Chapter 21
Onyx couldn’t find a child to kill. Ever since word got out about the August girl being threatened, the clans had tightened their hold on their children.
She killed a teenage boy instead, an August who was patrolling the property.
She let him scream long enough to draw others before dropping Jessup’s shredded clothes.
It was dawn before she’d finally made the kill, and she was exhausted.
Ferro wasn’t answering her texts. She knew he was upset about the jailbreak.
Maybe he’d been hurt more than he’d let on.
She worried about him, but she knew he’d want her to move forward.
The effects of the solar storm would hit sometime that day.
Wouldn’t Drakos be pleased if she was the one who brought the most power to him?
She was already on her way to Violet’s house before the first August arrived.
* * *
When Violet woke, Kade was sitting nearby watching over her. He smiled. “Feel better?”
She took note of how she felt. Not wretched, no trace of wanting to kill anyone in a mindless frenzy. “Yes, I think so.”
He helped her sit up. “I hope the hammering didn’t interrupt your rest. Your brothers and I patched up the bedroom wall. A temporary fix, but it’ll keep the weather and animals out.”
“You and my brothers worked together? And they were nice to you?” She liked that idea.
“They were civil. Though they did make fun of my hammering technique. I’m much handier with a sword than a hammer.” He showed her his thumb, which bore testament to that with its bruise.
“Aw, poor baby.” She pulled it to her mouth and planted a soft kiss on it. Which fired up the mist in his eyes. She opened his hand and moved her mouth over his palm, her gaze on his.
“I have this memory of us making love in the mud. Just bits and pieces, but I do remember it was incredible.”
“I had to keep you from slipping into your real memories.” She wouldn’t tell him how he’d tried to kill her.
“You said something about lying to keep me sane.”
She nodded. “You kept falling into memories of fighting, being in danger. I kept you in a fantasy world, which included us being married. And since making love in the mud was one of your fantasies…” She shrugged.
He grinned. “It was a nice fantasy, all of it.”
What was he saying? That he liked being married to her?
Before she could delve into that, a series of long whistles pierced the air, like an alarmed bird call. Violet turned to Kade. “There’s trouble. Big trouble.” She ran outside and strained to hear more. There was shouting in the distance, angry calls. “Clan wars,” she said. “They’re here.”
She ran back inside and called Jessup. “What’s going on?”
“There’s a lynch mob moving in from the borders of our land. They think we’re the ones behind the murders. I heard Bren say I killed Sam August. Get out of here while you can.”
Sam. Another teenager. Violet clutched the phone. “Jessup, we can’t just hide while—”
“You’re still weak, and Kade’s memories are unstable.
You’ve both been through hell. Stay out of it.
We can beat them, Vee.” She could hear the smile in his voice, his eagerness to fight.
“We’ll annihilate them the way we did the Garzas.
They’re on our land, and they’re here to kill us. We have every right.”
“But you know they think we’ve killed their people.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that they’re here to kill us.”
Kade leaned close to the phone, his cheek brushing hers. “Where’s Mia?”
“With Ryan,” Jessup said. “She’s been practicing with her dagger, and she’s not half bad.”
“But she’s inexperienced when it comes to fighting.”
“Ryan’s going to keep an eye on her. Smitten son of a bitch.” Jessup’s disgust lanced his words. “Whistle if you need us. Use the speaker system if necessary. Look, I gotta go. Be careful.”
Kade’s face sharpened in warrior mode. “We can’t let them fight alone.”
“Well, they’re hardly alone.” She could see that his own hunger to fight was still alive and well.
Another call came in. She didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”
“Violet?” A woman’s voice.
“Yes, who’s this?”
“I hear you’re having a bit of trouble with the neighbors. A shame. I know your mother always runs to the gator house to secure it at the first sign of danger. God forbid something should happen to the family’s livelihood.” She chuckled, while Violet’s blood turned to ice.
“What do you want?”
“You, darling. Alone. Leave your brain-addled lover there. Not that he’d be of much use anyway.”
Violet met Kade’s eyes and mouthed, Ferro’s accomplice. “Who are you? I obviously know you.”
“I’ll tell you when you get here. We can catch up on old times. If I see anyone else, your mother will be alligator stew.” She disconnected.
Violet turned to Kade. “She’s got my mother! In the gator pens.” She had to take deep breaths or she’d be hysterical. “She wants me to come alone. If she sees you or anyone, she’ll kill her.”
