“He was with Idun every step of the way. I’ll trust him on this,” Damien states, rubbing his jaw.
“She won’t be able to fake the taste, though,” Arion says like he’ll be sampling Violet when suspicion mounts.
“She won’t be able to fake a lot of things about Violet,” Damien adds almost absently, as if he’s musing aloud. “Violet seems obvious and predictable, but in truth, she internalizes too much, making her unpredictable and not so easily studied.”
“Perhaps that’s why she isn’t on the scene, despite having risen,” Shera suggests. “She’s learning to be Violet? Speaking from a very worried beta’s perspective, I’ve studied up on Idun. She’s diabolical and patient enough to plan something as obvious as a grab-and-switch.”
“She’s not wrong,” Damien says on a long groan.
“I’ll not give you all her secrets, but I will warn you of something,” Arion says, sounding a little less confident in his ability to leash Idun now that he knows she’s already awake. His eyes move between Damien and me. “Idun’s family were all brought back to life. As you’re well aware, it made the collective House power stronger.”
“Thanks for the warning,” I tell him dryly.
“The warning is that you only think you know the many ways her curse differs from all ours. The reality of the situation is that you don’t have a clue. But I do.”
His lips tug up at one corner of his mouth, and my eyes narrow.
“Violet will be perfectly safe once Idun realizes where I stand, and so long as you help me get Violet, I’ll even give the three of you one pass apiece from whatever stupid thing you do to rile Idun,” Arion offers, laying out a deal with the devil before us.
Damien and I stay silent, so Arion reiterates his comment.
“One pass.” He holds up his index finger up in illustration. “Your choice of when to use it as well.”
His confidence is back, but I’ve seen it waver in the past few minutes, possibly because he had no idea she was up and already likely stalking us.
The second that thought crosses my mind, it’s like everything sinks in. She’s already likely stalking us…
“Violet is the first recorded pureblood Neopry, and by chance, she also happens to be the first pureblood Portocale immortal. Is she omega or beta, since she seems to be a combination of both? Her blood complicates the smell, since it’s so strongly Portocale, so it’s impossible to tell that way—”
“Why are you bloody rambling about this right now?” Arion interrupts, shooting an agitated look in my direction.
“Idun’s likely been working on learning the world around her. A thousand years is quite the gap, so even if she’s been stalking us, it’s doubtful it’s been for long. Crossing the sea isn’t as easy as it once was, at least not for someone who doesn’t understand the human world’s evolution. She’s lying low, since she hasn’t left an obvious bloody trail anywhere, which means she’s being methodical,” I explain. “It’s possible she doesn’t know much about Violet, because Violet is rather unremarkable to the passive eye. However, Idun will work the law against us when she returns. We need to be a few steps ahead.”
Damien opens his mouth like he’s about to get angry, so I roll my eyes before adding, “I’m not referring to Violet’s understated beauty as being unremarkable, and I said to the passive eye. Her understated beauty is quite remarkable, and Idun will hate her for it. I’m referring to the very hidden layers of Violet that only surface in moments of trust, abandon, and pure vulnerability. Aside from some of us—”
“All of us,” Arion interrupts like he knows what I’m about to say and points a finger at his chest. “I’ve had those moments from her as well. It’s possibly why I’m so impatient at current. She stopped giving me those moments.”
“When did she start?” Damien asks him on a tired sigh.
“I’m not making it up, but you don’t deserve details,” Arion prattles on like an errant child, as he looks away and sulks.
“She’s stoic with me. I never get any insight into what’s going on inside her head, so clearly you’re all special. Can we move along to the part where Idun is up and some of us can die?” Shera interjects, holding up a finger.
“She won’t be that aggressive so early,” Arion tells her. “And you’re safe. I’ve told you this.”
“I happen to have vampire friends,” she says on a frustrated breath as she shakes her head. “Obviously, I’m my number one priority, but I’d like for some of them to live as well,” she adds like it needs to be said.
“I’m not a bloody miracle worker,” Arion tells her, looking over at me.
“Back to my point: Violet is the first Simpleton pureblood, and she’s…complicated as far as bloodlines go. We have no idea what rules Idun will try to place, and now we know Edmond wants her dead as well. Until now, we’ve assumed the Portocale in her would keep her safe from joining any House. The one thing we could rely on was Portocale gypsies looking out for Portocale gypsies,” I remind all of them. “We need to plan for that, because that’s how Idun will go after Violet.”
“She won’t go after Violet. I can promise that,” Arion drones on.
