Gypsy Truths (All The Pretty Monsters #6)- Kristy Cunning Page 0,45

crazy bitch mother, who flips her extra switch every chance she gets—weird or not,” Anna prattles on.

“Have you noticed that I’m currently ignoring you?” I volley, too distracted by Vance’s weird tension to listen to her anymore.

The Van Helsing’s breath catches in his throat, and I go to kneel at his side. It only takes a minute to realize what’s going on, as all the familiar things settle into place.

Vance is under the Portocale curse, and Damien, the man who can enter unconscious minds like it’s a bedroom, says he’ll be his strongest ever, starting at midnight. As much as I hate another Portocale has died, the timing couldn’t be more perfect.

“Anna, go get Damien. Now,” I tell her.

With a salute, she shouts, “Aye, captain!”

I roll my eyes when she vanishes from the room, but my gaze settles back on Vance.

“Hopefully, Damien has had at least one idea of how to do what I want to do, during the latter half of his eternity that has been filled with boredom and isolation. Fingers crossed, Van Helsing.”

Chapter 12

DAMIEN

“You can’t take Idun, Damien. Don’t be the daft fool we all know you are,” Marta tells me.

“This girl has bumbled her way through staking four vampires, killing a roomful of beta wolves—”

“How could you possibly know about that?” Emit bites out, cutting off Edmond—yes, Edmond.

Edmond showed up a bit ago, to bring up all of Violet’s accomplishments that we seem to be ‘glossing over,’ according to his paranoid, delusional self.

I pointedly ignore Marta’s lack of faith in me.

As if I need that woman’s permission to go fuck some shit up real good.

Edmond cuts his eyes toward Emit.

“Because you just told me. I knew it wasn’t you. You’re savage, but not when it comes to mutinies,” Edmond says on a sneer.

“Fucking idiot,” I state to Emit, as I offer him one of the fancy chocolates from my fancy chocolate box. “You know better than to let a Portocale provoke you that way.”

It’s left over from the champagne and chocolates I had my beta gather for us. He clearly has expensive tastes, and I think I like it.

Emit mutters something under his breath and exhales harshly, while popping a piece of chocolate in his mouth that will hopefully glue his lips shut for a minute. Before he goes and tells more shit.

“Then she goes and breaks curses for two alphas. Turns out, the girl is also immortal, and can’t even die when she fucks Damien Morpheous’s cursed dick.”

“My enchanting and insanely perfect cock is actually not cursed anymore. I’m faithful because I choose to be. Not because I have no other option,” I decide to interject, staring deliberately at Marta…who doesn’t even acknowledge I’ve said anything at all.

Emily—yes, Emily—comes and thieves a piece of chocolate, squatting between our chairs like she’s enjoying the Portocale show with us.

Emily showed up about the same time as Edmond, and she’s been too amused to leave.

We all three stare on, as Edmond rages about Violet.

“Then, on top of all that, she raises a family from a grave she shouldn’t have been able to step foot on. Immediately after, she erects a Sanctuary and has laws passed by fucking alphas to make it operational. All of this happening around a year’s time from start to finish!”

“He’s a gnarly shade of red,” Emily states flatly. “None of this matters. Edmond is brazen enough to provoke all of you, unafraid of a death that can’t come, and lacks any remaining sentimental attachments. He’s untouchable.”

“Untouchable,” Edmond scoffs, jaw ticking. “I learned at least that much from Idun. He returns his full attention to us. “I loved one woman. That woman was tortured mercilessly for Idun’s own vendetta, all because I loved Caroline in a way I never could love Idun.”

I bristle in my seat, immediately hating the direction this conversation is going.

“I could barely get the woman to spare my favorite betas during that time,” I remind him. “And then she stopped sparing them at all. One fit, and she’d take it out on whoever I cared about the most. She’d have only been worse to Caroline if she’d caught me intervening. Don’t be a fool, Edmond. We helped the girl as much as we could by distracting Idun as often as possible.”

“You four made the world tremble in fear. You made them fear the woman who feeds on fear and lightning, and you made her unstoppable!” Edmond harps, as if we don’t already know that was a huge mistake.

“We loved her and