Gypsy Truths (All The Pretty Monsters #6)- Kristy Cunning Page 0,174

It fades to dull black, and it slowly sinks back into the skin until it’s lost from sight once more.

“That’s how she found you after you were taken. She gives me memories instead of answers, in most cases. I had no idea I’d claimed you, until just before I turned myself over to let Anna play with Idun,” she says, her voice still strained with dread and apprehension.

It takes a second to really digest her words.

“You claimed me?” I ask, those words standing out above all the others.

“For a lack of another term, you’re my mate, Vance,” she says with a lot more apprehension, eyes warily gauging me. “I didn’t mean to force you into it, and I have no idea how permanent it is. As far as I know, it doesn’t do any sort of cosmic ownership that forces you to feel things for me. But…you’ve been mated to me since the day you were generous enough to help out my ‘dying ghost friend.’ She tricked you into mating me, because the name Van Helsing scared me. You know, back before I had any idea I was a complete freak of nature, even by monster standards.”

Her nervous ramble cuts off, and the vampire dances in place like this is only getting all the more exciting.

“You tried to claim me too then, right?” Arion asks, his grin so wide that it looks painful.

Violet blows out a frustrated breath.

“Apparently, my monster got impatient with how long it was taking me to trust you and tried to take matters into her own hands. It wasn’t the first time she’d forced her way to the front, nor was it the first time she wove intricate tales of bullshit to manipulate me and play me like a pawn. But like most all of those times, I kicked her out of the driver’s seat. I’m stronger.”

“For now,” Talbot mutters from his place on the ground. “Wait until Hyde sits at the top of the food chain, amasses a greater ambition, and grows strong enough to overthrow you.”

“You said she wouldn’t be able to overtake Hyde tonight, and she’s standing right here. Fully in control,” Arion is quick to argue.

“And what happens when Hyde gets so good you’ll never know the difference between Violet and the monster?” Talbot fires back, still lying down and covering his face.

“We’ll know,” Emit interjects, slowly moving toward Violet, as he cups her cheek. “Someone could imitate her heart, but there’s no way they could do it genuinely and consistently. Certainly not a soulless monster.”

He shoots a pointed look toward Arion, as if he’s showing us all his evidence to back up that bold statement.

“Lovely chat we’re all having, but can we get back to the reality of our current situation?” I interject, slicing my hand through the air.

I swear, the three of them are ready to move on at a moment’s notice from life-altering madness. I, however, am still digesting the fact Violet not only got close enough to hurt Idun, but she somehow managed to leave her in dismembered pieces. Earlier tonight, I watched Violet’s body be fully shredded, something that should have taken her years to heal from.

Not mere moments.

And I really want to talk a lot more about…the fact she’s already claimed me.

A lot more.

I’d rather do that last part privately, though.

There’s a loud bell that chimes, and I watch as Violet’s eyes widen and her back goes rigidly straight. For a moment, I feel an edge of dread, wondering if Hyde has taken back over.

But…Violet grimaces, turns a little pale, and covers her face with both hands, as though she’s deeply ashamed of something.

“What?” Arion demands, sounding worried.

I think he’s confusing her expression for something else.

“That was the oven,” Violet says, her words muffled through her hands.

I open my mouth to ask why in the hell this is important, when…suddenly…breadcrumbs…start appearing before us, leading into Sanctuary.

We all study the random trail, as the scent of something slightly disturbing travels through the air.

Damien, still sitting on the ground, reaches over and warily pokes a breadcrumb. It immediately crashes into a small, powder-like pile of salt.

“This is illusion on a different scale than I use,” he says, fascinated enough to lean over and poke another piece, that also turns into a salt pile.

“For the record, I’m not doing this,” Violet points out, as though it’s important information.

“I am,” Anna gloats, grinning and nodding her head very rapidly.

“She just let me remember where Idun’s head is. This is so