His Fire Maiden - Michelle M. Pillow Page 0,44

elements?” Violette chuckled. “I appreciate you think I’m some special spell breaker, but I’m not the end to anyone’s curse.”

“Oh, well, that’s too bad. I hear Dev likes you.” Lucien shrugged and began flipping through his dials in earnest, scanning signal channels.

Dev often looked so stoic and serious. She assumed he liked her, at least well enough to take her as a lover, but to hear it from one of his friends filled her with pleasure.

“Where do I find food?” she asked.

Lucien pointed in the direction of the dining area.

Violette bowed her head by way of a valediction and left communications to seek out the dining hall. Once alone in the passageway, she smiled to herself. It was a romantic notion, thinking she was Dev’s true love come to end a curse. She envied those who could find such happiness in life.

She moved down the corridor listening for voices, but the ship was quiet. Her fingers traced the wall as she walked, absently gliding over the seams in the metal. In love with Dev? What an extraordinary idea. She never allowed herself to consider falling in love.

The mechanical hum of a door sliding open interrupted her thoughts and caused her to stop walking.

“I’ll only be a moment. Everyone is asleep. I won’t be—”

“Josselyn.” Violette gasped, the sound causing the woman to stop speaking. Dev had lied. Her sister was on board the ship.

Josselyn turned. Her mouth slightly agape, she whispered, “Violette.”

For a long time, she could only stare. Her hands shook, and her mind became paralyzed. She’d waited for this moment when she would have the woman before her, only now she wasn’t prepared. None of the words she’d wanted to say came to mind. Every speech, every sentence was lost.

Violette screamed incoherently, charging forward. Josselyn shrieked in surprise and made a move to jump out of the way. Violette grabbed the woman’s hair. She jerked her arm back, and someone caught her wrist before she could strike.

Violette recognized Dev’s heated touch before she saw his face. He dragged her away from Josselyn. When they stopped moving, she watched Evan stand before his wife like a shield.

“You…killed,” Violette managed. All the building anger and grief flowed through her until she shook. She wanted to scream, to hit. Tears ran down her cheeks. “You…killed…”

“Violette.” Josselyn’s tone was pitying. The sound only made the pain worse. Violette didn’t want Josselyn’s pity. “Please, don’t do this. We’re sisters.”

“You’re not my sister,” Violette denied.

Dev kept a hold on her arms, and she tried to pull free of his grasp.

“Come away,” he whispered. “We’ll talk.”

“I don’t want to talk to you,” Violette countered. “You led me to believe she wasn’t on this ship.”

“Actually, I told you that,” Lochlann stated. He joined them, looking as if the noise had just woken him from a deep sleep. “It was a decision made for the safety of all on board. However, now that you know, I don’t think we have any choice but to lock you up. Dev, will you bring her to a holding area? Or should I have Jackson?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Dev stated.

“No, please, don’t do that,” Josselyn inserted. “I’ll stay away from her. Don’t lock her up.”

“Don’t try to help me,” Violette snapped. “You’re not my sister. You’re a murderer.”

“Please, Lochlann, let Dev take her to the medical booth.” Josselyn lifted her hands to show she wasn’t going to show aggression. She tried to step around her husband. “I have an idea.”

“What do you have in mind?” Evan asked, not making it easy for her to pass.

“Genetic testing will prove we’re sisters. Maybe then she’ll—” Josselyn tried to answer.

“That won’t change anything,” Violette interrupted. “The fact we shared a mother does not make you my sister. I listened to the holo-boxes. I know you were engaged to my father when he was younger. You perpetrated some crime and were put into stone, and he grew up. He married your mother, not you, and they had me out of their love. He saved her. He was a good man. Out of loyalty he had you pardoned and the second you were free you committed murder. He should have left you there to rot.”

“Do you even know what you’re saying? Do you just rewrite history to suit your storyline?” Josselyn cried in frustration. She pushed her husband forcibly out of her way. “I have given you evidence, words out of Jack’s mouth in holographic form. It should be enough to open your mind to the possibility