Chapter 38

38

VIOLET

Dashiell sits on the bottom of the concrete basement steps, while I stand opposite him with Rowan. Grayson hangs back on a step directly behind the shifter. Leif agreed to remain with Holly, since he's the one of the three guys she's most comfortable with.

The stifling basement only contains an upturned orange plastic crate, and as this prompts images of Holly abandoned on the cold concrete floor for days, I'm a breath away from grabbing this shifter by the neck.

But Dashiell's brow furrows, his eyes darting around the space that's lit by a single hanging lightbulb. "Someone cleared the basement out. There was a mattress. Blankets. I brought Holly a book."

"Wow, how generous," says Grayson. "I'm sure she would've preferred you bringing her her freedom."

Dashiell's demeanor shifts, and he swivels around to grab Grayson by the jacket. "I fucking tried! And when I couldn't get Holly out, I tried to get Violet's attention instead."

Grayson snarls and slashes at Dashiell's hand, then shoves him from the step. "Careful, wolf."

Dashiell trips backwards into the basement and steadies himself on the wall. "Are you taking Holly back to Eloise, or what, Violet?" he demands.

"In the morning. I want a chance to talk to Holly, and she's sleeping." I cross my arms. "Now. Who did you fight with in this house?"

"Sam."

"Why?" asks Rowan.

Dashiell sinks down onto the bottom step. "On one of the nights I went to Thornwood, he caught me coming back into the house. Lost his shit. Told me I'm not supposed to leave now that I'm ‘part of this'."

"And you fought?" asks Rowan.

"I've been through this over and over," he says and drags a hand across his head. "I tried to free Holly once, and Sam caught me. He locked me in here with her for a day."

My jaw slackens. "You spent a whole day in here with Holly? Alone?"

"Yeah." He lifts his eyes to mine.

"What did you do to her in this room?" I demand.

"Nothing! Talked. Holly talks a lot." He smiles, and that weird faraway look enters his eyes again. "I've never met anybody like her. Holly has such a big heart, and she's a beautiful soul. I felt sick that I was involved, and after that day, I knew I had to protect her, whatever happened to me. I promised Holly that I'd try to find you and bring you to her."

"Don't you have a phone?" I retort. "Holly knows my number."

He glares. "No. Taken from me when I arrived. I had no chances to help Holly leave because when Sam was out doing whatever, another shifter hung around. One of several, and I couldn't take them all on. I snuck out at night twice and tried to find you as the wolf. The first time, I couldn't locate you. The second time, the human kids interfered."

"Why did you run when you saw me?" I ask.

"The kids. I couldn't risk anybody else at the academy seeing me unshifted—Holly told me she was taken from the campus, which means someone on the inside would know who I am. They might've killed me. Moved Holly. Worse. That was the night Sam caught me coming back to the house. I couldn't get out of the place after that."

"Was this before or after Viktor visited?" asks Rowan.

"Again, I have no memory of this witch you all talk about, but the guy wouldn't leave me with any recollection of meeting him, would he?" Dashiell's lips thin. "I wish I could bloody remember. The only image I have is a blurred one of the witch with Sam. It was weird. Sam doesn't like witches, and he was practically groveling to the guy."

Grayson makes a disgusted sound. "Viktor's construct."

"Yeah. I guess I had a lucky escape," says Dashiell. "The work that Sam found for me never happened. Instead, I was told to watch Holly, and Sam told me I'd get paid cash for that . In his ‘interviews', Dorian told me what happened to the other shifters who worked cash in hand for witches. Worse than dead."

"And we're pretty certain the witch who visited here is a necromancer called Viktor," Rowan says. "So, yeah, you probably were next."

Dashiell stares at his shoes. "I came down here for a job and ended up mixed up with all this crap. I'm honest when I say I didn't abduct Holly and that I protected her."

I make a loud, scornful noise and pointedly pin him with a look. He shifts uncomfortably and looks away.

"What was the job Sam told you about?" asks Grayson. "Laboring?"

"Yeah, but I never saw the place, and Sam was vague where he'd go in the daytime."

"Dorian checked out local building sites and renos," says Rowan.

"What happened the night of the attack?" I interrupt.

