Chapter 25

I was too tired to walk home today, so I took a taxi. All I needed right now was a glass of warm milk and my bed. I paid the taxi when it stopped in front of my apartment building and went inside. Lana should have already gone home; maybe she's watching TV with Greg right now. I rummaged through my bag to find my keys while yawning, and I heard faint laughter coming from inside the apartment. I closed the apartment door and walked towards the source of the laughter in the kitchen.

They were sitting at the dining table chatting—Lana, Greg... and Nick. He turned around when he heard me enter and smiled at me. Nick was wearing a light blue shirt, no tie, and no jacket. His eyes looked warmly at me. "Eleanor."

I didn't return his smile; I hid my surprise and took the remaining seat beside him. Lana didn't cook tonight; she and Greg ordered Chinese food, which was now half eaten on the table.

"Hey, there's dim sum! Thanks, Lana. I'm starving." I smiled at Lana, who was laughing. Greg looked at the both of us alternately as he picked up his chopsticks, while Nick... I didn't know what he was doing because I wasn't looking at him. But I could feel that he was looking at me right now.

"Lana, do you remember Mr. LeBlanc, my manager?" I asked as I picked up the black pepper noodles from the box.

"Of course, why?" Lana, still in her work clothes like me, took a piece of lemon chicken and ate it with her chopsticks.

I picked up my chopsticks and broke them in the middle. "I have a lunch date with his girlfriend next Wednesday. Do you want to come?"

"You're having lunch with your boss's girlfriend?" Greg asked. Lana probably wanted to ask the same thing, but her mouth was full.

I finished chewing the noodles before answering, "Yeah. Mr. LeBlanc asked me to accompany her for lunch because he can't make it. Ellie is also a pretty nice person."

"Okay, I'll join." Lana interjected before putting another piece of lemon chicken in her mouth. "Oh, I thought Mr. LeBlanc would be chasing after you, Ell. You're lucky, Nick; if you were a few weeks late, Ella would probably be dating her boss by now," Lana said with a small laugh. But none of us laughed. Greg glanced at his sister as he picked up a dim sum with his chopsticks, while I pretended to be busy with my noodles.

"Eleanor never told me." I could still feel his gaze on me when he said it.

"O-oh." Lana muttered, looking at me and then at Nick. "What's going on with you two?"

"Nothing." I quickly replied. I put down my chopsticks and stood up from my seat. "I'm going to take a shower." I added before walking out of the kitchen. Five steps out of the kitchen, a hand grabbed my arm. I dropped my bag on the floor and turned slightly to face him.

"What's wrong with you?" Nick looked at me with furrowed brows.

I pulled my arm away from his and stepped back. "Oh. I didn't know you were here," I mumbled.

"What do you mean, Eleanor?"

I snorted in anger at his question and turned to grab my bag.

"I'm not finished talking." He said from behind me.

"I'm done listening." I replied, walking towards my room. I knew he was following me, but before I could protest, Nick pushed my back and closed the door to my room behind him. I sighed and folded my hands across my chest. "What do you want?"

He furrowed his brows with a slightly angry expression. "I came 2000 miles for you, and you're ignoring me?"

I blinked for a moment as I looked at him. "Well, yeah."

Nick just stared at me for a few moments, as if trying to solve a puzzle. "What did I do?"

"What?"

"What did I do to make you angry? Tell me so I can explain."

I really didn't like his bossy tone. I turned around to the wardrobe at the end of my room. "Can we talk about this later? I want to take a shower."

"I've warned you."

I turned around to look at him.

"I will never let you go, even if you beg." He looked very serious, making me want to laugh.

I bit my lip and shook my head. "Nick... do you think I want to leave?"

He didn't answer.

"I'm not going to leave, okay? I'm just angry because... because you didn't contact me."

Nick was silent for a moment before asking, "Greg didn't tell you?"

