Tracked: A Valkyrie Saga Book 2

Chapter 12 - A Game of Answers

My life would have been so much simpler if Florence had been blessed with a child like Delia. Not only were her power levels through the roof but unlike Regina and Kaiden, she actually had a brain in that head of hers. Somehow I needed to get her on my side, and from the look of disgust on her face, I knew that bribing her wasn't going to work. She is a smart child, therefore I am going to try something new. 

I am going to explain the stakes and simply ask for her help.

--Prince Hernan Collins

Dinner seemed to take forever and I zoned out and completely lost track of the frivolous conversation at hand. So when someone rested a hand on my shoulder, I nearly jumped out of my skin. I looked over to see Hernan standing behind my chair with his elbow cocked in an offering.

I was actually looking forward to the tour of the palace simply because it would get me away from Florence, Regina, and Noemie. I now understood why everyone was so surprised when I acted like a normal person. These royal females were the farthest thing from normal and completely saturated in selfish intent that I had an almost uncontrollable urge to take a shower to make sure none of their personalities rubbed off on me.

I rose and gave one last fake smile to the table and loosely took Hernan's proffered arm. He led me over to a door that was very well camouflaged into the stone wall and down a narrow stairway. It wasn't until the door clanged shut behind us that I realized that I might have just made a major mistake. I was now completely alone with the person Logan called the scariest person in the kingdom within an isolated stairwell. Not my smartest move. However, I knew that letting my fear show would deter from the badass persona I was trying to present, so I gritted my teeth and reminded myself that if shit went sideways I could always retreat into the void.

"I have a proposition for you, young Delia," Hernan stated in a cold calculating voice and I got the impression that we were finally dropping the political front and going to talk about something substantial. "I have questions that you have artfully dodged over the last week and I am positive that you have a couple of things you wouldn't mind becoming more informed about. I propose that we trade honest and complete answers with each other. To be fair, I will let you ask the first question and you can decide how to answer mine in return, based on if you feel you got a full and honest answer."

I thought it over for a moment and decided that I had the advantage in this little game. I would be able to tell if he was being honest, while nothing was stopping me from lying in return. However, I would have to be careful. Hernan was not a man I wanted as an enemy. Instead of spending time negotiating his terms, I decided to just jump in. "What is it you want from me?"

Hernan was quick to respond, not even pausing to think over an answer. "Very good opening question because it is broad allowing me to set the tone for the amount of information I am expecting in return. I want a great many things from you, Deila Ray Olsen. And the more that I learn about you and witness how you think and act in stressful situations, the more things I find myself wanting.

"But first and foremost I want information from you because I believe that you hold the key to a problem that my family has been trying to tackle for generations. I would also like to use you, not only for your power to best our enemies, but also to strengthen our status within the worldwide Valkyrie community. To do this on a long term basis, you would need to form some sort of lasting tie to the Collins' Royal Clan. In a perfect world, I would want you to marry Kaiden and become a ruling entity within our kingdom. Preferably your position would work directly under my own. If that were to happen, I could even see training you and one day passing on the mantle of my responsibilities to you, because we both know that Kaiden is not up to the job.