“To be safe, there should be a system. Surely Simpleton Neopry monsters differ in ways that can’t be imitated, so as to counter the grab-and-switch possibility. Start there,” Shera points out, getting talked over by Arion, as he continues to argue that Idun will stay in her place.
“Shera’s heard a little bit more than I’m okay with at this point, including the part about Violet being immortal,” Damien chimes in, drawing all our attention to Shera at once.
She swallows thickly. “I sharpen your pencils. I even custom designed some especially for sharpening and for toxic poisoning,” she says, smiling brightly over at Arion. “I’m a good beta.”
“She doesn’t talk. She’s perfectly trustworthy,” Arion says with more certainty than he should be capable of.
Shera’s shoulders relax, and she picks up a few folders, stacking them onto her arm.
“I think I’ll take leave now.”
The second the door closes behind her, Damien mutters something under his breath that I miss.
“It’s like Violet discussed—betas and omegas hear far more than we pay attention to, not perceiving them to be our threat,” he says more clearly. “With Idun up, the shit will hit the fan soon enough.”
“I’m not sure I entirely understand that expression. Can someone explain it to me?” Arion asks very seriously.
I’m lifting my phone as I stand. “Call Emit,” I say, looking toward Damien. “We’re not waiting two days; we’re leaving as soon as Fiona is ready.”
As I start walking out, I hear Arion’s confused tone.
“Who the bloody hell is Fiona?”
CHAPTER 12
EMIT
“You don’t stab a psychotic vampire in the heart unless you have a suicide note prepared in advance,” Violet tells her father calmly.
I pretend I can’t hear them, even though I’m sitting in the next room.
“He can’t tell me what I can do, and he’s not going to kill me,” Tom says, again.
He really does know just e-fucking-nough to get himself killed.
“He’s a vampire!” Violet says in a louder tone than I’ve ever heard her use.
“Are you still dating him?” Tom asks seriously.
“Unbelievable,” Violet is muttering, shuffling her feet as she paces.
I track everything by sound alone, as Violet makes another frustrated sound.
“You have to stay here. You have to stay supervised—”
“I have two jobs lined up for—”
“You put a stake through his heart,” Violet interrupts, enunciating each word. “This is generous. Please don’t make me beg him for your life because you’re too stubborn to do this one and only thing I’ve ever asked you to do.”
Tom makes a huff of a sound. “Your mom’s not going to be happy you’re in a polyamory relationship with those four. They killed her family.”
I begin massaging my temples.
“A what?” Violet asks in an unusually high octave.
“Is that not the right word? I looked it up on the world wide web,” Tom says.
“The Internet, Dad. I swear, ancient vampires who’ve been buried for a century are more current than you. And I don’t think you or Mom can judge right now. You haven’t ever once acknowledged what I am since the day you walked out, and now you’re staking vampire alphas through the heart?”
Ironic how simple Violet is supposed to be.
“They murdered her family,” he says like he’s trying to drill that into her head.
“And Mom put a bunch of innocent, naïve, trusting people underground and forgot about their sacrifice when a debt, that wasn’t even theirs, was overpaid,” Violet goes on. “She’s not innocent either, and neither are you. You let me grieve my mother all alone while you held onto this really massive secret. Go to your room and stay there. Shera will babysit you while I’m gone, and the omegas will watch your every move when she’s not available.”
Tom stomps through the house like a sullen child. Violet heaves out a breath and comes into the room where I am. Each thump of Tom’s boots against the stairs echoes through the old house, before he slams the door to the bedroom.
“Kids these days,” I say with a tight smile.
Violet makes a half humored, half exasperated sound, as she drops beside me.
“Violet, this closet with all the creepy dolls, can I—”
“Don’t touch my creepy doll collection, Leiza,” Violet says sharply. “Quit trying to get rid of all my favorite things.”
Leiza and Tiara both groan from somewhere in the house.
My arm slips around her shoulders, and she doesn’t hesitate to put her head on my chest.
“I could use some sleep. What are the odds you forgive me enough to join me?” I ask her, kissing the top of her head.
She shrugs a shoulder. “I’ve gotten a lot of sleep in the past couple of days. I should actually work on making new products. The inventory is getting low.”
“No, it’s not,” Leiza calls down.
“By my standard it is,” Violet argues.
I get a pat on the chest and a quick, chaste peck on the cheek, as she stands and abandons me on the couch, moving back toward the kitchen.
I hear the cellar door open and her dropping the ladder down, as I frown at what exactly just happened.
Leiza and Tiara come down the stairs, and Tiara shakes her head like she’s disappointed in me.