Falling for the Viking King & Other Bad Decisions
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F. R. Black
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1,6M
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47
Chapter 1
FAWN
The night of dismissal always feels like the longest. Maybe thatâs why the stars above Gundor Hall look brighter than Iâve ever seen them. Like theyâre mocking me, burning freely while I sit here, caged by failure.
My boots echo against the marble as I climb the spiral staircase toward General Seaborneâs office. Every step is heavier than the last, and not just because Iâm carrying the weight of rejection tucked beneath my jacket. The letter is folded and refolded, its golden seal broken, its cruel message burned into my skull.
Ten months at Pierce Charming Academy, the school created by Fairy Godmother Inc. to train the best agents in the universe, and I donât get assigned a single mission. Not Alpha. Not Beta. Not even a pity Delta. All I get is an honorable discharge.
A polite way of saying, You werenât chosen. Pack your bags. Fate doesnât want you.
I grit my teeth and keep climbing. I should be sneaking back to my dorm, hiding under my blanket until the guards come to drag me out. Instead, Iâm walking into the lionâs den, the office of my father, the man who rebuilt half of civilization and happens to also be my greatest critic.
The guards at the landing donât meet my eyes as I pass. Thatâs fine. Their pity means nothing to me now. As I glide past them toward my fatherâs office, I hold my head high.
From behind the oak doors, I hear his voice. Low. Controlled. Issuing orders to someone over the phone. My heart kicks hard against my ribs. I could still turn around. Pretend I never came.
But that would be the cowardâs way out. I might be a lot of things, but no one would ever dare call me a coward.
I take a deep breath and push the door open, stepping into a room that is all firelight and shadow. There are maps spread across his desk, covering every available space. Heâs planning for a big mission, maybe the most consequential battle weâve attempted to execute.
A mission I will never be a part of.
He looks up, stormy blue eyes pinning me where I stand, sharper and colder than my own.
âFawn.â His tone is a blade, honed and deadly. âWhat are you doing outside of your quarters? Itâs past curfew.â
âI needed to see you.â My voice comes out steadier than I expect. I step inside, close the door, and force the words out before I lose my nerve. âI got the letter.â
He doesnât ask which letter. Of course he doesnât. He already knows.
âI donât understand.â My throat tightens, but I keep my chin high. âI trained harder than anyone. I passed every exam. I was ready. So why not me? Why wasnât I chosen for even a single mission?â
Silence stretches, broken only by the crackle of the fireplace. Then he leans back in his chair, steepling his fingers.
âYou remind me of your mother,â he says finally. His voice barely softens, but the change in tone is there, a shadow of the father I knew before the war. âFierce and stubborn, but the reality is, youâre not her.â His gaze hardens again. âAnd youâre not ready.â
A bitter laugh escapes me. âRight. Because no one could ever be her.â
âFawnâŠâ
âNo, I get it. Believe me, I do.â My fists tighten at my sides. âShe was a legendary fighter, wasnât she? Everyone says so. People tell me I look like her, that Iâve got her fire. But youââ I stab a finger toward him. âYou donât see that. You only see the messier version. The one thatâs not perfect.â
His jaw flexes, eyes flicking away for the first time. âYour mother wasâŠdifferent.â
âShe was everything Iâll never be, right?â My throat burns. âThatâs what you think. Thatâs what everyone thinks. Iâm just the disappointment who inherited her looks but none of her greatness.â
âCareful,â he warns, but I detect a waver in his voice. Heâs doing what he can to maintain control.
âI was four, Dad. Four. I donât even remember her voice, I just have fragments of memories. Her laugh. Her hand holding mine. And youâve spent my whole life reminding me of what Iâm not. Do you have any idea what that feels like?â
His shoulders sag slightly, but he straightens immediately, sliding the mask of command back into place. âI will not let you walk blindly into a mission you are not prepared for. Not because I am your father, but because I am the commanding general. You are a risk, Fawn, a liability.â
Now that stings, but I canât show him how bothered his comment makes me. I canât let him see heâs struck a nerve.
The fire snaps in the background, throwing shadows that dance like ghosts. His eyes narrow, but for once, I see something else beneath them. Not disappointment, justâŠgrief.
