Chapter 31

31

ROWAN

I sit on the steps outside Darwin House with Leif, ignoring the looks from humans who walk inside wearing uniform, then out, changed, and ready for time in town. Helen and Isabella walk by arm in arm, chatting, but the moment the pair spot me they look away.

Has their illegal and lucrative business closed? A lot of girls still wear the brooches, which means the truth wasn't told or refunds given.

Violet lost her shit at the hospital even more than the time Holly disappeared, and I gave her the space she wanted, understanding Violet's worry that I might make things worse through our bond.

The bond. Still a curse.

Leif didn't want to follow Violet, still filled with the crazy notion that his presence at the hospital contributed. Even with Eloise's work on his mind, Leif is still convinced that Viktor continues to track him. Or worse, he was the catalyst that triggered Holly's attack. I told Leif that Violet wouldn't do anything to him, even if she did believe the mad idea. He didn't look convinced.

We could wait for Violet and Grayson in my room, but I don't want them to have a glimmer of a chance to get past us. Violet won't answer messages, and Grayson's worried me: Violet has taken a trip to the lake, and Grayson is watching her.

Why did he type ‘watching her'?

"Any more from Grayson or Violet?" Leif asks me flatly, leaning forward, arms dangling between his legs.

"No, and only voicemail when I call."

"What do you think is happening?"

"Don't know, and I'm pissed at their secretive trips. This is the second time."

"At least they went to the lake and not back to the hospital this time," Leif suggests.

"We hope," I mutter. "That might be Violet's next stop."

"Holly's now in the psych ward. Harder to get her out unnoticed."

I cringe at Leif's reminder. Staff cajoled Holly into moving to that ward ‘for her own good'. She's under constant watch by humans, and no doubt by supes too—if Holly's parents haven't interfered. We can only hope that Dorian's charm worked on the pair, or that he didn't leave any trace of the spell if he used any magic on their minds.

Her parents don't realize how serious Holly's condition is. She needs looking at and looking after, and not due to a head injury. Dorian will be planning how to achieve this.

I bet Violet is too.

"Rowan." Leif stands and I follow his gaze across campus.

Two figures moving at a quicker pace approach through the gathering dark. Violet walks with more purpose than Grayson, who's gesturing as he speaks to her. She reaches us and pauses for a single second before walking by. I stare after her, open mouthed, then look to a harassed Grayson.

"Better that Violet does go straight to her room," he says.

"Why? What's she done?" asks Leif sharply. "Is Violet in trouble now?"

Grayson gives a weary sigh. "Come with me and see."

"That doesn't sound good."

"Yeah. Could be worse though," he replies.

Leaving his cryptic comment, Grayson does something rare—he walks into Darwin house.

Head whirling at the bizarre behavior by the pair, I follow. "Violet, what—" I halt, having barely set foot in her room.

Leif bumps into me and I sidestep to let him through. He's arrested by the same sight as I am.

"Is that a duckling?" I ask, the words as ludicrous as the situation, and an unnecessary question.

A yellow and brown bird nestles in one of Violet's black jumpers she'd discarded on the floor earlier, its shining, beady eyes watching her.

"That's not just a duck," says Grayson. "Right, Violet?"

Violet looks up from her phone screen. "I had to practice."

Leif sits on Holly's bed, staring at the duckling.

Practice? "You've used necromancy on a duck?" Well, those are words I never thought I'd use.

"Yeah. We took a romantic walk by the lake looking for dead ducks," says Grayson.

"I'd hardly call our walk romantic." Violet's brow pinches in concentration as she types on her phone.

"And now you have a duck zombie?" asks Leif, wholly focused on the undead bird.

"Good grief. How many times? Constructs are not zombies."

I shake my head as if the situation might disappear if I do. "Right. Two questions. Why have you reanimated a duckling, and why bring it back to the academy?"

She looks up. "Practice, and if I left the duckling at the lake, it would've tried to follow me."

"You have a pet duck now?" Leif asks.

"No."

"Um." I gesture at the bird. "You said the duckling will follow you if you leave it."

"Don't worry. I'll give the bird to Eloise, and she can take it to Scotland to join the other ones."

Other ones?

"To your family's place?" asks Grayson. "Do you have a special area on the estate for zombie animals?"

She flashes him a look. "I'll be too far away for the duckling to find me. He can't fly and isn't capable of navigating roads or the public transport system."

This is the old Violet. Disconnected and living by her own logic.

"I'm sure your mother will love that. You're not supposed to use necromancy," I say.

"I'll tell her it was an accident."

Leif chokes. "An accident ?"

"Necromancy is a spell, not an accident," I tell her.

Violet tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Necromancy can happen haphazardly if the witch is under a lot of emotional distress. Eloise accidentally reanimated one of my dead relatives during a wake."

"Putting the fun in funeral," says Leif, and I stare between the two in horror.

