, just even the thought of family kind of freaks me out," I admitted and I knew that even though they couldn't fully understand where I was coming from, these guys would always be here if I needed to talk. I was still holding Max's hand and I gave it a little squeeze before letting his hand go. I was new to Valkyrie society, and even though I knew that they used touch to reassure each other, it was still way out of my comfort zone to simply hold a cute guys hand. And the very last thing I needed was the butterflies getting excited about Max. They already had a weakness for the twins.

"Absolutely not," I overheard Mathis say in a slightly raised voice. "My granddaughter does not need an outside mentor to help her train. I will train her in Tracking and Sean will take help with Weapons and Shield. None of us know anything about this Cloaking Gift, but I am sure that we can figure something out within the family."

By this time, Mathis had garnered everyone's attention but it was Edison that dragged me into their argument. "Delia, tell Valkyrie Olsen that you have already accepted Dominic as your mentor and trainer."

Bananas. I had no idea who was the bigger risk here. I found the Blade Clan to be intimidating and power hungry and my gut was telling me to stay away from them, but claiming Dominic as my trainer would give me an excuse to stay here instead of going to Boston. On the other hand, I had told Derik that I would give Mathis and Sean a chance and in my experience you could learn a lot about a person by the way that they taught you. Instead of answering I looked over at Elijah and Derik for some clue as to what I should do here.

"Do not defer to them like that, Child," Mathis scolded in a heated voice when he noticed what I was doing. "You are better than this clan in every way."

I lifted my chin, straightened my spine, and gave Mathis my best 'I am seriously pissed off' glare. As my anger level rose I could feel myself pull free of the light cloak I was maintaining to tamp down the amount of allure I gave off to a minimum.