Valkyrie's Claim (Academy of Immortals 2)

“I said no.”

“Which means the punishments will continue.”

“I’m seeing more toilets in my future.”

He gently wraps my fingers, one by one, in bandages. “It’ll get worse.”

“I can take it.”

My fingers are cleaned and wrapped, but he hasn’t released my hand. We just sit across from one another for a long, strange heartbeat.

“Marshal,” I say, wanting to ask him to come back to our side. Give him the opportunity. Maybe he knows he was wrong. That this was all a ruse. It’s impossible to know with him.

He lifts my hand, gently kisses my fingertips, then stands.

“I’m going to take a shower.” He glances around the room. “I expect all of this cleaned and tidied when I get out. Then you can start on the bath. I expect it to sparkle.” My jaw drops, watching him stroll across the room. “And don’t forget the sheets. They’re filthy.”

He walks into his bedroom and slams the door.

Once again, I let my guard down around this bastard and once again, he proved me a fool.

I’ve got no one to blame but myself.

15

Miya

Since Victorine arrived and removed our instructional duties, I’ve been at a loss of what to do. There’s no way she’d allow us near the students in an educational manner. What if we revealed the truth about who she is and her damaging effects across realms? How her soldiers are treated like pawns? No chance.

She won’t put us in the challenges—the risk of students seeing our individual and combined strength is too high, it may motivate them to align with us.

So we flounder, which may be the smartest move she can make. Keeping us listless and bored. Watching the royal spawn get their asses kicked over and over.

There’s one area of the Academy she isn’t watching.

The dungeons.

And that’s where I spend my time.

“Here,” I say, pushing a loaf of bread and cured meat through the bars. There are two students inside. Females. There’s a witch with long braids and a black eye. A demon with beady eyes and sharp nails, from a lower realm. Neither particularly skilled, which is why Victorine chose them. “Keep up your strength.”

One looks up at me with imploring eyes. “Why is she doing this?”

“Because she can.”

It’s not much more complicated than that.

I bend down so that I’m at their eye level. “Protect your brain more than your body. That’s what she’s attacking. Her powers lie in deceit and manipulation.” I point to the food. “Nourish your brain. You need to stay sharp.”

The demon grabs the bread and meat, taking small bites. The witch does the same.

“Keep fighting, and honestly, keep losing. The winners have it worse.”

I hear footsteps echoing off the stone walls and give the girls a nod before vanishing in the dark. I find the long tunnel that connects back to the school, and when I’m sure I’m not being followed, I open the door and step into the quiet hallway.

The vibe in the school is strange. The stronger students with more powerful skills enjoy the trials. It brings out their competitive nature. The weak? The ones that need to hone their abilities? Their fear wafts down the hallway like a bad smell. There’s no doubt how Victorine finds the candidates for the challenges. She can smell them.

Speaking of scents…I turn the corner and catch something familiar in the air. I slow my pace, as my heartrate increases. My palms sweat and the hair on the back of my neck rises. Ever since I helped Hildi with the vampire bite, since we’d had sex, my body reacts instantly when she’s nearby. It’s like a craving of my own, a deep burning desire. I haven’t felt something like this in ages. It has to be from the venom.