“The games are over now, aren’t they?” I ask. “Now she’ll drop the mask and the façade. She’ll reveal her true self.”

“It depends,” he answers before pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

“On what?”

“On whether we find Vance and he lives. Or if Arion goes through with making you his bride.”

My brow furrows and I lift my head. “What?”

“She’s not posturing. She’s sending a message without saying a single word. She’ll kill Vance, and start breaking you in today if he takes you as his bride. Or she’ll let you live on in relative peace, by her standards, and play nicely for a while longer if he concedes. This is her limit, Violet. Arion is hers. He’s simply on loan to you as a reward for all his ungratified loyalty she knows she abused.”

“At least she’s not unreasonable,” I grind out, the words dripping in sarcasm.

“She’s at the top of the food chain. I wish it was different, Violet, but if defeating her were easy, we’d have done it long before now,” he assures me. “Our plan is to slowly dilute her infamy with strategic maneuvers over a series of decades that could span up to three or four centuries. At best it’ll be two. It’s that complicated.”

Swallowing thickly, I let it all sink in.

She’s not some playground bully. She’s not some co-worker bitch.

She’s essentially a queen with a lot of power. More importantly, she’s a very influential figure in the monster world.

“How bad does Arion want me to be his bride?” I ask quietly.

“Bad enough to not give two shits if Vance dies. I’m sure he’d sacrifice most anything. You’ve allowed him to freely touch you any way he wanted to in front of anyone and everyone. By now he’s convinced it’s just within his grasp, and he won’t dare allow her to take it from him.”

My jaw trembles, and I once again swallow around the painfully tight lump in my throat.

“I was going to tell him yes when he asked, while wearing the ring Vance gave me, so that I could answer them both at the same time. I didn’t want there to be a last place,” I say on a rasp whisper. “Suddenly, a life is on the line, and my vampire boyfriend is a little too soulless to care about tedious details such as that.”

“Vance has died a lot. It’s nothing all that problematic to him. We’ve done it so often that the memories return to us sooner and sooner, making each experience—no matter the circumstances—something I daresay can be an enjoyable break from the weighted, constant responsibility. Hence the reason Vance has died a lot.”

It’s too casual and dismissive, and I’m once again reminded of the age and experience gap between us that has already caused so many issues. Death is as casual as global manipulation and a monster pecking order.

Survival of the fittest.

Lifting my head to wipe the few stray tears from my eyes, I freeze and feel my heart skip three and a half beats.

Emit turns, and he sucks in a sharp breath.

Arion is standing just inside the tent with his hands in his pockets, a cold smile on his lips, and a dead look in his red eyes with pinprick pupils.

“Fancy that. You and Morpheous go and lay claim, and Idun lets it slide. Violet accepts it with very little hesitation. I actually try to woo the girl by doing something she’ll find more special and endearing after a century of tradition, because I’m very much looking forward to finally building the future I’ve always wanted.”

He takes a step toward us, and I move toward him.

He carries on as though this is a casual conversation, as he takes a seat and kicks his feet up on the small, tent-covered bedroom.

“In an unsurprising turn of events, Violet immediately plans to reject me and fold to Idun for the very first time. Where’s that backbone now, love? Am I the only one unworthy of it?” he asks, genuinely hurt, as his claws extend and his fangs peek out from under his lip.

Emit grabs me at the elbow when I move toward Arion, and the vampire hisses as he lunges, his monster far too close to the surface.

“Damn, Arion, don’t make me fight you right now. Not today. Enough shit is going on today,” Emit says, as though I’m weak and on the verge of snapping.

My back slams into the wall, and a very odd spike of ill-timed arousal hits me like an embarrassing brick.

It fades instantly, because this entire situation is entirely too fucked up, and my head is almost scrambled.

“I mean it, Vampyre. Don’t push me,” Emit warns in a near growl, as Arion cages me in.

Reaching up, I slide my arms around Arion’s neck, and I lean up, earning a hiss when I brush my lips over his.

“Violet, for fuck’s sake, show some caution. He’s not just Arion right now, and he’s insane even on a good fucking day. You know this by now,” Emit snaps.

As Arion’s claws start digging into my hips almost painfully, his control slipping, I press closer.

“I promise to be your bride after Idun is no longer a threat to your lives. I also promise to be the bride I planned on trying to be for you starting now,” I tell him, dragging my lips over his.

His bruising grip loosens just enough to prove I have his attention.

A growl bubbles in his lips, and the pinpricks slowly disappear from sight, as he cuts his eyes toward Emit.

Emit takes a slow step back, and I lean up to bite Arion’s neck as hard as I can. A breath is jarred out of me, because he shoves me harder against the wall in punishment.

But at least I have his attention.

“Emit, you’re not going to argue. You’re going to leave, because you’re a wolf and he’s all vampire right now. I’m going to try to talk him back before he accidentally claims me, because I’m starting to get the hang of this. I think,” I say, barely darting a look toward Emit.

When Arion starts to turn his head that way again, I grab his face and pull him back, thankful Emit started using my apple shampoo. At least the scent of wolf is absent, making this less violent for the moment.

Arion snarls at me, and then he wrenches my hands above my head.

Emit starts toward me, and I shake my head, not moving my eyes from Arion until he leans down to deeply inhale my neck.

“If he claims me, Vance dies. I need this to go differently than you and Damien, and you can’t be here. What’s the worst he can do? Fuck me? Drink me? Kill me?” I ask, even as Arion growls like he’s warning me to be quiet.

Emit’s eyes fix to mine, and I see the clear reluctance in his eyes.

“I can take anything he’s got,” I assure him. “But I have to at least try to save Vance.”

My voice cracks, and Emit shuts his eyes. After another minute of hesitation, he turns and goes, never opening his eyes or looking at me again.

Clearing my throat, I immediately start talking to Arion again.

“Arion, I’m yours. You have my promise, and you can even do your invasive mind thingy to enforce it if you want,” I promise him.

The room starts steadily chilling, and he begins moving me, dancing with me in his arms to music I can barely hear. Cheers erupt as though something has happened of importance out there.

My feet sway inches from the ground, as he carries me, handling all the movement to the daring tempo. There’s almost a hypnotic effect, because I forget for a moment why I’m even trying to talk him out of this.