"It means," Erskine informed Solomon, with all the tone and demeanour of someone very much issuing a challenge, "that I may have to get you back somehow. The ball's in my court. The war's on. You're blind. Expect a rebuttal."

Valkyrie blinked in confusion. She'd all but resigned herself to the inevitable, and now the Grand Mage - the Grand Mage - was telling her parents she was perfect for the job? People were flip-flopping all around her, reacting in ways she would never have expected and hardly dreamed of, and... and far from being happy about it, Valkyrie found herself a little annoyed. She was going to get rewarded for all of this? Why couldn't someone have told her that sooner?

Of course, she still had her parents to consider. If they ever said yes to the apprenticeship, it definitely wouldn't be right away.

Skulduggery, who had actually been sitting quietly up until his acknowledgment in the conversation, nodded in response to Corrival's head jerk. "Yes, sir."

Valkyrie couldn't help it. She giggled. Des shot the detective a quick look, but what was actually in that look, Valkyrie didn't notice in time. Skulduggery, for his part, would have looked perfectly neutral if it weren't for a small telltale twinkle in his eyes Valkyrie had learned very quickly to look out for. He was on the verge of smiling. Whether it was over his half-joke or Corrival's words was a mystery.

"What does that mean?" Des asked - nearly demanded. "An apprenticeship? How much danger would she be in?"