Gypsy Truths (All The Pretty Monsters #6)- Kristy Cunning Page 0,124

since we’re talking nonsensical strategy and all.

“Vance is locked inside his own silver. Emit’s family will be the most loyal to us. However, he has several cousins who will turn—”

“Doesn’t matter at this point, Damien. You go and keep Violet safe. Marta set her up for failure by never teaching her the way of our world, and for making her think her monster was something far fiercer than it is in reality.”

He bends next to her, and gently strokes her cheek.

“I knew it was too good to be true. She couldn’t separate personal from business, and got caught up in her instinct once Vance was threatened. She’s a young monster, who has been fortunate enough to never lose before. It gives her too much arrogance and courage.”

I run my hand over my face.

“Shera mentioned Violet dropped her when the beta got in between you and Violet. I should have considered something like this happening,” I concede, shutting my eyes and wishing we could start this day over.

There’s a long moment of silence, and I watch the vampire continue to stroke her cheek with all his attention and affection.

He’s planning to die tonight.

We’re probably all going to die, and there will be nothing we can do to save Violet.

“She never runs away,” I finally say.

“She staked vampires after they presumed her dead. She charged wolves and gave the omegas time to flee. She broke a Van Helsing coffin and killed a barnful of wolves. She stood in the middle of an endless battlefield, while we fended off the horde. She flew toward my monster in a den of wolves. She dropped to her knees in front of Idun and took a beating for a stupid fucking shifter. We should have seen this coming,” he says on a tired breath.

It goes quiet again, and I move closer to Violet, reaching over the salt line to lace my fingers with hers.

She smiles in her sleep, and I hear her whisper our names.

“Good dreams?” Arion asks me quietly, a small smile tugging up one corner of his lips.

“The best I could give her, in hopes she wouldn’t fight the internal illusion. Some of my best work, actually. In her head, she managed to beat Idun, and now we’re all rewarding her,” I say, feeling the exhausting weight of endless dread settle heavily on my chest.

His eyes meet mine.

“We were fools, weren’t we?” he asks.

“Of course we were. She was the first thing to give us all hope for something both better and different in ages, and…”

I don’t bother finishing the sentence. We know better than to hope. Hell, the vampire’s never even bothered hoping for something else.

“The storm is terrible. At least that buys us some time to enjoy this a little longer. I dread to learn what Idun has in store, and she’s not fucking around anymore. Idun TV is off the air.”

He shrugs a shoulder at my comment, and then he stands to his feet.

“Where the hell are you going, vampire?”

“I have fifteen fucking missiles. I’m going to evacuate the town, and then I’m going to at least try to blow the bitch up. I’m not going down without at least one last punch from the useless arsenal I built. When you hear the sirens sound, you take Violet and get the fuck out with the humans. Stay hidden until we all return. Or, if she buries us, see if you can find a fucking way to dig us up. At least one needs to hide.”

“So it’s me? My illusions are by far the strongest they’ve ever been, as of late, vampire. You’re faster. You take her and run.”

“You’re the best one to protect her, because you can make her unseen,” he says, pressing a kiss to her lips. “It’s not as though I look forward to being buried. But I’ll gladly sacrifice myself to buy her time to flee with someone who can keep her safer for longer.”

He’s up and gone so fast within the next second, that I barely even have a chance to curse his wake.

“Fucking fast vampire,” I mutter.

My gaze flicks back down to Violet, who is still smiling in her illusionary dream world.

Nothing else has broken her.

I fear the lives she’s risked tonight will be the lesson she’s needed to learn, and it’ll also be the one to break her.

Chapter 35

ARION

“I’m afraid to attempt to rally anyone. Right now, there aren’t many I fully trust. It’s been too long since Idun was this ready for a fight,”