Skulduggery Pleasant: Raising Cain

Chapter 194 - Arriving at the Sect

Chapter 194

Nadia's POV

Nadia carefully balanced the last glass on the draining board, stepping back and rubbing her eyes tiredly. Only three days and two nights had passed since Valkyrie had left with Solomon but the loneliness was pressing on her despite moving into Aine's house. It was strange to not share her bed with her fiancée, it was strange living with people besides Valkyrie and the Dead Men, she desperately missed Laila, and it was so, so strange to have to refer to Aine as Crystal again.

"Are you doing alright, honey?" Beryl asked in a fake simpering voice.

"Yes, thank you," she said immediately, drying her hands and taking her ring off the kitchen windowsill. "Thank you for making dinner, it was really nice."

"Oh, that's fine," she said, waving the compliment away. "I'm glad someone liked it anyway."

Nadia had noticed how Carol and Fergus had barely touched their chicken salads. In truth, the meal was bland and needed something to liven it up. A creamy sauce would have turned it around, and some spice on the meat, and she didn't think Beryl had used a single grain of salt. Then again, the chicken was overcooked and dry, so perhaps it wouldn't have made a difference, and the lettuce seemed wilted. But she was hardly about to say that to her host. Aine had eaten half of hers before claiming she was full. Nadia would have done the same but Beryl just could not leave her alone, so she chose to keep eating.

She decided not to comment on it at all. "Would you like me to help you with anything else? I could make Fergus' lunch for work tomorrow if you like."

"No, no," Beryl said, going straight for the fridge. "You don't need to help around the house, I have it all under control. Say, did Stephanie call you today?"

"No," Nadia said shortly. "She's going to be out of range for a long time."

"That's a shame dear. Well, you're more than welcome to stay as long as you like."

Nadia nodded and left the kitchen without another word, rushing past the open living room door and heading up to Aine's tiny room, flopping onto the futon that had been set up into a bed for her.

Alone, she rubbed her temples tiredly. It was like when she'd been stupid enough to break up with Valkyrie, or the time she'd suffered a brain injury. Alone, cold, incomplete. She'd known Valkyrie since she was thirteen, they'd been as good as dating since the moment they met. It was hard for Nadia to be away from the woman she loved, especially when she was going to be having her eggs removed for their future babies any day, assuming it wasn't already done.

She felt she should be with Valkyrie for that. It was something couples stood by each other for. She couldn't help but imagine that something had gone wrong and there were no eggs and Valkyrie was crying about it because of how big of a deal Nadia had made of it all. She felt awful. She'd love Valkyrie, biological child or not. But she'd made a big deal out of it and now Valkyrie was getting her eggs removed alone and if anything wrong happened she would blame herself all because Nadia couldn't give her a break.

Nadia took a deep breath and counted to twenty, slowly letting the tension out of her body. She kept counting, feeling through every muscle, every part of her body, until she was totally relaxed and her mind was clear. It wasn't her fault or Valkyrie's if anything happened. They would come together and comfort each other when the time came. For now, she just had to remain strong and, more than anything, remain safe. That was all Valkyrie asked of her. To be safe and remember she loved her. Everything else was Valkyrie's choice because she was a capable, practically grown woman of outstanding intelligence and strength.