Violet’s face stays relaxed.

Damien’s distorts in a multitude of ways. His expressions change so frequently and so intensely that it really is alarming, even to me.

“I take it back. This is a terrible and reckless idea. Make it stop, Morpheous!” I shout.

He’s clearly in so deep that he can’t hear us, which is understandable, since it’s Vance’s fucking mind.

Seriously, why did I think this was a better option than him getting murdered by Idun.

“Emit, stop letting me make decisions so easily. Every once and a bit, fucking argue with me,” I grind out, glaring at the pointless mutt, who is clearly letting me away with too much.

This is all his fault. If she’s not okay, I’m kicking his ass until he can’t breathe.

Damien sucks in a sharp breath, just as Emit’s mid-stalk toward me, fist pulling back, and eyes wild with fury, as though he’s under the impression this is somehow my fault.

We both immediately turn to where Morpheous is blinking, and then he glares down at Violet.

“What the hell is going on?” Emit demands, turning that anger on Damien, where it belongs.

“The vampire backed me into a shite corner, and I didn’t think this was actually possible, but…it fucking worked. Too well, in fact,” he growls, glancing at the clock.

“Why is Violet limp?” Emit says, going to shake her shoulder. “What do you mean it worked too well?”

Damien staggers back, almost appearing dizzy, as he blinks at the clock a few times.

“We were in there for at least several hours arguing, but the clock says only two minutes have passed,” Damien states as if it’s of some importance.

“Why isn’t she waking up?” I bark.

Violet’s body stays so slack she’s practically draped over Vance.

“I managed to sync the links, even though it damn near made my head explode,” he carries on, as a single drop of blood drips from his nose. “Then…”

He pauses, his eyes narrowing on her as if he’s both angry and terrified.

“Then what?” I demand.

“She walked right through without a barrier, because Vance certainly hasn’t ever had to shield his mind from her before. I hadn’t thought that part through. I couldn’t breach it after using that much power so forcefully and abruptly just to thread the links together.”

“That sounds really undoable when you talk like that,” Emit snaps, taking several aggressive steps toward Damien.

“I didn’t expect it to work!” Damien shouts, eyes wild as he whirls around. “She’s too stubborn to listen to any-fucking-thing when she’s on a mission! She broke through and went on without me. She’s in there until she finds a way to magically break his trance, and then manages to find a way to magically get herself in danger inside memories that can’t harm her, or she’s stuck in there until the curse ends, he wakes, and forces her out of his mind.”

Emit turns and snarls at me.

“I’ve never once been in charge of this shit show. Why is everyone suddenly letting me win arguments?” I ask, reminding them both who is really at fault for this mess.

Emit takes a menacing step toward me.

Violet makes a sound in her throat, and I watch as her expression changes for the first time.

Misery. Horrified, undeniable misery.

I sag to my knees, feeling the wind suck right the hell out of my lungs with a violent vacuum force.

“Go ahead and fucking hit me, wolf,” I tell him quietly, my eyes not leaving hers, as a single tear rolls down her cheek. “I just realized she’s going to see our entire history playing out in his mind.”

My eyes turn to Damien, who is panting in exhaustion, clearly too tired to launch himself at me the way his lethal glower suggests he’d like to.

“I didn’t think you’d be able to actually do it,” I confess to Damien, sinking lower on the floor. “I just expected it to drain your power and the absurd ego trip along with it. You weren’t supposed to be able to do it, but you did it too easily.”

He grinds his jaw, hands working into fists, as his pupils dilate and his heartbeat quickens, his monster near its edge. If he had the energy, his monster would be clawing me to bits right now.

“Because I really was that juiced up, Arion. I was even stronger than I thought, and I wasted it all to put Violet in our glorious past, all because I couldn’t break her heart. You backed me into that corner, after I just took her as my Flame, and you used all of that against me. Sometimes I forget why I hated you so much. Until you make me remember,” he bites out.

“She’s a weakness you can’t extort, Vampyre,” Emit snarls, glaring over at me. “She didn’t know what she was begging for, but you did.”

“I didn’t think it’d bloody work!” I snap, my own monster damn near edging out.

“And you said nothing the entire time,” Damien says, eyes moving to Emit. “All because you don’t want to upset her any more than I do right now. You had my back on this decision, but as always, you turned indecisive when it came down to executing the plan. Some things never change.”

Emit’s jaw tics, but he doesn’t argue.

“Can you get her out?” Emit asks instead of provoking Damien.

“If I could, she’d already be out,” Damien mutters almost too low to hear, as all our gazes swing to Violet, seeing another tear streaming down her cheek.

“What are the odds she can break the curse?” I ask, gaze moving to Emit.

His lips thin, and he keeps his gaze trained on her.

“She said something about needing rescuing. Even if she has done her Violet-math and come up with a way to break his curse, she can’t be rescued among memories. She’s stuck there for the duration of the curse.”

Scrubbing a hand over my face, I study our monster. I don’t confess it aloud, but I half hope she finds yet another way to prove we’ve all underestimated her once again.

Even if it is impossible.

Otherwise, they’re all going to kill me when she wakes up, devastated and broken by the truth, for no reason at all.

And I won’t even put up a fight.

Chapter 14

VIOLET

Bodies.

A sea of bodies.

Blood spraying through the air.

Death weighing down the entire area so heavily my chest hurts.

Severed body parts haphazardly strewn about as though the scene was staged just to really stun me silent and stupid.

I…don’t even know how to react or feel right now, aside from a little queasy and mildly freaked out.

My feet tangle under me, and I struggle to stay upright. My body feels heavy, and every action I have is sluggish, as I struggle to walk on the ground that is damn near blanketed by bodies.

The scent is what staggers me. I wasn’t expecting my senses to be so sharp in here. The blood is ripe, and it’s still freshly oozing from the massacre that stretches on and on for as far as the eye can see.

I turn, nearly falling over a corpse with eyes frozen wide, when I hear voices behind me.

Idun shouts something in a language I can’t distinguish, as Emit barely shoves himself up from the ground, managing to make it as far as leaning up on his knees.