“You know she’s been up longer than she claims,” she deduces. “You’ve discovered one of her breadcrumbs? She always leaves you breadcrumbs when she plays with you.”

“I didn’t find it. Violet found it,” I confess.

“Oh, so you know Idun was your favorite housekeeper?” Pandora asks, watching my expression.

I can’t keep the surprise off my face, and my jaw grinds before I can stop it.

Pandora grins. “Clearly that’s news to you. So you learned about the she-wolf she imitated?” she guesses.

Whatever is in my eyes is what gives her the answer, because she grins as though that pleases her.

“Silly wolf,” the lunatic crows, and then barks and howls.

My attention turns to the screen, where Arion and Damien stand alone. Where the hell did the wolf go?

Arion seems barely in control of himself, as he jerks a pack of blood away from Emily’s hand and tears into it like he’s thirsting to death.

“What do you expect to gain from my death? Why the hell did you bother going through all this just to kill me?” I grind out, glaring over at her.

“I don’t want to kill you. I like my new show, and it’ll be cancelled if the finale starts too soon. It’s fun to watch Idun’s puppet show. Whether you live or die depends on the vampire and the Simpleton Portocale,” she answers, sighing happily when the camera pans to the Simpleton tent, where Bobo is hanging his head.

The Simpletons are all quiet, eyes cast downward. No doubt they’re in the finals of tag. Everyone else would have found a way to lose to avoid being in that match with Idun.

Emit wouldn’t have even been able to keep his alphas in the running, because no one can spare the indignity right now.

“All because Arion plans to take Violet as his bride tonight,” I mutter under my breath.

“The bloodsucker wants his bride. The old cow wants back in her pasture with her four bulls. The Van Helsing wants to live another day. I simply want my pets left alone.”

My gaze flicks between her and the screen, as she caresses the cheek of Bobo on the image.

“You made a deal with the devil again, didn’t you?” I bite out.

“The only devil I know is your first beloved,” she says in response, not looking away from the screen. “You’re a fool to not realize I’ve always been helping her, Van Helsing. It proves I’ve been wise in choosing my side,” she carries on.

It takes a long moment for that to sink in, and it chills me to the bones once it does.

“You hated the Portocale curse, but it wasn’t a priority of cases to solve. In a way, you enjoyed knowing another died,” Pandora tells me, and then turns and winks, while pressing her finger to her lips in a shushing motion.

As if she believes all she thinks to be true, she doesn’t give time for a rebuttal.

“I won’t tell on you to Violet. She’s too soft. She’s also remarkably arrogant for one so soft,” she continues, returning her attention to the screen. “You really do let too much slide with her.”

She releases a mock sigh, tsking me. All the while, her attention stays on the TV.

The chain finally shows enough of a gap to catch a glimpse of a black line that almost resembles a tattoo.

I don’t have a tattoo.

“What do we have here?” Pandora asks, as I try to move my hand out of sight.

I glance up, just as she moves her hands outward, and the chains part enough to show her the front of my hand.

My gaze quickly drops on reflex, the curiosity burning as steadily as the sizzling fucking skin on my hand. A watching eye symbol seems to be getting branded on the patch of skin between my thumb and index finger.

A breath of pain hisses between my lips when it gets particularly scorching. Suddenly, the pain subsides, though there’s a constant dull burn that stays steady.

“What’s this magic, Van Helsing?” Pandora asks in a calm tone, eyes narrowing.

Since I have no answers, I don’t speak, but I do take the opportunity to shove my hand through the opening. The chains latch on, and my blood boils once more, rendering me helpless for long enough to be sealed back in place.

Uselessly struggling against the chains, I look for any possible silver. Then I feel something hard against my wrist. Surely, she didn’t leave a weapon on me. The witch isn’t that careless.

I’m certain I feel it, though.

My eyes move to her, doing all I can to give nothing away. Maybe she’s so crazy she overlooked it while spinning me in the unknown-metal chains.

“I see you’ve kept your edge over the centuries,” I note, admittedly sounding bitter about it.

She smiles and bats her lashes, enjoying the compliment.

“Indeed I have, Van Helsing. How kind of you to notice,” she says.

My eyes flick to the screen, hoping she does the same thing. Instead, she keeps her gaze on me, while my brow furrows at the sight of Violet in…

What the bloody hell is the girl wearing now?

“I can only assume Bobo picked the uniform for the Simpletons,” I note, staring with some horror at the overalls covering the baggy T-shirt.

She’s wearing a sweatband around her head, and her hair is pulled up in a ball on her head. Don’t even get me started on the high-top white sneakers.

Idun steps forward in her sports bra and unnaturally tight-and-indecently short shorts.

“She can pull that look off better than you,” Anna says to Violet.

Violet glares at her, since this is the perfect time for her to be glaring at a ghost only gypsies can see. On live TV.

She’d look a fool to anyone who couldn’t hear or see Anna.

In all honesty, she’d look a fool to those people too.

“Now is really not the time,” Violet bites out.

“She’s too stupid to understand she’s not being brave,” Pandora chides, still not looking away from me. “You have a Simpleton girlfriend with a Portocale spine. You see her as someone clever, crafty, and quirky. Young love. It always makes you an imbecile when reality comes crashing down.”

My gaze returns to hers, as she shows true emotion for the first time. Anger and bitterness crest in her eyes, as the chains tighten on me.

“Bobo was the love of my life, but he unfortunately had no spine. His heart took up too much space,” she says, as tears gather in her eyes.

“Neoprys and Portocales are the only ones to have ever harmed Simpletons in any manner—body or mind,” I’m fast to point out.

“Oh, but you broke their spirit. They had so much respect for all of you, Van Helsing. Especially you. As broken as you were, you’d always taken up for them. You’d always shown Bobo even more respect than you’d shown a woman. Even the woman you intended to sacrifice a piece of silver for. Such a huge sacrifice for all eternity,” she says, the last part dripping with sarcasm.

“Honestly, Pandora, it’s nothing but a dead horse you’re all beating. I’ve suffered severely for my shallow sacrifice.”

My gaze flicks back to the screen, and I watch as Idun smirks. In the next instant, she blurs across the field, and she slams into Violet so hard I hear numerous bones crack and echo through the otherwise silent stadium.

Violet makes no sound other than a slightly pained grunt when she hits the ground in a broken, lifeless heap.