Truth: A Valkyrie Saga Book 3

Chapter 14 - Right to Rule

Goro freaking Tanaka was chasing Ray. I mean he was the one male royal that was pursued more than most females were, and probably would be the world's biggest Val eligible bachelor until King Eito Tanaka's son came of age. And it had been that way for years because Goro wasn't interested in getting married. He was completely in love with Prince Yong and believed his connection with China would be more beneficial to Japan than any marriage treaty with a distant kingdom. But I guess the opportunity that Ray is all unknowingly dangling right in front of our noses is even too tempting for someone like Goro to turn down.

But it just isn't fair, because I will never stack up if compared to Goro Tanaka or even Ekon Mostafa. This was the big leagues and I was a bench warmer for the minor league team.

I knew all of this and tried really hard not to get my hopes up, but Ray had a way of making the impossible possible. She didn't look at the world in the same jaded way as the rest of us did. So maybe, just maybe in her eyes, I could be enough.

-Ethan Deveroe

I found myself in the center of the large group that had come to my rescue during the tribunal and had no idea what was going on right now or what we were expected to do next. The moment that I stepped out of the room used for the tribunal the compulsion wore off and I was able to cloak my mind again. I let out a relieved breath, squeezed Elijah's hand tighter, and asked where the rest of the guys were. Elijah shook his head at me, and I realized that we were in the same boat of not knowing what was going on right now. I was done blindly following and assuming that everything was going to turn out okay.

Clearly, everything was not okay.

I stopped walking and it didn't take long for the loose group of powerful foreign royals to pause and turn to give me their full attention. "Where is the rest of my clan?" I asked in a heated voice because I was still reeling from all of the emotions I had allowed myself to feel earlier.

"We do not know where your honorary clan is," Queen Anne said, still sounding like she really had the most authority out of all of these powerful rulers. "We didn't even know where you were until I felt your emotions. But I am sure they are fine. Why don't I send someone to go find them and then we can all go to the house we are renting. You can have some time to decompress from the emotions you must still be reeling from and then we can have some tea."

"Our house is even closer, and we have a zen garden that I am sure would be of benefit to Ray in a time like this," Goro was quick to say in response, making me feel like I was a new toy that was being pulled in too many directions. If these people weren't careful, they were going to break me before they got the chance to really have any fun with their new toy.

"That's okay," I said, barely restraining my growing frustration. "I will have no trouble tracking down my clan members, and then I do have something I need to do here before I leave. Thank you for your assistance and your concern about my mental well-being."

I then gave a deep head nod that could be considered a small bow to Queen Anne, King Eito, and Prince Goro. I gave Ethan a small smile because he was the only one I felt guilty about completely ditching. Then I pushed both me and Elijah into the void and activated my Tracking Gift to find the guys. They weren't far away, but when I found them locked in some random office I felt my ever-present anger start to rise again. Why in the world were they being locked away, and who thought that this was okay?

I clenched my jaw and held onto my temper with the very last of my common sense because today was turning out to be a downright awful day and I couldn't afford to lose control of my transitioning Gifts again. I brought the Three Musketeers and Derik into the void and then walked directly into Max's arms. He didn't hesitate to wrap me up into a hug and I took shelter within his arms. This was all starting to be way too much for me and I was yearning for some alone time with my clan. I needed that time. This had been one of the longest weeks of my life, and considering all that my father had put me through, that was really saying something.