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“Well… it was more your father-”
“I heard that!” Tore’s voice drifted outside, he didn’t soundhappy with his mate.
“Dad invited Kaleb for dinner?” Was this the first sign of theapocalypse? Should she head to higher ground? “Let me get this straight. Myfather, the feared God of the Dawn Hunt, just invites some random Demon to joinyou for family night dinner, and you don’t think we should be concerned for hismental health? Get him an MRI scan or something?”
“So disrespectful.” Tore grumped, stepping out on the decking carryinga tray laden with cups, a pot of coffee and a plate of large luscious lookinglemon tarts. Sitting next to his wife he shot Christina a glance before pouringthe coffee. “Kaleb stopped by earlier to thank us for our hospitality duringwhat he said was a rather fraught time in his life. One thing led to another…and I asked him to stay to eat. It’s not like any of my daughters would mind,since they were all too busy.”
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m here now, aren’t I?” Shaw scooped up a tart andtook a big bite. Yum, lemony goodness.
“You know how your father is with strays. And the Dem… Kaleb, didseem a little… lost.”
“Lonely.” Tore interjected
Yeah, right, the male was out every night at Valkyrie bars, axethrowing clubs and Goddess knows where else, drinking, dancing, and having fun.She’d seen all the selfies to prove that the Demon was as far from lonely asone could get.
“Besides.” Christina smiled, noting her eldest child reaching fora second tart. “He provided dessert, it only seemed fair to invite him to stayto eat.”
“And your Demon is not just some random supernatural.”
Choking slightly, Shaw swallowed the bite of lemon tart she wascurrently chewing on with a little difficultly. “He’s not my anything.”
“Of course not.” Christina readily agreed. But there was somethingin her mother’s tone that made Shaw think she was being placated.
“So, what did the three of you chat about?”
“An array of topics.” Tore reflected. “Education funding. Thestate of the Conflict Demon Realm under the new Monarchy. Whether the Christmasmixer between the Valkyries and the ex-Berserkers should be a day or eveningevent. And then we talked about you.”
“Me?” Okay, that had come out a little high pitched. Shaw triedagain. “Me?”
“Yes.” Christina confirmed. “It was rather wrong-headed of him,but amusing nevertheless.”
“Oh?” Questioned Tore. “I thought it rather sweet. Not at allnecessary of course. Quite brave of him actually.”
“Brave?” Christina mused over that word, sipping her coffee. “Yes,you might be right on that front. He did keep glancing down at the ravine witha resigned look on his face when he first broached the topic.”
Confused and bewildered were only two words Shaw was butting herhead up against. “What topic? What are you two talking about?”
“I’m pretty sure he turned up here tonight with an agenda. Wantingto reason with us… to soften the blow, if you will.”
“See, and that’s why I thought it was sweet.” Tore bumped his meldmate’s shoulder affectionately.
“But misguided. Why he thought we’d be angry with you, is beyondme.” Christina tossed her hair back over her shoulders, golden waves rippling.
“Will you two please take mercy on me and tell me what, by theSword, you are talking about?”
“Your decision to remain at HQ and continue acting as Head ofLegal.”
“You know about that?” She stared into her father’s light dawncoloured eyes and saw no judgement, and then into her mother’s pale green eyes,seeing the same. “And… you’re not upset?”
“Why would we be upset? You fought for centuries on the FjornfallPlanes. Blood-soaked and covered yourself in glory. You loved it. But we allchange and evolve, needing to seek new challenges. Why, just look at yourfather, the Professor. Or me. I actively sought promotion because I cravedgreater responsibility and wanted more say in battle tactics.”
“I won’t stop fighting. What I mean is, I still intend to join theoccasional battle. But I’ll treat it more as a hobby than my full time focus.”
“Whatever makes you happy, Sweetheart.” Tore leaned forward toclasp Shaw’s hand and squeeze it. “We raised three very different, veryindividual Valkyries. We’ve never tried to interfere with your choices. Butwe’ve known for a while that you needed a… change… a new challenge. We justdidn’t know what that would look like until the De… knee injury occurred, andyou ended up in a corporate role.” Tore released his hold on Shaw to rub hisown sore knee, where his meld mate had just kicked him.
“Um… well, thanks, for understanding.”
“We love you, Shaw. No matter what you do. We supportallyour choices.”
