Angel of the lake

Chapter Forty-Four

"I knew you were going to follow me." The redhead stood at the other end of the alley. Clearly, she'd been expecting Meg, though she didn't look all too happy about it. She wore a half-apron around her waist which she hastily wiped her hands down, a variety of drink splotches staining the white. Her hair, though messily pulled back with a scrunchie, sprung out in wild curls. But looking at her—really looking at her—confirmed every single one of Meg's suspicions. "You were here with the demon King."

"He's my mate," Meg said.

"Your mate," The woman repeated. She sounded bitter. Had she met Claudio before? "I don't trust Claudio as far as I can throw him. Take my advice, lady, and stay the hell back."

Those green eyes were engraved into her memory. They were pretty much the same as her own.

How Valkyries were made had always been a troublesome question since, technically, their kind didn't have parents. But Meg and her sister had appeared at the same time and they'd shared a resemblance. Growing up, it had always been enough for the girls to call each other sisters.

It didn't matter how many hundreds of years it'd been since Meg had seen her face; she'd know her sister anywhere.

This was the woman who'd woken her up. The same person who'd forced her to open her eyes to the cruelty of the fates.

Now, she picked at her nails disinterestedly, tired of Meg before Meg could even get a word in.

"I wanted to speak to you," Meg insisted. "I think we know each other."

This woman looked her up and down. "Like I haven't heard that story before. Although I'll admit I don't tend to get this from women."

Meg's eyes shot wide.

She thinks I'm a—

"I'm not a creep. I swear."

Not exactly the reunion she'd been looking for.

Though hundreds of emotions were hitting her all at once.

"Right, said every creep ever."

Gods, she understood how this was annoying right now. Poor Claudio. She'd given him this same nonsense with the sex offender spiel.

In all fairness to her, she and Claudio had never met before at the time...

It could've been worse. Meg was still relieved. She'd been scared of what could've happened. Scared that her sister had never made it out of the forest after falling to the lake of angels. Scared she hadn't been able to adjust to this Other World. Scared she'd perished out here decades ago without Meg ever knowing.

Seeing her, even like this, put so much of her stresses to bed.

"Alright." Rosa cracked her knuckles. "Let's get this over with. I've got a shift to get back to in..." She glanced at her watch. "Fifteen minutes."

"I think we might be related," Meg breathed. "I just wanted to—" A fist hit her face. Hard, a little clumsy, but the message was clear.

Rosa hadn't come out here to play games.

Meg's head snapped to the side, the unexpected impact really hitting her.

The sting in her jaw was immediate.

But she took the pain, making no effort to throw her fists back.

"Okay," She said, testing her voice. "I'll take that. I just wanted to talk. We know each other. I'm telling you, you're my sister."

"My kind don't have family."

Meg sighed.

So this was going to be a hard sell.