A Violet Fire (Vampires in Avignon #1) - Kelsey Quick Page 0,105

break the boundaries staked around her. Especially not now, because of Gemini. Which is why I won’t explain anything or expect anything. The last thing I want Savvy to do is make a decision that will break her one way or another. She’s far too fragile for that. So I’ll make it for her. I’ll be the horrible one.

Savvy sleeps soundly as if nothing could go wrong. As if all is right within our little world. I wish it could be. God, I wish things could be easy for once. But they aren’t. And I’ve learned now that they never will be. She, however, will never learn that; Savvy will never stop hoping.

Even though she won’t willingly come with us, I need to ensure that she does. Because once this night comes to an end, Savvy’s life as a supply unit is over. If I successfully escape Isshar with Glera and the others, Zein would undoubtedly take his displeasure out on my friends.

Ceti motions for me to come to her at the front of the supply holdings room, away from the other congregated supply overseers. All of the other units are still asleep, save Glera whose eyes shoot open as soon as I move. Carefully, I tread across the mixture of warm woven yarn and cool, gritty sandstone.

Ceti smiles widely when I reach her. She gives me a once over.

“Ready?”

“No.”

She smiles sadly. “I understand. Here, put these on.”

Ceti offers two thin and blackened metal wristlets, each bejeweled with several small stones—beautiful amethysts—with slight silver landings encircling the band, the ends in the shape of fleur di lis. I’ve seen them before.

“Are these… from that room?” I barely breathe, remembering the other objects from that glass case.

“Yes, during a mission to the province of the stronghold, Thelor managed to grab these. They’ve belonged to every heir since the beginning of the race war.”

Putting one on each wrist out of sheer obligation, my jumbled thoughts refocus to Savvy.

“Ceti,” I whisper, my eyes focusing blankly into the center of her long pastel dress. “No matter what they say, or what they do, please… make sure Savvy and Katarii are there waiting for me.”

Eloquently, the signature Ceti chuckle erupts past her colored lips, “Oh, darn. You ruined my surprise. I was already planning on it, my dear.”

Like a contagion, her grin transposes over to me. Despite the terrible things that have been plaguing my mind, for a second, I’m relieved. I can’t tell if it’s because Savvy will still be with me after this trying evening, or because Ceti had taken the time to consider something so trivial to anyone other than me.

“Thank you,” I say, and she cups my cheek reassuringly.

“I may be a vampire, but I am your friend, Wavorly. Remember that. We are not all bad.”

I nod, fighting the urge to shut her out of my heart, too.

Although I am still unsure of everything beyond it, Zein killed my family nearly a decade ago and hid it from me. All this time. I need to get out of here, out of Zein’s slave pool, out of Cain, or I might go insane. The plan set into motion by Castrel, Glera, Ceti, and Thelor might be my last decent chance to escape and move forward. If I don’t act on the impulse now, I’ll stop moving, and if that happens, I don’t know what I will do.

A binding chokehold of memories—of my father’s open, wide mouth filled with blood and my mom’s writhing body dripping with sweat—afflict me. While anger and depression linger, right now it’s the frigid and numbing touch of betrayal that ensnares my thoughts. I had fallen for Zein. I had been entranced by him. I fell so deep into his words, relied on them so much that swimming to the surface of sanity is near impossible. Part of me still believes that Zein isn’t the one at fault. That maybe it was another sentry of Cain and he really did save me from scavengers. That he didn’t kill my friends and family, that Glera said all of that to get me on board with their plan.

But bring Ceti and Castrel into the mix, and any other explanation falls apart.

Every time my mind tries to consider the unlikely possibilities that are to Zein’s benefit, I force them out. How can I truly think that Zein, with his colorful track record, is incapable of faking everything between us to get what he wants? I can’t deny it any longer. I