Kade shuddered. “With the alligators? Hate those things,” he muttered. “I’m coming with you, but don’t worry. She won’t see me.”
Yes, the orb that camouflaged. “She thinks you’re brain damaged. She won’t be expecting you to help me. Are you sure you’re ready to fight?”
He stretched his arm, the dagger shimmering. “It’s what I am. If I can’t fight for the Guard anymore, I’ll fight for you.” Those moss green eyes shimmered with his conviction and devotion.
Her heart melted, but she tucked the feeling away for later. She dialed Jessup again, hoping he would be able to answer. He was breathless when he did three rings later. “What’s up?”
“I need you to get those men near the speakers.” She wasn’t going to tell him about their mother. That would set him into a rampage, and Violet needed to play this cool.
“What, you gonna serenade us with some soothing music?”
“Just do it, Jessup.” She hung up, driving her fingers through her hair as she headed to the front door.
“I can’t lose my ma.” The thought of it pounded through her, raising the old Violet who would also fly into an emotion-driven frenzy.
“She’s been through so much. I’m going to tear that Carnelian bitch to shreds when I get my hands on her. I’m going to—”
Kade took her arms and turned her to face him. “You’re the strongest woman I know, and you’re more than a capable fighter. Hell, you broke me out of the Guard’s prison. If you can do that, you can save her, Vee, but you have to keep your head.”
His confidence in her meant a lot, coming from a soldier like Kade. She only nodded, unable to say anything as she drew in his strength, his composure.
He gave her a quick kiss and said, “Let’s get your ma.”
They plunged into the woods, following the path that led toward the gator house.
When they saw a building up ahead, he whispered, “Is that it?”
“No, that’s the barn where you—” She didn’t want to get into those unfortunate hours he’d spent there. “There’s something I want to get.” She detoured to the wall of shame and stopped short. “The cuffs are gone.”
Kade stared at the weathered boards, and she saw him struggling with his memories. Please don’t go blank on me.
“The cuffs with the Lucifer’s Gold,” he said. “I think it’s my fault that they’re gone. When I was reporting in as Dune, I had to tell Ferro about the cuffs to explain why I wasn’t using my magick to escape. He must have told the Carnelian.”
“I was going to use them on the Carnelian. But she’s … damn it, she beat me to it. She’s obviously using them on my ma to keep her from Catalyzing.” Violet slapped her hand to her chest, which felt like it was caving in. “She’s helpless.”
He took her hand and gave it a squeeze, giving her strength and calm. “We’ll save her. Together we have enough power.” He lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of hers.
She took a deep breath. “Thank you.”
The crack of a tree falling broke through the sound of her heavy breathing. The mob was drawing closer. The Carnelian might kill her mother if she heard others approaching, thinking that it was Violet’s clan. She had to get there first.
In unison, they released their handhold and continued their sprint down the path.
Each minute that passed felt like an hour.
This trek had never felt so long. So arduous.
Her legs ached and her lungs burned. She spotted the gnarled cypress tree that meant they were nearly there and signaled Kade.
He pulled the orb around him and disappeared.
Violet felt eyes on her as she approached the gator house.
Her heart felt as though it weighed a hundred pounds as it thudded heavily in her chest. After unlocking the back door, she walked through the office.
She flipped the switch for the speakers just before stepping into the steamy area where the gators lived.
She walked in, breathing shallowly. A long boardwalk split the building in half, with pens on either side filled with gators of varying sizes. It wasn’t their regular feeding time, so they weren’t as active. But if someone fell in, they’d react instantly.
Her heart stopped at the sight of the woman holding her ma with her arm across her throat.
A cuff circled one of Ma’s hands, but she was calm and very still, her mouth in a tight line.
Stoic as always, but her eyes gave away her terror…
especially at seeing Violet. She gave a subtle shake of her head. Go.
Violet shook her head, too. I’m not leaving you, Ma.
She shifted her focus to the woman who was holding her, eager to figure out who this hateful adversary was.
But she didn’t look familiar. She remained close to the wall and the switch that would turn on the intercom.
Several stations were put in place as a way to alert others if someone was injured or fell into the pens.
It was a rule that the speaker system always got turned on when someone was in the gator house.
Behind her, Violet’s finger touched the smooth metal lever and tried to push it up. It wasn’t budging.