Dashiell pulls on his sleeve. "Sam told me he had to take Holly somewhere, but he was going to have some fun first. I freaked out with thoughts about what that might mean, and persuaded Sam to let me help because Holly trusted me. I saw it as my chance to get her away from us." The shifter meets my eyes. "I don't believe Sam planned to kill Holly, but she tried to escape and fought back. Smacked his head with a rock. You know shifters. They don't think straight when they're animals, and Sam lost his shit."

"Like you?" asks Rowan. "When you killed Sam?"

Every word Dashiell says lances at my heart, but this… "What fun did Sam mean?" I ask hoarsely.

Dashiell bites hard on his bottom lip. "I like to think he meant chasing Holly and scaring her. Not anything else."

I'm jolted away from the encroaching images of Holly terrified in the woods that she projected into my mind at the hospital. What did Dashiell stop? I swallow down the sickness. The dark mist rises inside, and Rowan grabs my hand.

Sam was Viktor's construct. He was under instructions from the necromancer. Everything that shifter did, he was obeying orders. Where was he taking Holly if he wasn't intending to kill her?

I pace the short hallway between the kitchen and lounge, mind scrambled by thoughts of Holly's suffering. Grayson sits on the floor, resting against the door leading to the basement, on guard. A kettle boils in the kitchen— Rowan found a lone jar of instant coffee, which he plans to drink to keep himself awake. I instructed Rowan that he should sleep instead because tomorrow he'll need to be at full strength, but he refuses.

"You should sit with Holly," Grayson says quietly.

"Leif is with her. He'll let me know if she wakes." I stare at the basement door "Do you believe everything that Dashiell told us?"

Grayson shrugs. "Go back down there and check his mind yourself."

But I don't want to. I'll see Dashiell. All of him. A person, not an abstract enemy to hand to another one. "Do you believe Holly would be dead if Dashiell wasn't in the woods that night?"

Grayson holds my look but says nothing.

"We should let Dashiell go," says Rowan from the kitchen doorway.

I balk at him. "I hope that was not a serious suggestion, Rowan."

One of those looks travels between Grayson and Rowan. Do the guys honestly think there's a different solution than me handing Dashiell to Viktor?

"If Dashiell is out in the world, Viktor might find the shifter himself," suggests Grayson.

"But this is about me! You know that. Viktor wants to see me ."

Grayson crosses his arms. "Yes, Violet, we're aware of that. Maybe Eloise can help if you don't want to tell Dorian. You were stupid to take?—"

I snatch Grayson's jacket the way he did Dashiell's earlier. "Don't you dare."

"Leif and Rowan might avoid upsetting you sometimes, but you need to hear the truth." Grayson doesn't shove me away. "If you seriously expect that we'll let you do this alone, you're wrong."

"Do you want Holly to die—or worse?" I hiss.

"Do I want you to die—or worse is a better question."

I don't falter, and neither does he. Behind me, Rowan urges Grayson to be quiet.

"I am taking Dashiell to Viktor," I say harshly. "Alone. I won't risk your safety, or Holly's."

Grayson pushes his tongue against a canine. "I've died once. Almost twice. I'll take the risk."

"And Holly?" asks Rowan. I look over my shoulder at him. "How will she react if you take Dash?"

"Once the spell breaks, Holly won't care."

Grayson pulls my hands away with a warning look to calm down, and I step back. Our eyes remain locked. I'll need to be careful about when and where I go if the guys are all watching me.

"And what if Holly's feelings for Dash aren't a spell?" asks Grayson.

"Are you remotely serious?" I ask. "People do not develop deep affections for each other immediately, and not when the person?—"

"Saves her life?" Grayson's mouth tips into a smile. "All I'm saying is, Holly might genuinely care. You'd betray her."

"I am not betraying anybody." I shove at Grayson and step back, turning to an unimpressed Rowan.

And what of Rowan? Our conversation on the academy rooftop? He wouldn't think twice about putting himself in danger—the bond overrides the logical conclusion that I'm able to protect myself.

Rowan glares at Grayson. "Way to make Violet less likely to tell us when Viktor contacts her."

Grayson says nothing.