I look to Talbot, since he’s the closest thing to an expert on Hyde that we have. He’s studying them with intense concentration and some clear confusion.

“You can’t possibly be Violet. Separating yourself from Hyde so easily after something that intense wouldn’t be so simple,” Talbot bites out. “You don’t fully remember everything yet, Hyde, but I swear I won’t put you in the box.”

“There is no box,” Anna and Violet say in unison, causing me some suspicion.

Then again, Anna is nothing more than an extension of Violet, so it would make sense for them to think the same thing…

“This is scary,” I decide aloud, now wondering if we’re being hoodwinked.

Again.

“No,” Violet says, looking directly at me. “It was scary. It was scary and I couldn’t even think about it, because a mind-reading gypsy freak was living in town. Turns out, she’s been in Sanctuary, so I’m thankful for my paranoia right now. I wasn’t ready to deal with any of this, so I stuck a big pin in it.”

“It’s Violet,” Arion says with too much certainty, his lips curving up at one corner of his mouth.

“Violet sheds tears after she takes lives,” Emit argues, clearly the most suspicious. “Especially when her monster comes out.”

“When I’m killing wolves you care so much about, yes, I shed tears,” Violet says in a soft tone, before taking a deep, seemingly steadying breath.

Her hand trembles just slightly.

“I didn’t know if I’d win against Idun. I wasn’t too scared of losing. I had no idea it’d be that easy, so now I’m actually scared. I found the bottom of the hill at last. Now Idun knows what it’s like to feel completely powerless in the hands of someone far stronger, who has little to no compassion for her, simply because of everything she’s done to everyone around me, in her petty quest to target me.”

She takes another deep breath, even as Anna dances like she’s excited about something.

Violet’s shoulders sag. “Hyde’s biggest secret is that it thrives on feeding off the emotions my empathic side apparently feeds it. I never feel those things, which is why I never have any idea how anyone is feeling. My monster devours it. It’s only gotten stronger since meeting the four of you, and now I think I’ve been underestimating what you felt, simply because you’re so terrible at expressing much of anything,” Violet carries on, her tone changing to one of acceptance by the end.

As if now is the perfect moment for her to figure out the obvious.

Vance opens and closes his mouth, as though he intended to speak, but is still too confused…about one of the many things we’re all currently baffled by.

I still have no idea if this is Hyde or Violet—a problem I never considered having nor knew to look out for, before tonight.

It feels like Violet, but…I’m not entirely sure how to sense her monster whenever that suffocating presence is concealed, so how can I be certain?

Shit’s sake, I don’t know. I just don’t fucking know.

I take a seat on the ground and blow out a long breath.

“Typical men,” Anna mutters, rolling her eyes. “Too self-absorbed to notice the woman, while thinking their problems are so much more important.”

“Seriously, Anna. Stop. You’re making me sound bad, because that’s not even a thought of mine,” Violet gripes.

Anna grins.

“It must be a subconscious thought you’re repressing,” Anna quips.

Violet gives Arion a look. “Why are you smiling?”

Good question. Why does the vampire look like Christmas has come early?

“You’re stronger than Idun,” he says with far too much amusement. “I’ve never been more turned on in all my life, love. That’s why I’m smiling.”

Anna grins as though she feels complimented. Violet pinches the bridge of her nose as though she’s exasperated. Which one is suggesting the truth of how she feels about what the vampire just said?

Hyde is a contradiction to the emotion Violet shows, but her monster is supposed to be an extension. Fuck, I’m confused.

“Say something, please,” Violet says, looking to Emit, Vance, and then me.

Since the other two remain stony, I stutter out the first thing I can think of.

“I think we’re trying to understand how this is already so normal to you,” I interject, needing some direction on how she managed to get to this place so quick, so I can follow along.

“Because my life is one big cracker-box full of unique chaos, dangerous situations, and no discoverable death so far. It makes me…me. Also, I’m not okay with it, but I’m used to how hard it sucks to be me.”

Her tone is flat, as though she’s waiting for us to give an indication as to how we feel about all…this…or show an expression before she does.

Arion slips in behind her, arm going to her waist, as he bends and starts kissing her neck. Violet allows it, and even leans back on him.

“Your monster tried to force you to be with me,” Arion murmurs, as though now he’s suddenly very pleased with the twist this puts on…every single fucking thing those ghosts have done.

“My monster made me dance like a puppet on her strings for her own agenda, in some ways. She manipulated the hell out of me, and even went so far as to fake my dead best friend’s death, while also trying to force a new version of herself on me—via the triplets. When that didn’t work, she brought in a male ghost, who was in love with another woman, but suddenly found me fascinating enough to stalk…”

She rolls her eyes, leaning back to look up at Arion.

“She tried to duplicate what you and I had when you were Ace, but I had zero interest in getting to know him, which cock-blocked at least one of her manipulation attempts,” Violet elaborates very pointedly to Arion.

The vampire’s smile is so bright and cheery that you’d genuinely believe he just found heaven.

“This shit is seriously fucked up. Stop acting like it’s so exciting, please. I’m internally freaking out because how pleased you look, and I don’t want to freak out so soon after giving my monster so much freedom. I…liked it too much.”

Arion’s smile only grows.

The more she talks, the more it starts sounding as though this is undeniably Violet.

“Again, you’re seriously freaking me out. That’s not a good thing, Arion,” Violet tells him with an abundance of conviction. “For whatever reason, you all think I’m so damn sweet, which means you’re all entirely too fucked up. But you can’t just grin after what you’ve seen tonight. Not even you’re that crazy.”

The vampire is falling in love all over again right in front of our eyes, because she’s underestimating just how crazy he gets when he’s in love. Unlike her, he loves being underestimated.

Obliterating an adversary, starting a war, dancing on a bloody field, and underestimating him…

She’s spent the last several hours doing all his favorite things.

“Hyde couldn’t be this coherent. Not with…all the things apparently rolling around inside Violet’s head,” Talbot says as though he’s already convinced, but also extremely bewildered by the possibility. “Also, being in charge of the body gives it a power trip from hell. It can’t carry on normal conversation for long periods of time.”