Page 21 of Daddy's Justice

All three of them jumped. Kara and Edda exchanged panicked looks. Both had been over my knee before and knew how I ran my team. Gossiping was not allowed.

“Forseti! Oh! I didn’t see you there.”

Kara was the first to speak, I stopped her rising with one hand, motioning her to continue braiding Morrigan’s hair. Coming around, I stood in front of them, hands on my hips, looking down.

“How much of that conversation did you hear?” The panic was clear in Edda’s voice.

“Enough to know that my team members have forgotten some of my more basic rules,” I scolded. I wasn’t angry. This wasn’t the type of gossip that my rules were based around. It wasn’t bitter, hateful and negative. I considered this more along the lines of girl talk. Even so, I would let them worry for a while.

“How was your trip to see Odin?” Kara asked, changing the topic.

“Odin wasn’t there, but Frigg was. She verified that an attack is imminent. We need to get to work on training Morrigan.” Once Kara was finished with the braids, I reached my hand down to Morrigan, helping her stand. Her scent wafted up to my nostrils, a hint of fresh, crisp cucumber. I resisted the urge to pull her into me and kiss her deeply. “Frigg told me that your adoptive family had you involved in martial arts?”

* * *

Morrigan

He called them my adoptive family. It was incredibly hard to think of them as anything but my parents and siblings. Who cared if we didn’t share blood or DNA? I loved them regardless.

Forseti stared at me, waiting for an answer. I swallowed quickly, fighting back tears. Where did all these emotions come from? I had never cried before today and now I found myself fighting back tears at every turn.

“I won the lottery with my parents. They loved me the same way they loved my siblings. They taught me how to be a good person, and they taught me how to protect myself in case something happened to me. I am a black belt in Krav Maga. I’ve been in martial arts as long as I could walk and I am rather good at it, if I say so myself.”

“Krav Maga?” Edda asked.

I had almost forgotten they were in the room. When Forseti was around, he commanded my full attention. I was magnetized to him.

“Krav Maga was developed to combine the most effective techniques from a wide variety of martial arts, street and fight training. The Israeli army used it to make them one of the strongest armies in the world,” I explained.

“On Midgard, you mean,” Kara corrected.

“Yes, on Earth.” It was hard for me to imagine another world out there beyond the one I had grown up on. “Krav Maga stands for contact combat. I learned self-defense, arrest and detainment moves. My training focused on cultivating my natural instincts to make me stronger, faster and more aware. I quickly moved to the highest level.” It was an accomplishment I was proud of. I had surpassed even my father and brothers.

“The barest of lessons.” Edda shook her head, dismissing my accomplishment. “We have a lot to teach her.”

“I wouldn’t write her off so easily,” Forseti scolded. “She is the strongest valkyrie we’ve seen born in many generations.”

“How do you know that?” Edda gaffed, looking at me.

I tried to hold back the defensive words tumbling around in my head. Part of me wanted to hear his answer, another part of me didn’t care. I knew I was strong.

“Frigg told me.”

“It makes sense,” Kara said. “Look at who her parents are.”

“Great,” I muttered. “As if the pressure wasn’t already enough.”

“Morrigan.” Forseti took me by the shoulders. “Do you know who you are named after?”

“My mother said the name comes from Celtic mythology. A shapeshifter not unlike Loki. Morrigan was a goddess of war, fate and death,” I recited

“Morrigan translates to ‘great queen’. It fits you very well,” Forseti said. “I have complete faith in you, my beautiful little goddess.” The tender endearment flowed from his lips.

I noticed. I was pretty sure that Kara and Edda noticed, too.

“Let’s get started on discovering your gifts.”

“Did Odin or Frigg give you any indicator to her talents?” Edda asked.

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