Her smile falters just a little more, but she tries to recover.

“What have you told them?” she asks, as she works to hide her irritation.

“You see, I made one promise, and that promise was that you wouldn’t be a problem. Then you go and beat Violet into the ground right in front of me,” I carry on through clenched teeth, feeling the monster rise to the surface.

I scratch my eyebrow, laughing bitterly, as I move over, working her toward the center of the room. She takes a step back, cold eyes assessing me.

“All these centuries of such strong loyalty, and you couldn’t grant me one request. For that, I was punished today. By Violet. The cruel girl made me watch how fucking stupid I truly am.”

“Arion, this was not personal. You’d have done the same damn thing with any other beta. I’m not even sure what sort of fucked-up omega she is, but I’m letting the abomination live, simply because you’ve taken a temporary liking to her. However, the girl is simply getting underfoot,” Idun calmly argues.

“All the while, Violet was telling us not to let you become her problem. She warned us quietly, and none of us heard her. Our listening skills are subpar.” My hands come together again, as I give her a cold smile. “Everyone always said I could have changed the war by uniting the front against you.”

That heat in her glare warms the air around me when I set off her temper a little with that jab.

“You were just the cushion between forces, Arion. Don’t get cocky. You should be smarter than them by now,” she cautions. “Your little girlfriend has resilience as an effective gift, but I’m unstoppable when I’m actually trying, and you know it.”

“You’d have cut her in half today with that little punch at the end if you’d really been able to,” Damien says, causing Idun’s head to jerk to the right.

“Yeah, I told them the truth about how your sense of smell is no better than a Simpleton’s,” I say with a mocking grin, as Damien drops the illusion. “Now they know you can’t sense them. I always was your nose.”

“He’s lying. I know you’re all in here, so you can drop the charades, Damien. They’re no—”

Her words die when the more complicated, certainly well-executed illusion drops, which means the floor falls away as well, since it was never real. The chain she never felt being attached to her throat yanks tight against the heavy Van Helsing collar. Her words die on a choked sound, as she drops ten feet down the hole she had no idea even existed, and I crack my neck to the side.

Vance moves to the edge, along with Emit, as he smirks down with the rest of us. Damien merrily skips to the edge, smiling, as he looks down as well.

Idun’s eyes are turning bloodshot, as she struggles with the confining chain and collar attached to her neck, legs jerking as she flails for air.

“I also told them how you hate suffocating and how it frazzles you, though you had no idea I took note of such things like that, I’m sure,” I tell her idly, checking my phone to see if Shera’s returned my text.

She hasn’t. I think this is the first time she’s had the bollocks to be cross with me.

My lips twitch as Damien takes a seat, propping an arm on his knee, as he just grins down.

“You forgot how remarkably strong I am when I can feed, Idun. Even stronger when I feed regularly from another true immortal. Not that you ever let me do such very often. Now I remember why you were such a cold bitch—you worried what I could do to you if I ever reached my peak.”

Her cold eyes turn back to mine, even as she finds herself unable to do the one thing she loves to do most: Talk.

“Nadine will handle all cases dealing with the sanctuary in the future, and she will default to Violet’s decision,” Vance says coldly.

She jerks in the chains, and I roll my eyes.

“Yes, yes, I know. She’s an omega and has no right, but it doesn’t really matter. You see, the thing I promised Violet—what we all essentially promised her—was that we are her monsters,” I add so that she understands the seriousness of Vance’s demand.

“Now we know what that means,” Emit tells her, as he crouches near the edge, wolf eyes shining.

“If Violet wants to be a sanctuary, she’ll be a motherfucking sanctuary, and you can let a few shifters go whenever she asks it. In the grand scheme of things, she’s asking for so little,” Vance goes on as he absently shines his sword.

“You couldn’t be touched in that ring back there, Idun. We couldn’t start a war, cost Violet even more just so we could skip our punishment,” Emit states, as she continues to pointlessly writhe.

“She’s only got about another five minute window before she can break free, so let’s wrap this up so we can put her on ice,” I say, twirling my finger, as Damien drops the last illusion in the room.

All the hidden features reveal themselves, as Damien buffs his nails, proud of how well he’s executed his part of this plan.

I hit the lever on the side of the wall, since I reserved the honors for that. Idun’s eyes widen as the chain drops, and the lower floor lights up, coming into view.

“I planned to stay neutral, but I also planned a backup plan with all my knowledge, Idun. Violet’s just a little impatient, but since we’re her monsters, I’ll skip ahead.”

The chain drops the final length, and she splashes into the pool below.