Violet will overlook me brutally torturing one who fed from kids. With any luck, it may even turn her on to know how ruthless I was with this one, considering his offenses.

My lips curve up, and the shifter bloody pisses himself, forcing me to stop breathing so I don’t have to soil my lungs with the foul stench.

Just for that, I’m going to stretch him out by his limbs and then run some of my biochemically engineered pencils through him, while sawing off pieces he’s most attached to. Should be a splendid evening for me.

“Stop thinking of all the ways you’re going to torture him and speak freely,” Vance says, cutting through all my fun fantasies. “Otherwise, I’m going to kill him quickly and deny you the reward for your assistance.”

Looking away from the shifter I can’t fully decide how I want to kill, I pull my small, time-consuming painting from my jacket pocket and hand it over to him.

He glances down, frowning. “Why does a portrait of Idun’s face answer my question?”

“It’s actually Idun’s neck that will answer your question,” I state flatly.

“A purple necklace?”

“I couldn’t quite capture the beauty of it, because it looked very easy to replicate, yet turned out to prove impossible to achieve. It annoys me still,” I prattle on in my tangent. “But yes, a purple necklace. That necklace was gifted to Caroline by Pandora. Idun liked it so much she took it for herself. Blessed by Pandora, this necklace was actually a way to channel the power of her hope.”

He cants his head, almost like he’s now recognizing the necklace Idun never wanted painted on her, never wishing to call attention to it.

“What?” he asks coldly. “What do you mean? This fucking thing allowed her to channel her hope’s power?!”

“You’re getting angry. I’ll stop talking and you won’t hear the best part, if you continue to get angry. This is why we can’t have honesty,” I point out.

His eyes narrow.

“It would have been nice to know she was extorting a powerful fucking necklace that Pandora herself had gifted Caroline, Arion.”

“Pandora was a fool for believing Caroline could keep it a secret,” I say with a careless shrug. “Caroline was a fool for constantly trying to make Idun like her.”

“Caroline was mentally destroyed and physically disfigured by Idun. I know you’re insane, but understand that Caroline will likely be a very heated topic with Violet. Try to remember how to seem more sympathetic, because I don’t think Violet will understand how genuinely impossible it is for you to conjure an absent emotion,” he cautions.

I make a mental note of that. I’m almost positive I can mock sympathy.

“Anyway, I’m telling you now, as a true gesture of my intentions,” I go on, watching his offensive stance ease just slightly. “I can’t tell you things if we’re going to fight about them all individually, and I can’t remain neutral if I tell you too much. Just know I’m a wealth of information, and it’s best if I remain an equal member.”

“Stop negotiating, Arion, and please fucking tell me that you have this necklace in a vaulted, secure location that bitch can’t find.”

“I’m the only one who knows its location, since I’m paranoid enough to be worried that freak Demetria would pry into any beta’s mind and find it too easily,” I say on a tired sigh. “It would have been nice to find a way to kill off Idun’s favorite, before she dug her way up. You had a thousand years to track her down, Van Helsing.”

He glares at me.

“If Demetria harms Violet—”

“Quit being dramatic and tell me you know for certain that necklace is untraceable. Stick to the important things like that,” he cuts in.

“It’s untraceable. I hid it from her once just to test the theory.”

“Who paid for that crime?” he asks me, eyes narrowing to slits. “Certainly not you, I assume.”

“Why does it matter? You said to stick to the important things.”

“You don’t understand that it will be important to Violet if ever it becomes relevant to her. Violet is like a new beacon for omegas from all groupings, and even your favorite beta, who we both know is only as good as she is because you helped her cheat her way into her spot. Does Violet know why you did that, Mr. Loyal and Faithful?”

I glare over at him.

“I’m being generous by sharing this information, and you’re threatening me with private information, Van Helsing.”

He blows out a frustrated breath.

“I’ve only ever seen Shera as a sister, regardless of the nostalgia her appearance recreated. It just left me with a soft spot for her, but everything else stayed very soft as well, if you must know. And though I wasn’t tempted by Shera, I’m still a sliver of man, prick. I’ve found women attractive and even alluring. But mild temptation is different from surrender,” I tell him, bristling when he continues staring directly at me.

His bloody lips twitch like he’s just won.

Son of a bitch.

The amusement in his eyes is so immediate that it catches me off guard, and I end up battling a stupid smile.

“You baited me into that confession, even though it’s completely off topic, for a reason, didn’t you?” I guess.