A massive thank you to @LycidiaraEnta for the amazing cover!!!! I love it so much!!!!
Valkyrie's heart almost stopped. She dropped the phone and it hit the ground with a crack. But she could only stand there in shock. She could faintly hear Tanith's voice on the other end.
"Val? Val, are you there?"
The sound faded and Valkyrie dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. It couldn't be true! Skulduggery was dead? Her vision became blurred and she suddenly felt lightheaded and dizzy. She fell back and shook herself. Then the realisation dawned on her, and she screamed at the sky. She screamed so loud and so long that people would think she was being murdered.
This was all her fault. Skulduggery was dead because of her, and now Sophie would have to grow up without a father. Her heart was shattering inside her chest. Her throat was sore now, from screaming and Tanith had hung up. Valkyrie had a headache, she felt weak.
Skulduggery. Was. Dead.
Those three words didn't seem true. She didn't want them to be true. All she wanted was his comforting hands on her shoulders or around her waist. She wanted his lips pressed against hers. She wanted his fingers in her hair. She wanted him.
She reluctantly collected herself with great difficulty, and stood on shaky legs. Then she threw up. But this time, Skulduggery wasn't there to hold her hair or rub circles into her back. She was alone.
She retched a couple more times and stood up straight. She felt disgusting. She looked towards her car, her bright orange car that now seemed so dull and worthless. The least she could do was say goodbye properly. She started walking, not knowing where the hell she was going, lost in her own thoughts. Valkyrie stumbled and people probably thought she was drunk. She wandered towards the Oompa Loompa, no longer crying, no longer screaming. All she could do was sit in the car, stare into space and feel numb.
Eventually, she started the engine and buckled her seatbelt. She let her mind wander as she drove towards Roarhaven. She had flashbacks, of all the fun times that her and Skulduggery had had together. Of all the bad times, when one or both of them would come close to dying. She had visions of her lying in a hospital bed with a baby in her arms and Skulduggery standing next to her. She smiled at the thought, then she dismissed it. That future would no longer happen.
She had a vision of her and Skulduggery playing with Sophie, of her and him kissing. She could almost feel it herself, and she touched her lips tenderly. A tear rolled down her cheek. None of those futures was going to happen anymore. Not one of them. And the last thing that they'd ever done together was fight. Suddenly she became angry. Sanguine, Dusk and whoever their bloody boss was had taken him from her!
She screamed and smashed her hand down on the steering wheel, causing the horn to go off, making her jump. She had to pull off to the side of the road and that's when she broke down.
"I'LL KILL ALL THREE OF YOU!" She screamed, completely blinded by her tears. When she had calmed down, her voice turned low, and quiet.
"You mess with one of us, you mess with both of us. Because that's how we work."
She stepped on the accelerator, and the Oompa Loompa sped out back onto the road.
***
She fought back the tears as she saw the Bentley still parked in the same spot. She got out of the Oompa Loompa, mentally preparing herself for what was to come. She walked through the doors of the Irish Sanctuary, and Mages stopped and stared at her as she went past. She ignored them all, and kept her head down until she reached the Medical Wing. She saw all her friends standing outside, not speaking, just standing there. Valkyrie felt numb, maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. Ravel looked up and saw her before she could make a run for it.
"Valkyrie," he whispered, approaching her.
She took a step back. Something was off about him, she just didn't know what it was. Tanith stared at her, with a look that could only be described as sympathy, and that's when the door opened and Reverie stepped out. She was smiling. Valkyrie wanted to punch her.
"There's something I want you all to see," Reverie said, getting confused looks from everyone. She disappeared back inside the room, and Valkyrie was the first to step through the door. She looked up, and froze.
And I'm gonna leave it right there, just to be mean 😉😉
I made myself feel sick writing this chapter, mainly because I love Sexy Voice (Skulduggery) so much 😢😢