Oh, damn Greg. "No. What should he have told me?" I said each word slowly. My anger shifted from Nick to Greg in an instant.

Nick walked closer to me and stopped a step in front of me, his face serious again. "Only a few people know about our relationship right now. Just Greg, Lana, Eric, and Alice. I can't take any risks until I can kill that woman, Eleanor."

"I just asked you to contact me..." I muttered.

"I don't want to take any risks." He replied, raising his eyebrows. Sometimes I forget Nick's bossy and annoying side. Not to mention his excessive suspicion and vigilance.

"Okay, I understand."

I slowly felt my tiredness from the day fade away. I reached out my hand to his waist and hugged him. Nick returned the hug, placing his chin on top of my head.

He took a deep breath and murmured, "A three-hour flight doesn't feel long when I can hug you like this." I nestled my head into his chest and chuckled softly. Nick hugged me tighter, his whole body feeling warmer than mine.

I pushed him slightly so I could look up at him. "So when can I call you normally?"

"I don't know yet. Alice is still tracking that woman; she thinks she's still in England. At least we've found a few traces of her."

"Alice?" I looked at him confused. "Is she a Volder too?"

"No. Alice is different from me." Nick just looked at my face for a few moments before continuing, "Alice is a Valkyrie."

"A Valkyrie?" I felt like I had heard that name before. I let go of the hug, and Nick looked reluctant to let me go.

"You may have heard of the name in Norse mythology; Valkyries are war goddesses. There are only 16 Valkyries in the world, and Alice is one of them."

I still didn't understand. "So, she's a... goddess?"

Nick chuckled softly and shook his head, "That's just a human assumption. Like vampires and Volders, they're just myths."

"I don't understand."

"I can't explain what a Valkyrie really is, but we usually call them angels of death because there's always death around Valkyries. Alice can kill more people than me and Greg easily. They have powers that are not... normal; I'm grateful there are only 16 of them in the world because killing a Valkyrie is very difficult. No one has killed any Valkyrie for the last 500 years."

"Then why would anyone want to kill her?" I started to get interested in this conversation. I leaned against the wardrobe door.

"Besides the fact that they are very dangerous? Valkyries will pass on their powers to their killer. They can be hurt but won't die. Each Valkyrie has only one weakness, and they are all different. I think Alice is one of the Valkyries with the most difficult weakness."

I couldn't imagine Alice killing anyone. She didn't look like a killer. Memories of her came flooding back to my mind—her blonde hair and her eyes, which were a grayish-blue color. I had never seen eyes like hers before. "What's her weakness?"

"Every Valkyrie has a birth name, even though they will change it eventually. Alice's Valkyrie name is Prungva. No one has been able to figure out its meaning accurately, but rumors say she will die when she falls in love," a mischievous smile appeared on his handsome face.

"She will what?" I said in disbelief.

"Alice will die if she falls in love," Nick's smile widened as he saw the expression on my face. "That's why no one has been able to kill Alice for the past 500 years."

"Are you saying she's never... fallen in love?" It was hard to imagine living that long and never experiencing love, especially since Alice had everything—power, beauty, immortality... but not love. I couldn't imagine her loneliness all these years.

"It's just a rumor, Eleanor," Nick stepped closer to me and lifted my chin with his hand gently.

"Then why does Miss Morrel think I'm lucky to have met you first?" Nick looked at me seriously, with a slight crease in his forehead.

"Lana was just joking," I whispered as his hand touched my chin, trying to straighten it. "She's nobody, Nick."

"Then why did Miss Morrel think I was lucky to have met you first?" His voice sounded heavier and lower.

My heart beat a little faster than before. "Lana was just kidding." I said softly as his right hand lifted my chin gently.

Nick lowered his head until our faces were only a few inches apart. "But Miss Morrel was right," he whispered, his warm breath brushing against my cheek. I could smell a hint of mint and wine from him. I closed my eyes slightly. "I am lucky."