Gypsy Truths (All The Pretty Monsters #6)- Kristy Cunning Page 0,109

the color of her lipstick, and her tan skin still glistens with the youth she stabbed the world to take.

I remember once thinking she was a stunning beauty. Now she seems like a cold, vapid shell of the person she once was.

“Eternity hasn’t treated you very well. You’ve gone mad and you still fight for Idun,” I bite out, meeting her cold gaze.

“Indeed. Eternity has been a bitter harvest to reap. I’m not gambling what little bit I have left on the losing side. I watch Idun TV. Your girlfriend looks to be nothing more than a sad little parasite. Idun’s clearly toying with her, giving her plenty of leash. You all look like fools for loving that girl and building her a sanctuary with no future.”

I open my mouth to speak, but she carries on, while spinning the ring on her middle finger.

“You think with your dicks. It makes me grateful for my vagina. I’ve lived too long to be short-sighted or naïve. It’s baffling how foolish you’ve gotten, but I’m sure your dick’s had plenty of fun. I hope it was worth it, Van Helsing.”

The burning in my left hand reminds me what woke me up in the first place, and my eyes drop, even as Idun TV starts playing on a new mirror.

As I struggle to move my hand through the thick, endless chain cocooning me and find out why only that one spot is burning, Pandora keeps speaking.

“I’ve tried to seek your reason for your actions. I’ve watched all the footage. You don’t even know how long she’s been above ground, Van Helsing. You have no idea what’s truly been going on. Idun’s been preparing. The only true purpose your girlfriend has served was expediting Idun’s public reentrance into the world.”

“She’s been up longer?” I muse, trying to give nothing away.

Her eyes turn and assess me too shrewdly, proving I’ve given something away. I’ll blame it on my circumstances and disorientation.

“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