Chapter 29

29

ROWAN

As I travel back to the academy with Violet and the guys, Violet outlines her plans, while we remain quiet, occasionally looking at each other. How do we persuade Violet not to immediately break into the lodge the moment the sun sets?

I steel myself for the debate that receiving a spare key from Kai isn't permission from his parents, but any thought of illegal entry into Sawyer property leaves Violet's mind the moment she receives a text from Holly.

My parents arrived. I'm going home this afternoon.

None of us could stop Violet immediately painting blood runes on the floor, but at least she took herself to a location close to the hospital that's out of public sight. Instead of trying to stop the impossible, Leif and I joined, whereas Grayson sensibly stays away from the hospital after his last chaotic visit.

Violet didn't wait to hear what time Holly would be discharged today, too focused on getting to the hospital and into the ward. As she strides into Holly's room, I ask the nurses to excuse Violet's eagerness. The ward staff are now used to interference from Violet and other supes, so they wave me inside, wishing me luck.

Once I step into the room, I discover why.

Holly sits on the hospital bed wearing baggy blue pants and a yellow sweater, a small rucksack beside her. The witch who's on guard sits on a chair in the corner, the young woman unobtrusive due to her size and plainness, although I sense a calming spell in the room.

That's needed considering who Violet stands face to face with.

A middle-aged man with thinning hair, his face plastered with exhaustion and annoyance, stands with a short, slender woman with shoulder-length curly auburn hair.

There's no doubt who these people are.

I mentally ask Violet to stay respectful to Holly's parents, but that all depends on what comes from their tight-lipped mouths.

"Why did nobody tell me Holly's leaving the hospital today?" demands Violet, glaring at the witch.

"We've decided to move Holly to a hospital closer to home," her father says stiffly. "And we'd like another opinion on the episodes from a doctor at a hospital not filled with creatures who got her into this mess."

Violet frowns. "You're not free, Holly?"

Holly clasps her hands in her lap. "I'm not well enough to leave the hospital, Violet."

Holly's parents glance at each other.

"You're Violet?" asks her mother softly.

"Obviously she is. Look at her," retorts her father.

"And what are these episodes?" continues Violet.

"I get weird headaches—" Holly begins.

"Holly is suffering from signs of a head injury," interrupts her father.

Violet goes completely still and silent and doesn't respond. Not even with the rude retort I expected.

"Do you know what really happened to Holly?" her mother asks.

In the corner of my eyes, Leif sits on the spare chair, pale. My blood drains away too. "Head injury?" I ask. "Episodes of what?"

"It's psychological," says Holly with a pleading look at her parents. "A response to the shock."

"Nobody can get any response from you when it happens, Holly," her father says, and her mother squeezes his arm. He blinks back his irritation.

"What happens?" Violet breaks her silence and moves to study Holly.

Holly looks up at her. "I zone out, apparently, and don't respond to anybody. My mind goes blank, and I don't remember. Like I said, psychological."

"Holly, sweetheart." Her mother sits on the bed and takes Holly's hand in a possessive way. "I would agree with you if the episodes lasted a couple of minutes, but the last one was an hour."

"An hour?" Violet asks, eyes widening.

"This is more than dissociation," says her father stiffly.

"Dad… please."

"We'll ask a psychiatrist to check you out too, and if they agree this is psychological, then you can leave hospital for home. You also need more scans. If this is brain damage?—"

"Paul!" interrupts her mother. "Don't use those words."

"I don't have brain damage!" Holly protests.

Leif's hands tremble as he shoves them in his jacket pocket. No. Not of a physical kind. Why were we so confident that Viktor or her captors left Holly's mind untouched?

Her symptoms could be dissociation; Holly suffered a traumatic attack.

"Holly can not leave," announces Violet. "I will not allow such to happen."

"Excuse me?" Paul asks. "You'll find that you've no say in this matter."

"Holly stays," she continues.

I take Violet's hand and link fingers. "That's Holly's and her parents' decision."

"I'm eighteen," says Holly. "I agree to or refuse medical treatment, not you."

"And you agreed to come home," says her mother.

" Home . Not to a different hospital."

"You can't!" protests Violet. "We have to watch you."

"And that's exactly the issue," snaps her father and gestures at the witch and her failed calming spell. "All these supernatural types hanging around my daughter. One of them might attack her next."

"I'll come back to the academy, Violet," says Holly. "In a few?—"

"Not happening." Paul crosses his arms. "And that is my decision, since I pay tuition fees for the bloody place."

"With respect, sir," I say, "Holly should stay under supervision until we catch the people responsible."

"You have! One's dead and the other's in custody."

The storm gathering inside Violet spreads towards me, and I grip her hand tighter, mentally pleading with her to stay calm. We'll fix this.

"Dorian believes others are involved," I say. "That's why his people are watching Holly."

" His people. We should never have allowed Holly to attend that academy," says Paul. "Jenny? Didn't I say something would happen at the time? I thought a vampire might bite her or?—"

"A vampire bite her?" Violet interrupts. "Holly informed me that she wouldn't involve herself in blood play due to her aversion to the sight of blood."

"Blood what ?" shrieks Jenny. "What perversity occurs at the place?"

"My daughter is not safe," Paul says. "These people didn't even tell us our daughter was missing."

Violet's expression doesn't change: not one flicker of emotion. "I'm extremely disappointed in Mrs. Lorcan's behavior. I'm as shocked as you are, as is my father. I'm sure he told you this when you spoke. And I'm glad we're in agreement. Holly can remain under supervision until?—"

"Holly is not safe here ." I flinch as his voice rises, cutting Violet dead, and the man steps too far into Violet's acceptable personal space. "Especially not around you and your… kind."

"I protect Holly," says Violet icily.

"Is that why someone half-killed her?" he snaps back.

The storm continues to gather, and I put my other hand around Violet's. Please. We'll figure this out.

"Don't leave until you've spoken to Mr. Blackwood," says the witch in the corner. "He's returning today."

"That man or whatever he is will also attempt to stop us moving our daughter. No. Holly. Get your things," says Paul. "We're leaving."

"Are you an imbecile?" Violet's voice cracks like thunder in the heavy atmosphere, and I widen my eyes at Leif. "Your daughter is in real danger that humans can't protect her from!"

"I will not be spoken to like that by a disrespectful thing like you!"

He grabs Violet's upper arm to move her.

Oh no. No .

Magic spreads from Violet's mind, and I slice through the spell before it reaches Paul, then stagger as Violet hits back at me in anger.

"Violet. Don't," says Leif. "You'll cause more trouble."

"Holly will not leave this hospital," she snarls, dragging her arm from Paul's. "Not unless you're accompanied by someone who can guard her."

"As Holly said, that's ultimately her decision," I say, voice strained by the bloody big headache Violet just gave me.

I wait for Holly's response. She must be shocked if she isn't responding to Violet's outburst. Nothing. Her mother continues to hold Holly's hand, mouth parted as she watches Paul and Violet.

Holly stares at me. No. She stares through me as if I'm transparent and she can see the wall, her eyes those of somebody elsewhere.

Blood trickles from her nose and her pupils dilate completely.

Then Holly screams.