Chapter 55
Violet
My hands shook at the thought. It was unsettling, to say the least. I had been so sure. We both had been so sure that we were mates. It had been the only reason we’d gotten married in the first place. The thought that it had been a lie made me doubt the past seven years, made me doubt the mark that was still on my wrist. It felt like everything I knew about how I had come to be here, now with Theodore, with Darkmoon, and everything else was only half real.
In some ways, so much of who I was right now felt half real if…
If Lucas and I hadn’t been mates. If we hadn’t been blessed by the Goddess, then what—
“Violet?” I lifted my head and looked at her. She smiled. Her eyes were warm with understanding. “You should not send yourself into the depths of panic over something so small.”
I clenched my jaw. “... small?”
Her gaze softened. “Dear Violet, did you really… think that Goddess would send you – you of all people – someone as small as Lucas proved to be?”
I could barely breathe or think as her words rattled around inside me.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked, gripping the necklace tightly in my hand. The pendant felt warm, as though it pulsed with some unseen energy. “I-I know what I felt. What was confirmed.”
The priestess smiled faintly, her expression unreadable. “It’s not important right now. You’ll find out in due time, but you should start to question what exactly you know to be confirmed.” She trailed her fingers over my wrist. “This… is a truth, but is it the truth you believe it to be?”
She met my gaze. “Or is your conviction lending more to it than it deserves?”
“You make it sound… like this is my fault. That I should have known.”
“Oh, please don’t take it that way.” She smiled. “Those whose faults it isare long dead, and I promise they are still suffering for it.” She bumped shoulders with me. “That does not mean you have to suffer for it any further.”
“Thanks… Did my mother ever tell you how unsettlingly vague you could be?”
She chuckled. “Often and very loudly.” Her eyes twinkled. “Though you will find in time, just as she did, that I am never wrong.”
She tilted her head, studying me with a gaze that felt far too penetrating. “You’re carrying a great deal of weight, Violet. The bond you shared with Lucas is a wound, and like all wounds, it takes time to heal. But unlike most, it’s one that lingers—an echo that interferes with your true path.”
I frowned. “Are you saying this... thing between me and Lucas can be destroyed?”
She paused, her expression growing serious. “No bond is unbreakable, but the remnants of it—those are tricky. They’re intertwined with who you are, your spirit and your magic. Cutting them away is like removing a scar; it can be done, but not without time… and perhaps with causing more harm.” She smiled. “Though I suppose in your case it will be more like cutting out a cancer.”
She pat my hand. “You know well enough what it did for your mother, but for you, it is more a token for protection and happiness in your bond,” she explained. “It will help ease the remnants of the bond with Lucas, dulling their interference and giving you an easier time. Eventually, it will be as if it never existed. It’s not a quick solution. It will take strength and time—something you have in abundance, whether you realize it or not.”
My fingers tightened around the necklace. “Thank you… but why give me this now? From what you’re saying… it would have headed off a lot of drama if I’d had it before.”
She sighed. “There is a long answer to that may one day bring you some peace, but not now. The short one is because you need it now,” she said simply. “Your bond with Theodore—whether you see it yet or not—is something worth protecting.”
I scoffed lightly. “Theodore and I have a contract, not a real bond.”
“Do you believe that?” she asked, her tone gentle but firm. “Do you feel that, or do you wish to believe it because it would be much easier?”
I hesitated, unsure how to answer. My heart and mind were at war, the logical part of me clinging to the fact that we did have a contract, while another part—a quieter, more vulnerable part—wasn’t so sure.
Her gaze softened. “He has… left a deep wound in you.”
I flinched and looked away. “I’m fine.”
“You are,” she said. “I never doubted it, but that does not mean that the wound is not still there.” She leaned against me. “You fight too hard against your draw toward Theodore,” she said softly. “It will only make things harder for you both, and it is not fair to you.”
“I—” I started to protest, but she raised a hand to silence me.
“Tonight is not a night for debate, and I am not saying this to poke at you, dear. I simply wish to give you something to think about.” She pinched my cheek. “Promise me you’ll think about it?”
I hesitated but nodded.
“Stay on your guard, Violet, and let yourself see what unfolds.” I stared at the pendant for a moment longer and she continued. “All things can be destroyed, Violet, but you may find you don’t need to expend the energy.”
With that, she rose.
“Perhaps it’s better used to grieve… to heal.” She chuckled. “You certainly have a lot of both to do.”
Her words hit me like a blow. Grieving wasn’t something I had ever allowed myself to do. Not over my mother, my father, or Lucas. The betrayal and all the dreams that had been held out of my reach for years.
“Come back inside soon. There’s still a celebration to enjoy and a future waiting for you.”
I nodded numbly. “Soon. I promise.”
She hesitated but nodded and headed back down the path that led to the ballroom. For a moment, I let myself breathe in the crisp night air, trying to steady the swirl of emotions inside me. The necklace felt heavy in my hand. Her words swirled in my mind. Part of me wanted so much to ask her to give me a straight answer, but I knew nothing was ever be that easy. The High Priestess said what she said because the Goddess moved her to say it.
It was all I was meant to know for now, and I didn’t have the strength or clarity to reach out to the Goddess the way I had in my youth.
There was too much hurt there. I sighed. The reason for it all would come eventually. I just had to wait for it to come.
Time. She’d said that the token would give me time. I clasped my hands together. My heart aching. I was still angry. Frustrated. I hated not having answers. I hate feeling like I couldn’t ask for them outright, either.
Goddess, I hated waiting.
It felt like back when my father first started to fall sick. All I could do is watch time pass, watch him get worse. No matter how many trips I took across the border, how many rogues I fought, how much I fought, nothing had helped.
Still, I guess it could be worse. My lips twitched as I looked down at the mark on my wrist. It was lighter, I thought, and that vision, the warmth and all-encompassing bliss when Theodore marked me had been real.
I pushed to my feet, taking a deep breath and wishing that things were simple again. I tucked the pendant into my pocket and turned to head back to the party. For a moment, I was dazed by the bright, glowing lights of Midnight Park’s ballroom spilling out of the windows.
I smoothed my gown, straightened my spine, and lifted my head, ready to head back inside. I turned to walk down the pathway and stopped before I had even taken a step. The air shifted around me with a warning. The moonlight practically hummed in my ears. It felt a bit like being out in the forest, hunting rogues.
Someone was there in the shadows, so still that they blended, but I could feel them. I could feel their hostility like a live wire. A low, familiar growl filled the air. It sounded angry. Irritated. Threatening.
I narrowed my eyes, glancing up at the hotel. My room was too high up and on the other side of the building to hold to summon my daggers. It didn’t feel like there was more than one person there, so I slipped my hand down my waist to activate my personal surveillance. It hummed against my spine, telling me it was active.
“Who’s there?” I asked. “Show yourself.”
The figure stepped out of the shadows, scoffing. “You must think it’s funny…”
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you want, Lucas?”