"No, Leif. Not fun. That's the reason my mother was sent to Ravenhold."

My jaw slackens. Accidental necromancy ?

"Sure, Eloise will believe you were emotionally destroyed by the death of a duckling," says Grayson sarcastically. "She'll know this was a deliberate spell."

"Why?" I interrupt.

"Why?"

" Why are you reanimating birds?"

The exchanged look with Grayson sets the hairs on the back of my neck.

"How many times must I repeat this: because I'm a necromancer, and I need to practice."

Leif stands. "Is this… Holly? Violet, if anything happens to her, you can't?—"

"Good grief!" Violet's voice rises. "How insane do you believe I am? And Holly will not die."

I bite back ‘but what if she does?'. Has Violet ever considered the deaths of those she cares about? She must have considered the possibility and planned what to do.

The duckling quacks and struggles from the sweater, taking a wobbly walk towards Violet. She scoops up the bird and sets it in her lap.

"Then who do you want to reanimate?" I ask. "Because this sudden interest in magic that you've pushed aside makes no sense."

"Viktor?" asks Leif cautiously.

She shrugs. Shrugs .

"That wouldn't be possible. He's too powerful," I say. "And Dorian wants him alive and able to talk."

"If Viktor harmed Holly, death is too good for him." She stands and tucks the duckling into a pocket. Immediately a yellow and brown head pokes out.

This. Is. Insane. "Now where are you going?"

"To the vets probably," says Leif. "Y'know. To find more dead animals."

"Bloody hell, Leif," I retort. "Don't give Violet ideas."

"That's a horrible thing to say," Violet replies. "I understand and share the love of animals, and I would not deny someone the closure they need with a deceased a pet."

"Alright!" I throw my hands up, raising my voice. "Can we stop this stupid conversation?"

"Besides, I tried once before and the cat didn't come back… correctly," she continues.

"Violet!" I shout. "Where are you going?"

She waves her phone in my direction. "To see Holly."

Grayson swears beneath his breath and crosses his arms. "She's in a psych ward, Violet. Under watch."

"And Holly messaged. She wants to see me. She doesn't feel safe, and I agree."

"Can you use some of the logical thinking you've learned recently?" I ask her, and Violet's face sours. "Dorian's people are watching Holly as closely as the humans. She's safe tonight. If you, her, or both of you, want Holly to leave, you've a better chance tomorrow."

Violet remains thin-lipped.

"Yeah. One crazy act today is enough," puts in Grayson.

"I won't let you go," adds Leif.

"You propose to guard me and prevent me from leaving this room?" she asks and pockets her phone.

"If necessary, yeah." Leif walks over to her. "Besides, you can't take a duckling to the hospital."

"Could be a useful distraction?" she suggests.

I step between Violet and the door. "I understand that today caused a lot of emotions you probably can't cope with. I've also seen a lot recently that I never want to experience again."

"I don't trust anybody else around Holly." Violet's phone sounds an alert. "See? I bet Holly sent another message. I have to go to her."

Violet pulls the phone from the duck-less pocket, and I snatch it from her. If the message is a plea from Holly, that won't help the situation, and I'll reply to tell Holly this.

I hear Holly's unwell. Would you like to know how to help her?

Unknown number. I read the message again. Definitely not Holly.

"Rowan? I can feel your anxiety. What's happened to Holly?" Violet snatches the phone from me. She doesn't pale, but her blue eyes fill with dark storms.

Immediately, the phone rings, startling me. Violet glares at the screen for a moment then hits speaker. Nobody talks.

"Stop worrying. I'm not coming for Holly. I don't need to," says a male voice.

"What have you done to her?" demands Violet. "Who is this?"

"Holly's mind isn't stable anymore, but I can fix that." A pause. "Bring me the wolf, and we'll talk."

"That's Viktor," mutters Grayson.

"Oh, are all your hangers-on with you? I can only detect Leif, just as I could in the hospital earlier." There's an amusement to his tone that blackens Violet's eyes further. "The wolf shifter . He's a liability that I can't afford."

"I don't believe you'd willingly meet me again, Viktor. Not alone," says Violet.

"Good point. But I have insurance. If you bring anybody else apart from the shifter, Holly's mind will break. Do as I ask, and we'll discuss how to ensure that unfortunate disability never happens."

Violet knuckles whiten around the phone, and I hastily take hold before she crushes it. "Where and when?" she asks.

"Violet!" whispers Grayson in horror.

"Not tonight. I'll send a message once you've gotten your hands on the wolf. If Leif's around, I'll know." He pauses for a response that doesn't come. "Violet, much as I'd like to meet your father, don't bring him or inform him. If I see or sense the man, Holly will literally lose her mind. And we all know that Dorian doesn't care who gets hurt in order to win his battles."

At that moment, with those words from Viktor, any chance that Violet will do the correct and sensible thing evaporates. How the hell do we get her out of this one?