The Volunteer
“Violet?”
The sound of my husband’s voice caused tears to sting my eyes. It wasn’t real, it couldn’t be, but it felt so fucking good to hear him. My dreams hadn’t been able to get it right until now.
“Violet? Baby, tell me it’s really you. Tell me this is fucking real.”
His voice—fuck, it was so real, so pained and broken. It was like he truly was standing in front of me. Like if I let my eyes open, I would find him hovering—
Soft hands landed on my shoulders, my eyes shot open.
“Aus?”
Austin stood in front of me, looking relieved and panicked and pained all at the same time. He cupped my face and ran his thumb over my skin. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he studied me.
This was real—or as real as the shower dream we had shared. He was standing in front of me, touching me, looking at me like I was his whole world.
We were in an empty room, soft light filled the open space, but I couldn’t see where it was coming from.
He looked just how I remembered—shaggy black hair falling into his ice blue eyes and five o’clock shadow running over his jaw.
But there were a few subtle differences.
He looked more pale, tired, he might have even lost a few pounds.
I wondered what I looked like to him. Was my face still bruised? Could he see all the new scars? Could he tell my hair was thinner from the amount of times I’d been dragged by it? Was the weight I lost obvious? Or had I appeared in front of him the way I’d looked the last time he saw me?
“Where are you, Nightshade?”
“In the mountain. I don’t know how much time we have, but I’ll tell you as much as I can.”
I started with the most important things Niko had learned.
He already knew who took me so I moved on to the devices that cut off powers gained by the incident—how they worked and where they were.
I stressed he couldn’t turn them off. It would throw the whole base into lockdown if he even tried. But it was okay to leave them.
Officer Stupid had the devices pointed at each other which stopped powers from the outside being used on the inside and vice versa. That was why Niko hadn’t been able to leave and the rest of his shadows hadn’t been able to find me, at least that was my theory.
I explained he wouldn’t be able to use his powers as he crossed the perimeter but they would return a minute or so after he got inside.
I also told him to keep his ice buried deep inside him when he crossed.
Stupid Shit was prepared for Austin to come for me and had the devices ready to alert if Avalanche made an appearance.
I was surprised he remained so calm. He just kept hold of my hands and ran his thumb over my skin. Occasionally, he asked if he could hug me—after the second I told him the answer was always going to be yes, he didn’t have to keep asking, but he did.
“I miss you,” he whispered into my hair. He was holding me so tight, yet gentle—like he was afraid he might hurt me.
I slid my hands under his shirt, running my fingers over his back and soaking in his warmth. “I miss you. Every second.”
He pulled back slightly, just enough to cup my face again. “What… What have they been doing to you?”
“I don’t… Not yet, okay? Once I’m out.”
“I’ll be there, the second I wake up, I’m coming for you.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No. You need a solid plan and back up. Plus… I haven’t… I haven’t seen the sun in weeks. I don’t—I’d rather come out at night. Please.”
“But—”
“Aus, please. I’ll be okay for a few hours. They’ll be leaving me alone anyway.”
“How do you know?”
“They…”
I really didn’t want to get into it. I knew if I told him anything he’d storm in without thinking and I couldn’t live with myself if he died trying to get me out.
“Please, I need you to trust me. You won’t be any good at saving me if you get yourself killed. Take at least a few hours to come up with a plan and get some backup. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” He nodded once. “Whatever you say.”
“Thank you.”
I was relieved he didn’t fight me more. I’d left a few things out that I was looking forward to revealing later—a bit dramatically if everything went as planned.
“Can I…” he hesitated. “Can I kiss you?”
“Yes. It took you long enough to ask.”
I smiled—for the first time weeks, I had a genuine smile I couldn’t hold back. He chuckled lightly, his lips landing on mine a second later. So soft, a feather of a touch.
Not enough.
I moved my hands, threading my fingers through his hair. His hands went to my waist and he picked me up so I didn’t hurt my neck looking up at him. I clung to him, kissing him slow, nothing but love and relief behind it.
I knew we were running out of time. That we would be ripped from this moment in our minds and I would wake up in that cell. But for a minute, I let myself get lost in it, in him. Because it was almost over. He was coming. He would get me out.
And I would reduce this mountain to fucking rubble with my husband by my side.
I woke up to Niko hovering over me. Did it work? Did you talk to him?
What? The word was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t force it out. Fuck, I needed to spend the day trying to remember how to talk.
Austin? Did it work? Did you get through?
I tilted my head. How did Niko know?
He read the confusion on my face. Sorry, I’ll start at the beginning.
He went on to explain all about another witch, an older witch who wanted to help me. He told me what Fuck Nut’s evil plan was and how the witch was involved. He even managed to explain the bridge in my mind—soulmates were definitely real.
I nodded, letting him know it did work. In fact, it was still working because the bridge was clear and I could talk to Austin right this second.
I didn’t. I didn’t want to distract him from planning.
I imagined he was probably already scouting the mountain for weak points.
I wondered who he told. Were he and Eva back on speaking terms?
I hadn’t asked any questions in our dream space because it hadn’t seemed important then, but now I was curious.
The questions kept me busy most of the day.
I tried asking them out loud, tried getting my voice to work, but we weren’t there yet.
So I moved on to planning my revenge. They were all here.
I could end all of this tonight. I wondered if that was the reason the witch decided to reinstate our connection last night.
Did she know about the meeting? About my powers?
The day seemed to drag on and on.
They left me alone, coming by twice with food but never entering the cell. It was weird to actually have a day to myself. Well, a day with just me and Niko—who was excitedly floating around the cell, chatting away.
I had to put myself back in nonreactive mode before my third meal came. It was hard because Niko was so fucking happy. I knew he missed the other shadows; I was sure he missed his moody and brooding master too (not as much as I did, but a bit), even if he insisted I was his favourite.
I finished dinner, threw the tray through the slot in the door like usual, and began pacing the cell.
It was April now. Sunset was usually around 7.
Dinner came at 5:30 every night—Niko always made sure I knew what day and what time it was so I didn’t lose track of it while I was trapped in darkness.
If it wasn’t for this little shadow, I probably would have lost my mind weeks ago.
But 7 p.m. was coming in fast and I still hadn’t been able to muster a word. I was getting more and more frustrated. I silenced myself so that they wouldn’t win and now I couldn’t get myself to make a sound so they were still fucking winning.
Niko paced with me. It’s okay, you’ll get it. It’s been a few weeks. It’s going to take more than a few hours.
Yes, rationally I knew that, but I was still upset with myself that it wasn’t coming back to me faster. Granted, I had a ton going through my mind right now, but why were a few words so fucking hard to get out?
I nodded. It sucked, but at least I could talk to Austin. The black mist was still clear, and I could feel his growing impatience. It was starting to mix with my own.
A few minutes after my dinner tray went through the slot, Niko vanished. For a second I was worried something happened, that maybe the devices were shifted because my rescue party was found. But the next second put every fear to bed.
Austin stepped out of his shadows in front of me. The relief that flashed across his face probably mirrored my own.
“Violet,” he breathed out before scooping me up into his arms and holding me tight.
As I breathed in the scent of him, I let myself cry for the first time in twenty-eight days.