âYou donât know that,â I snap. âYou didnât see me in training. You didnât seeâŠâ
âI saw enough.â He rises, the weight of his uniform and presence filling the room. âYouâre quick, yes. Clever, yes. But missions require more than speed. Youâll be thrown into a completely different world with danger around every corner. You might think the goal is to win the heart of the target, but the real goal is to save worlds. To save lives. These missions require Fateâs blessing. And Fate has spoken.â
My hands curl into fists. âSo thatâs it? I just leave? Go back underground like none of this mattered?â
His eyes flickerâregret, maybeâbut itâs gone too fast to catch. âI can live with your resentment. I refuse to bury you like I buried your mother.â
For a heartbeat, I almost crumble. Instead, I square my shoulders just like he taught me.
âIâm not delicate. Iâm not a âlittle Fawn.â I was chosen by Fate. She gave me my Agent number: 555. That has to mean something.â I try to control the overwhelming emotions bubbling up within me. âMore than anything, Iâm a Seaborne, just like you. I am your daughter, and if you taught me one thing, itâs to never give up.â
He studies me in silence, the storm brewing in his eyes unreadable. Finally, he exhales, a long, tired sound that makes him seem less like a general and more like a father. For once.
âThen prove it,â he murmurs. âNot to me. Not to this academy. To Fate. If she truly wants you, sheâll give you another chance.â
His words ignite something in me.
I nod once, sharp as a salute. âFate doesnât determine my path, General. I do.â
Unwilling to hear what he says next, I walk out before he can respond.
***
I shouldâve gone back to my room. Shouldâve buried the dismissal letter beneath my mattress and cried into my pillow like a normal reject cadet.
Instead, Iâm parked in Gundor Hall, way past curfew, practically begging to get caught.
The academy loves its rules. No skipping drills. No bending protocol. And definitely no falling in love. They donât want us getting mixed up with other cadets. It messes with the mission.
Of course, thatâs one of the first rules cadets break. I mean, what do you expect? Weâre all hot as hell and in our prime. People are always hooking up in shadowy corners and in between library stacks.
But me? Iâm not here for a midnight hookup. Iâm here flouting the rules because everything I have ever worked for in life has amounted to nothing. I only have a few nights left in these grand halls, so Iâve decided to take advantage.
I drop down onto a velvet chaise positioned near the main hearth. As I sit, a wave of disappointment and anger washes over me. I really thought I could make a difference. Only now do I see how naive Iâve been.
Whatever message I thought Fate was sending meâthat I was special, destined, chosenâI was wrong.
Shadows from the fire crawl along the red couches and silver trim. My pulse thuds with each tick of the clock. Itâs only a matter of time before a guard drags me off for breaking the sacred curfew. Maybe Iâm just looking for trouble.
And still, I wait.
Because the truth is, I canât walk away without knowing why I wasnât chosen. Not once. Not for an alpha or beta or even a throwaway delta mission. I trained until my lungs bled, studied until my eyes blurred, and for what? A letter that says Iâm not good enough.
Thatâs bullshit.
Iâm faster, stronger, and more willing than any other recruit walking these halls. Without question. My courage doesnât crack, no matter how many times I hit the ground. And every time I look in the mirror, I see herâmy motherâs fire in my face, the only thing that still connects me to her in any significant way.
My whole life, my father trained me for greatness, told me it was my birthright. Now, heâs the one sending my ass out of the academy.
When I was first accepted into the academy, there were high expectations for me. I am the daughter of General Seaborne after all. The man who commands all Fairy Godmother military units on Earth and arguably one of the most powerful men in the universe.
People expect greatness from me. I expect greatness.
And yet, here I am. The nepo baby that just couldnât.
Every minute I spend outside my room heightens my chance of getting reprimanded. Tonight is my last night at Pierce Charming Academy. I might as well break all the rules while I still can.
Plus, there is only one man in the academy more feared than my father, and itâs not like heâs going to pop out of nowhereâŠ
âMs. Seaborne.â
Every muscle in my body locks.
No. It canât be. You have got to be absolutely kidding me.
I twist around, and all the heat drains straight out of me.
