Gypsy Truths (All The Pretty Monsters #6)- Kristy Cunning Page 0,188

not to fight. Why not do it there and be done with it?” I ask, mostly because I’m curious.

It occurs to me there have been ghosts prying into our lives and stalking our every move, especially recently. Was our sweet little monster worried about us or just possessive?

Questions like these will drive me mad. Either way, I’ll be damn happy. I’m simply too curious, because I don’t think I’ve ever been truly loved.

At least not the way I wanted to be.

I edge toward the door, as the jester shrugs, a secretive grin on her lips.

“Where’s the fun in that?” she asks.

The black-haired girl suddenly moves, and the jester’s eyes widen, as the mouth from hell opens wide. The girl releases a shrieking scream.

Emit practically stumbles into me in his haste to put some distance between himself and that creepy thing.

“I was trying to make Violet sound more badass. You don’t have to call me out like that!” the jester shouts to the freaky mouth one.

Oy.

This is going to take some real adjusting to. I’m still not sure if I want Violet’s subconscious warring with other fragments of her subconscious in public all the time.

“Violet doesn’t want to be the villain. So she tries to solve things another way first,” the jester grumbles, glaring at the other ghost like she’s made her tell the truth. “She was going to retire us for all eternity, because she decided Sanctuary is harder, but still more productive than war.”

I bristle, mostly because I do love a good war. I think my family is the only one left still in for some fun bloodshed, though. Aside from the Neoprys. Doesn’t seem like the best company to keep.

I suppose some personal sacrifices were inevitable, regardless of the fact Violet said otherwise.

“But then Idun took Van Helsing,” she adds with a grin. “Violet told me I could play. Just that easily, she changed her mind about Idun. Only Idun. Then Clyde. One day, we shall rule her, and she’ll let us take down more.”

That’s mildly alarming.

I’d rather think positive. For once, I’d like to hope for the bloody best, because I’m sick of the bullshit.

Moving to the case, I put a hand on the wall and lean in to stare Idun in her frozen, nearly glazed-over eyes, that start leaking tears.

Idun is crying.

She’d never let us see it if she could stop it.

“That fear and anger you feel right now? It’s only going to get worse over the next few centuries. A sense of complete hopelessness is what comes next. Acceptance is the hardest part of grieving something you never really had.”

Since I’m being positive, I grin, basking in this moment for one last look at the end of a dark age and the beginning of a new era.

“I’m not known for my empathy, but I did spend plenty of time haunting the three of them without their knowledge. I understand better now. Being soulless occasionally leaves me without the proper emotions needed for any sort of personal guidance. And I was a man who once worked hard to be a humble man of the cloth, before I met you. Pride and dignity are just among the many superficial habits I shed to the best of my ability.”

I toy with the lock, wondering if we’re foolish to taunt her. But it’s better to know if this is for real or not.

Idun can’t stand to be taunted. Especially by me. It’s the gravest insult.

“Given all your pride, arrogance, ego, and superficial emotions, it’ll be easy for you to see how they must have felt, now that you see revenge isn’t an option. Maybe you’ll grow. Maybe you’ll rot. Maybe Caroline will drive you mad with what I hear are some vivid wish-she-were-dead windows into the past.”

I shrug a shoulder, relaying how little I truly care.

“Maybe even Caroline will eventually forget about you, and the only company you’ll ever have are the spare ghosts Violet has lying around,” I tell her.

“I’m not even going to get offended by that,” the jester chimes in. “Mostly because I don’t have emotions. I do love the way they taste, though. Idun gives off strong emotions. The empaths will never feel it though.”

It occurs to me, only now, how very well Violet planned out this punishment.

There’s Idun TV to appease all those worried about Idun’s return or true whereabouts.

Simple surroundings, a severed body, and ‘nothing fancy’ casings to demonstrate how powerless Idun has been left.

Apples and tar to obstruct all the scents.

And emotion-eating