An hour later, Valkyrie was in a closed-down old factory ten miles from the Retirement Home. She nodded to two young women she knew, Kallista Pendragon and Rosella Ember. They were new to the Sanctuary, brought in as part of the effort to refill the ranks. There were a lot of new faces around, now that Valkyrie looked. The turnover rate for Sanctuary operatives had been getting pretty high in the past few years.

She saw Fletcher talking to Skulduggery. He glanced up, their eyes locked and her heart lurched, then he looked away again and she felt terrible. She stayed well away, letting Skulduggery brief him on what they needed to do. It was to be a two-man incursion – Skulduggery and Fletcher – sneaking into the Home in order to check out the layout and the opposition. Once Melancholia was located, Fletcher would teleport them both out, everyone else would link up and they’d all teleport back in – hopefully, for a surprise attack.

When Skulduggery had told her that it was to be only Fletcher and himself, Valkyrie hadn’t argued. Her insides wrenched every time she remembered the look on Fletcher’s face, and the last thing she wanted to do was make her ex-boyfriend hurt even more.

When they were ready, Skulduggery and Fletcher vanished, and Valkyrie waited with all the others. She didn’t like waiting. It annoyed her. Irritation added to the butterflies in her stomach. Ghastly came over, nodded to her, let a few moments slide by before speaking.

“So,” he said, “I heard you two broke up.”

“I suppose we did.”

Ghastly nodded. He had a look on his face like he wanted to ask something, but didn’t want to actually utter the words.

She frowned. “Fletcher talked to you, didn’t he?”

“He didn’t have anyone else he could go to,” Ghastly confessed. “He’s upset.”

“I know.”

“He cares for you a great deal.”

“And I care for him,” she said, surprising herself with how defensive she suddenly sounded. “Why does nobody understand that you can still care for someone and not want to see them at the same time? It’s not like I suddenly can’t stand him or anything.”

“Then why did you break up?”

“I just didn’t want that kind of relationship any more. It’s hard to explain.”

“He thinks it’s something to do with the vampire.”

Valkyrie hesitated. “How much did he tell you?”

“He said you’re with a vampire now.”

She groaned. “OK, first of all, he shouldn’t have said that. Second, it’s not even true, not really. Third, you and me? We’re not talking about it.”

“Vampires are dangerous, Valkyrie. They’re monsters, pure and simple. I’m surprised Skulduggery is allowing it to continue.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Skulduggery doesn’t have a say in it, and neither do you, and neither does Fletcher. It’s no one’s business but my own.”