Chapter 190

There was one tiny thing Valkyrie had to do before her date with Nadia that night. Nothing particularly big or significant. Not even really important at all. She wasn't worried. And that was why she hadn't made sure to make sure she was wearing her tightest, most muscle bulging military-style clothes that day. That was just an accident.

"You look like you're going to kill someone," Dexter grinned proudly, looking her up and down.

Valkyrie grinned back and turned to look at him over her shoulder, showing off the actually-too-tight-barely-able-to-move-or-have-organ-function trousers she was wearing. "Don't I look good though?"

"Sexy, for sure," he encouraged, and wrapped her into a hug. "It's good seeing you happy again."

"It feels good," she said simply, and pulled away to greet Fletcher. "How are you feeling? This is a big day."

He nodded. He was pale, dark circles under his eyes, and it didn't seem as if he'd eaten enough recently. Even his stupid, pointy hair seemed limp. "I'm alright."

She grunted disbelievingly. "Yeah, I don't buy it. But look, I've done these things before. It's shitty when you see the person, but you have to remember that it's out of your hands one way or another. Keep your chin up, Fletch."

He cracked a small, fake smile. "Sure. Sure. I'll try." He cleared his throat. "Are you… you know, better?"

"I am," she nodded. "Oh, and you too should know that my cousin has chosen a name. She's called Aine O'Caoimh. It's very Irish. And she had her Surge."

"Oh, so did Fletcher," Dexter said, leading them into Roarhaven Sanctuary. "You'll never guess what magic he picked."

Valkyrie flashed Fletcher a grin. "You're a Sensitive."

He snorted an unattractive laugh. "No, still just one of the two remaining Teleporters in the world. The best looking for sure."

"Oh, absolutely," Dexter nodded, looking back on the two of them with an incredibly serious face. "I'd much rather suck your dick than Emmett Peregrine's."

Valkyrie burst out laughing, especially when Dexter finished it off with a wink, air kiss and roughish grin at the violently red, somewhat uncomfortable, awkwardly heterosexual Fletcher. Dexter was too much for such a little boy to handle.

"Dead Men," Tipstaff greeted, meeting still-smirking Valkyrie and Dexter in the main reception. "The Elders are waiting for you at Interview Room Seven. I have also been told to warn you that a man by the name of Gunvald Feie will be joining you." He lowered his voice and stepped closer so only they, and Fletcher, could hear. "He is to be vowed in as an Elder in the next few days, so you are aware. Keep it to yourselves."

They nodded, and Valkyrie was honestly excited to meet the new Elder. The walk to Interview Room Seven was a rather long one, as it was in the dark, wet, cold parts of the Sanctuary that they kept hidden and out of mind. It was the perfect place to talk to Myra one last time.

"Eachan," Dexter greeted with a handshake. "Corrival. And it's nice to see you again Mr Feie. I've heard the news. Congratulations."

Gunvald Feie was as strange and darkly ominous as his name. He seemed to be Corrival's age, with frown lines and a downward slant to his lips, and he wore black suit trousers, white shirt and red suspenders. He stood as straight as his back would let him but he gave off an air of grace and strength despite his slight hunchback. The thick, black moustache with grey speckled actually softened the look to something resembling aged wisdom. "Mr Vex. We have not seen each other since you were practically a knee hight. You look better with age."

Dexter smiled. "Thank you. May I introduce to you Valkyrie Cain. The Dead Men have been raising her since she was a child as our apprentice. She is something of a daughter to us all."

Valkyrie glowed inside, although she did avoid looking at the other two Elders, seeing as they had parted on somewhat tense terms last they spoke. "It's nice to meet you Mr Feie."

"And yourself, Miss Cain. Congratulations on your engagement, by the way. I have followed your progress over the last few years, and I am quite impressed," he said in a perfectly neutral tone. "Now, I would like to conduct this meeting."

He and Corrival immediately turned and opened the doors to the interview room, leaving poor Fletcher out of being introduced, and they all went in, letting the Cleavers seal and guard the door to be soundproof and quite safe. They all sat down, giving Valkyrie the room to conduct the meeting.

Everyone stayed silent, even Fletcher who was clenching his fists tightly. Myra was paler without the Australian sun, and slightly thinner, her hair an absolute mess, and she was sporting a black eye. She actually looked to be posing as a heroin addict but had just enough health in her cheeks to still look like herself. Valkyrie sat opposite Myra in the large, badly lit room, the Elders and Fletcher sitting around and Dexter going to stand directly behind her as an intimidation device. It was incredibly underhanded and actually borderline illegal to use a male to intimidate a female non-magic the way he was, but Valkyrie trusted Dexter over anyone else in the world to not abuse his power, so she had asked him to stand there on purpose. No one else said a thing.

Valkyrie looked at Myra for a long time, settling into her chair and waiting to see when Myra might get antsy. It took a full minute and forty-eight seconds for her to wet her lips and flick her eyes away from Valkyrie's.

Valkyrie turned to tilt her head in the other direction and began. "You've done some bad things, Myra," she said quietly, her voice vibrating around the large room. "Working with Samuel Grievers, the Children of the Spider, plotting to kill my family. All right under our noses. I'm impressed, honestly." She paused to smile at the older girl – the young woman, more appropriately. "You don't look like you're enjoying prison life very much. What happened to your eye?"

Myra glared harder, irritating her swollen eye, which made it twitch. Valkyrie smirked and the muscles in Myra's jaw clenched.

