The Valkyrie Returns and Slays (Raven)

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Margaret jumped up, her voice cutting through the air. "Hold it right there!"

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She turned to General Yardley, softening a bit. "General Yardley, we screwed up, and we're sorry. Let us go, please-I'll hand over the Henderson family heirloom. It's all yours!"

Raven quirked an eyebrow, throwing up a hand to freeze everyone in place.

She hadn't even started hunting for it, and now Margaret was just tossing it her way like a gift.

Well, that saved her a whole lot of hassle.

The Henderson family members stood there, stunned, their eyes popping out at Margaret's offer.

A few of them yelled at once, "Margaret, don't do it!"

One guy stepped up, his voice shaky with panic. "That's the heart of our family! We can't just give it up!"

Another jumped in, his face red and worked up. “Grandpa said before he passed- if one of us can tame that thing, we could get the whole Vyrdenia under control! Margaret, I'd rather sit in a cell than watch that dream die for good!"

Margaret's face tightened, her voice dropping.

"You all know what Bastion Prison's like," she said, "These old bones aren't walking out of there. What? You want me dead?"

She kept going, steady and sure. "Anyway, that thing's been collecting dust with us for years, and nobody's cracked it. Maybe General Yardley can actually put it to use!"

Before anyone could argue back, Margaret leaned toward Jonah.

She picked her words carefully. "General Yardley, can my son go get it?"

Jonah's eyes flicked to Raven.

Raven gave Malcolm a quick look, her tone calm. "Go ahead."

The guy holding Malcolm let him loose.

Malcolm took off toward the Henderson family's safe room, finally free.

Five minutes later, he was back.

He held a small, gleaming white platinum box-about two fingers wide-like it was something holy.

He stopped in front of General Yardley, staring at the box with a pang of regret.

"This thing's been ours forever, but nobody's ever gotten it under control. If people knew about it, it'd just bring trouble," he said, his voice shaky.

himself. "I hope Mom's right-that General Yardley can

say a word, just

stepped up

the platinum box, then flipped it open with

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shot through the

the box opened up,

time, their breathing got heavy-Jonah

eyes lit up, full of

the platinum box was a red crystal card, sitting

old-school designs curled around its edges, with a sharp, blazing flame symbol smack

who pushed their

the Starbornes-rare powerhouses who fought with Starcards and

Vyrdenia, maybe ten Starborne existed,

one was a force of nature, a

any family that raised a Starborne? Vyrdenia piled on the perks, setting them up to

this Starcard, the family would climb to the top of Vyrdenia's big

to the prize

picked up a little, but her face stayed stone-cold calm while

just any Starborne-she already had four Starcards in her pocket:

Universal Five, the game-changer Vyrdenia needed to turn the war

buzzing in her chest and grabbed the Starcard from

touched her hand, her

corner of the card,

stared at that "lock"

she let out a quiet

it coming-collecting the Universal Five wasn't going to

shock there if this Starcard didn't have some catch,

the Henderson bunch, her

a seal on it. Did the ancestors ever say anything about how to break it?"

looking

and got the

the other Hendersons

she had to give it to them-grudgingly-that they

less how to

open.

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Chapter 17

Ар

gave Raven a ding look gripping the tard like it belonged