24. Violet

24

VIOLET

"What the fuck is this?" Nathaniel's voice cracks like a whip through the room.

In an instant, the blissful afterglow vanishes. Caine's knot deflates rapidly as adrenaline floods his system. He pulls out of me and positions himself protectively in front of me, holding his hand out for his cane, which flies into his hand, smacking against his palm before he closes his fist around it. Flint and Thorne flank him, all fully clothed in the blink of an eye, forming a wall between me and Nathaniel, which makes me even more conscious of my naked, just-fucked self.

I scramble to cover myself with the sheets, feeling sick with guilt and shame that I know isn't real. It's the sire bond, and he is manipulating me. Inhaling deeply, I try to shake it off. "How did you get in here?" I demand, trying to keep my voice steady.

Nathaniel's eyes are wild, and he is pissed. "I am your sire," he snarls. "I can go wherever you are. "

Frowning, I tilt my head, as that has never been mentioned before. Is that real? Is that why he can get through these wards and not because of some Morgana power he holds?

I catch Flint's eye, and he also catches it. He arches one eyebrow before returning his attention to Nathaniel.

"Get out," Caine growls, his voice low and dangerous. Frost spreads from his feet, creeping across the floor as he rises.

Nathaniel ignores him, his gaze fixed on me. "You, little flower, are mine," he says. "My blood runs in your veins. How dare you bond yourself to these creatures?"

"She's not yours. She never was," Flint says, his skin shimmering with his barely contained Dragon. He appears on the verge of shifting, and I don't want to be caught naked if that happens, because all hell will break loose. I close my eyes and will some clothes on. Any clothes. Even that godawful white dress.

Of course, seeing as I thought specifically of the dress, when I open my eyes, I find I'm dressed in exactly that.

I groan and fling the covers off me, sweeping off the bed with a grace that doesn't scream powerful witchy vampire but rather has me tripping on the hem of the dress and nearly faceplanting on the carpet had it not been for Nathaniel's quick reflexes.

"Get off me!" I growl, shaking his hand off my arm.

His eyes are a swirl of green and gold heat as he takes in my stupid dress .

Damn you, Morgana powers.

"You are ready to come home," he murmurs.

Caine's cane comes in between us, and he shoves Nathaniel roughly away from me. "Get your filthy, perverted hands off her."

Nathaniel's eyes flash dangerously as he lets me go. The air crackles with tension, magick building like electricity before a storm.

"You dare interfere?" Nathaniel snarls at Caine. "She is my charge, my blood. Our bond supersedes whatever pitiful connection you think you have with her."

"You're wrong," I grit out. "What we have goes beyond blood. It's free will. It's a choice. My choice."

Nathaniel's face twists with rage. "You don't get to choose, little flower. I made you. I own you. You are mine to protect."

"No one owns me," I growl, feeling power surge through me. The white dress ripples, caught in a breeze that is definitely coming from my hands. I can feel it tickle my palms. "I choose my own fate."

For a moment, uncertainty flashes in Nathaniel's eyes. But it's quickly replaced by cold determination. "You don't know what you're capable of. What we could be together. I can show you power beyond your wildest dreams."

"I've seen what your kind of dark power does," I say, thinking of the entity in the library. "I want no part of it."

I feel a tug in my chest, the sire bond straining as I defy him. But I push through it, drawing strength from the presence of Caine, Flint, and Thorne.

Nathaniel's eyes narrow. "You think these boys can protect you? From what's coming? You have no idea the forces gathering against you."

"Maybe not," I admit. "But I'd rather face them with people I trust than someone who's lied to me from the beginning."

He takes a step forward, his hand outstretched. "Violet, please. Come with me. Let me explain everything."

I feel a momentary pull towards him, the sire bond tugging at me. But then I feel three warm presences at my back, steadying me.

"No," I say firmly. "I'm done listening to you. Get out."

Nathaniel's face contorts with fury. "You ungrateful little?—"

Before he can finish, a blast of icy wind slams into him, sending him staggering back. Caine stands with his hand outstretched, his cane covered in icicles.

"She said get out," he growls.

Nathaniel regains his balance, his eyes blazing. "You can't hurt me, boy," he snarls.

"I'm willing to test that theory," Caine snarls and goes for Nathaniel again.

Caine's next blast of ice magick is faster and stronger, but Nathaniel moves like lightning, dodging it with supernatural grace. The ice crashes into the wall, freezing it solid .

"Is that the best you can do, little prince?" Nathaniel taunts.

