Valkyrie's Claim (Academy of Immortals 2)

I grab my plate and cross the room, taking a seat opposite of Rupert at the out of the way, empty table he likes to occupy. He glances up but doesn’t say anything.

“Are you mad at me?” I ask, stabbing a piece of fruit on my fork. I’m surprised when he replies.

“No.”

“Then what? Are you intimidated?"

He frowns. “No.”

“Then tell me, what’s going on?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Hildi.”

“Well, maybe it’s time that you do, Rupert.” I lean over the table. “You and I are on a team, and the distance between us isn’t going to help us win. Not against Roland, who has brought in some kind of she-demon and clearly doesn’t want to play by the rules.”

He chews his breakfast slowly, then sets down his knife and fork. “I don’t like to be around women.”

“Even me.”

“Especially you.”

Well, that’s not going to work.

I prop myself on my elbow. “Talk to me.”

His eyes drop to my chest, where my shirt is unintentionally gaping. I don’t straighten it. He looks away, cheeks burning.

“You unnerve me. You’ve taken my psychic link hostage. I feel you constantly. Like…”

“Like what?”

“What were you doing last night? I woke up in a sweat, my stomach churning. I kept thinking about Morgan.”

I sit up straight. “Morgan? What about her?”

He scratches his chin. “You were talking to her, or at a painting? Maybe a reflection.”

“What were we saying?”

“I don’t know, but for the first time in a while you’ve been happy.”

I was happy talking to Morgan, which is why thinking it was a dream made it worse.

“Rupert, are the things you see about me real? Or are they more like a prophecy?”

He thinks for a moment. “I knew you were in trouble the night you got the key. I didn’t know specifically what the trouble was, but I knew y

ou were in danger. I also could feel the coldness of the abyss—like it was touching my bones.”

I shiver, thinking about walking across that inky dark water.

Our eyes meet. He’s thinking about it, too.

“I’m sorry that you experienced that. I imagine it is difficult to be around me.” I reach for his hand. He freezes but doesn’t move, allowing me to link my fingers with his. “Is there anything else? Tell me, because we may be able to use it.”

He stares at his plate. “I, I, I feel you at other times.”

“Like when I’m in class? Or training.”