"We don't actually need you here for questioning, as I'm sure you know. We have all the information surrounding your crimes from the unbiased Sensitives. We just wanted to make sure we told you, for ourselves, that you aren't ever welcome in our home, or our country, again. But then, I suppose it doesn't matter if I tell you that. Because I know how long your sentence is," she grinned nastily, watching Myra's face flicker between indifference, worry, fear, anger and back to careful indifference. "Are you going to ask me how long you're getting?"

There was a long pause as Myra tried to push the power balance. She began to open her mouth to talk, and Valkyrie immediately spoke first.

"One hundred and fifty-seven years," she said softly, watching as Myra practically flinched. "In the mortal judicial system, you'd had gotten perhaps thirty years, give or take a few. Perhaps a little more, since mortal systems allow for sexism pointing towards longer sentence for women that commit crimes against children. But thereabouts. With your acting skills, you'd be out on parole after maybe fifteen or twenty, if we're being generous, giving you just enough time to meet someone, get married, start a career, go back to school to graduate, start a family, maybe see your mother again before she dies. But you fucked that. Didn't you? You're never going to see the light of day again. You're never even going to know another building apart from the prison you're being sent to tonight. See, us magic folk, we're real protective of our vulnerable people. We don't like it when assassins hold guns to infants' heads. And you tried to kill the baby of the most dangerous individuals in the world. What did the Spider's offer you to make you take the job?"

Myra spoke quickly this time. "It wasn't as simple as that," she spat.

"Then how was it?" She continued, still calm as anything.

"They offered me millions, and complete safety. That's more than anyone else has ever been willing to promise me before!" She shouted.

"And what made you think they cared about you? You're just one girl that–"

"Because I have skills other people don't! I can do things mages can't! God, you're all so entitled and brainwashed to think you're so amazing, but you're actually weaker and more narrow minded than you think. I could get close to anyone the Spider's needed killing without arousing any suspicion, and I got away with it!"

"Yes, it says in your confessions," Valkyrie remarked lazily.

"And you made it so easy! Fletcher fell for my sop story immediately and I moved into your house within a few weeks! It was so easy I almost laughed right in his face. He's so weak minded and desperate for attention I was able to do whatever I wanted and he never thought about it for a second. I don't think anyone's ever loved him in his life, the stupid boy. He told me every little thing he knew about all of you, and I didn't even have to ask. And then you brought me with you to America! You're all so fucking stupid, you never once suspected I had been feeding the Spiders and Grievers your information for months already! I was the one that told Grievers you were going to his little hell hole to search for your stupid 'father's' man-slut, I was the one that made sure the worst of their men were there that day! I've been making your life difficult for over a year and you never once suspected a single thing!"

"So you orchestrated a rape," Valkyrie stated simply.

She huffed a self-pitying laugh. "I tried too."

"Why do you hate me that much? You have to really want someone to suffer to try and have them raped."

Myra paused, and then smirked up at her from beneath her lashes. "Because I can."

Valkyrie nodded, keeping her face very blank. "I honestly don't think we have much more to know from you, Myra. This is it. Your last chance to talk to anyone outside of a guard or other prisoner. Anything of meaning you want to add to the world?"

Myra opened her mouth, then hesitated and closed it. A full second went by and then she began again, looking at Fletcher. Valkyrie's stomach sank, knowing Fletcher was going to regret coming here. "I don't think it's any wonder your father left, or that your mother killed herself. You are the dumbest, most self-absorbed guy I've ever met, and if I hadn't been paid double to date you, I never would have. And you were right, when you accused me of cheating. You couldn't even see what was right in front of you when you saw me kissing other people, and if that doesn't show quite how thick you are, I'm not sure what else can. I hope you kill yourself just like your prostitute m–"

Dexter put a hand around Myra's neck right as Fletcher stood up and stormed out of the room. The Cleavers parted and the signals immediately went down, signifying the swift ending to the meeting. Valkyrie acted like nothing wrong had happened, shaking Me Feie's hand as he left and waiting for Dexter to pass Myra, who was injected with something to make her sleep, off to a new handler.

They didn't speak until they were away from the room. The Elders all walked ahead of them. "That went as well as expected," Valkyrie said sadly.

"I told him not to come."

"He wanted to have closure. I would too."

"Yes, but he shouldn't have expected remorse from her. He truly thought she loved him between what she did to us," Dexter revealed. "We all told him not to think like that."

"It's too late now. At least he doesn't believe a lie."

Dexter hummed non-committedly and rushed ahead to go find Fletcher, wherever he had ran off too. That left Valkyrie with Corrival and Meritorious at the top of the stairs after they had waved Feie off, and Meritorious have her a small nod before leaving. Corrival gripped her shoulder.

"You did good today. And…" he hesitated. "I think I was too harsh the last time we spoke. I'm sorry, Valkyrie. I spoke to you out of my own frustrations at the situation. None of this was, or is, your fault."

"It's okay," she said immediately, moving in to wrap him in a hug he returned. "I'm just glad you don't hate me."

"I could never do that. No matter how we may disagree, no matter the situation. You are my boy's girl. I love you," he said gruffly into her shoulder. She hugged him tighter.

Gotta end it with some wholesomeness.

I bet you Fletcher lovers are screaming right now, aren't you? I can hear it from across the world, the crying, the anger. I am not sorry.

Emily: yes bitch

Valkyrie Harmony: You're the sweetest, and yeah, Nadia's so strong in ways Val isn't (especially in the real books). I want her to get some help and get her shit together. Realistically, none of the characters will truly be really happy until after the war, but I've already decided we'll be continuing on after the war for at least a while so nothing to fear! We'll all get to experience the family being happy again :)