Flint roars, his skin rippling with scales as he launches himself at Nathaniel. For a moment, they're a blur of motion, Flint's Dragon strength matching Nathaniel's vampire speed. But then Nathaniel gets the upper hand, ducking away from Flint before he can savage him to pieces with his claws. I'm in shock and awe at the sight of him, in what I guess is a half-shift.

"Stop!" I try to move forward, but my feet won't budge. Nathaniel's compulsion holds me in place like concrete around my feet, and this time, I can't shake it off.

Thorne raises his hands, shadows gathering around him. "You need to fuck off right now," he says, his voice resonating with power. The shadows surge forward, trying to wrap around Nathaniel.

But Nathaniel just laughs, the sound sending chills down my spine. He moves through the shadows like they're nothing more than smoke, appearing suddenly in front of Thorne.

"Amateur," he sneers, and punches Thorne with enough force to send him crashing into my desk.

"No!" I scream, fighting against the invisible bonds holding me in place. Rage builds inside me, hot and fierce, as I watch Nathaniel systematically take apart the men I love.

Caine strikes again, ice and shadow combining as he and Thorne coordinate their attacks. Flint rejoins the fight, blood trickling from a cut on his forehead but his eyes blazing with Dragon fire and ice.

They're magnificent, working together with a synchronicity that would be beautiful if it weren't so desperate.

"You see?" he calls to me as he effortlessly evades another combined attack. "This is what real power looks like, little flower. This is what I could teach you."

I watch in horror as he grabs Caine's cane mid-swing, using it to throw him into Flint. They go down in a tangle of limbs. Thorne tries to use the distraction to bind Nathaniel with shadows, but Nathaniel moves somehow, and the shadows pass through him like he's not even there.

"Stop it!" I scream again, tears of frustration and rage burning in my eyes. "Leave them alone! It's me you want!"

"They brought this on themselves," Nathaniel says, advancing on Thorne. "Thinking they could keep what's mine from me."

Something inside me snaps at those words. The rage that's been building explodes outward, shattering the compulsion smothering me. Power floods through my system, hot and cold at once, light and shadow intertwined.

"I. Am. Not. YOURS!"

The white dress ripples and flaps around me, darkening to deep purple shot through with silver. My hair whips around my face in a wind that seems to come from everywhere and nowhere. I can feel Morgan's power rising in me, swirling around my vampire strength in a combination that makes the air crackle with energy.

Nathaniel turns to me, smiling.

"There she is," he breathes, his eyes hooded with a desire that makes me sick to my stomach.

I don't hesitate. I throw everything I have at him. All the rage, all the fear, all the accumulated power of Morgan's heir and my vampire nature combined. The blast hits him square in the chest, sending him flying backwards through the wall, out onto the snow-covered courtyard outside and into a patch of weak morning sunlight.

He rolls out of it, and then he is gone in a swirl of black smoke.

"Fuck!" I slam my fist into the wall, adding another hole to the collection.

"Violet!" Thorne's voice brings me back to myself. I turn to see all three of them looking battered but alive.

The sight of their injuries makes my rage spike again. "I'll kill him," I growl. "I swear to god, next time I see him, I'll?—"

Flint's hard voice hits me, and it makes my anger die down and my anxiety flare up. "We're okay. You can't kill him until we sever that fucking bond, and I'm sorry, Violet, but we are doing it tonight, ready or not."

My hands are trembling at his tone, at his order. But I get it. This cannot happen again .

"He hurt you," I say, my voice breaking. "He hurt you, and I just stood there, frozen like a useless?—"

"You broke his control," Caine interrupts. "Then shunted him through a solid stone wall. I'd say useless is the wrong word."

"He's right," Thorne adds, wiping blood from a cut on his cheek. "You were magnificent."

"How was he that strong?" I whisper. "Even all of you together..."

"Because we can't hurt him," Thorne reminds me. "Remember, princess. This is on you. But we couldn't stand there and let him try to take you."

I look down at my hands, still crackling with residual energy. The purple dress swirls around my legs, responding to power I'm not even consciously directing before it fades back to white. "This isn't over," I say quietly. "He'll be back."

"He will. He wanted you to access your power in this way. That was obvious. I have a sick feeling that this isn't even about you, Violet. It's about her," Thorne states bluntly.

"Her?"

"Morgan le Fay."

My stomach twists into a grossed-out knot. "He wants me to be her…"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Fuck."

"Tonight, then," Flint says, his tone leaving absolutely no room for debate. He wants this done, and I don't blame him. I do, too .

"I'm ready."

He nods once, his face grim as we stare at each other, neither of us knowing what to say next.