41. Violet

41

VIOLET

The silence that follows my decision is heavy with unspoken emotions, thick enough to cut with a knife. The remnants of my destroyed bedroom seem to absorb our tension, frost creeping across burned walls while shadows dance in corners that shouldn't exist. I can feel Caine and Flint's disappointment, their hurt, even as they try to hide it. It radiates from them like heat from a dying fire, making my various types of magick twist uncomfortably beneath my skin. But they accept it, even if it is a grudging understanding that this is bigger than all of us, I know they accept it. Their magick tells me as much, ice and flame settling into resigned patterns.

"So, what now?" Flint asks, his voice gruff. Tiny flames dance between his fingers, a nervous habit he's developed since his Snow Dragon magick started evolving. The fire casts strange shadows on the frost-covered rubble around us, creating patterns that seem almost alive .

Taking a deep breath that tastes of magick and possibility, I say, "Now we figure out how I tap into Morgan's power without unleashing chaos on multiple realms." Simple words for an impossible task.

Caine leans on his cane, frost spreading from where it touches the floor. He shifts his weight as he contemplates this course, ice crystals forming and reforming around him like frozen thoughts. "The question remains, how exactly do we do that?"

I look at Thorne, watching how his shadows reach instinctively for mine, creating patterns of darkness that speak of ancient power and endless possibility. "I have an idea, but it's risky."

Thorne's eyes meet mine, understanding dawning in their depths like moonrise over dark water. "You want to use my shadow abilities to reach into the space between realms."

"Sort of. Morgan's essence, her true power, it has to be there somewhere. If we can find it, maybe we can channel it without waking up the wild magick in the forest." The words sound ridiculous even as I say them, but I feel their truth in my bones.

"That's nuts," Flint says with a note of admiration in his voice, his new fire making his eyes glow like embers. "But it might actually work."

Caine frowns, his frost spreading in agitated patterns. "But the risks, Violet. You could lose yourself in that space, and Thorne, channelling that much power through your shadows..." He trails off, but we all hear the unspoken danger. One wrong move, and we could tear reality apart.

I run a hand through my hair and tug it in agitation, feeling the different types of magick surge under my skin like competing melodies. "It's not as simple as that. Thorne's shadows can ground my magick without trying to control it. But Flint, I need your passion to keep the wild magick active while we transform it. Caine, I need your precision to direct it. This is a joint effort. I'll just be doing the heavy lifting, as it were."

No one speaks. To be frank, I don't think they have anything to add, so they don't bother. The silence is filled with the whisper of shadows, the crackle of flame, the soft chiming of frost.

"So, what exactly does being your anchor entail?" Thorne asks eventually, his shadows curling around us protectively.

"It means you're going to be the lightning rod," Caine answers before I can, frost spreading from his cane in scholarly patterns. "When Violet channels the wild magick, she'll need something to stop her from being overwhelmed. Your shadows will have to contain any overflow without suppressing it."

"While maintaining enough control not to get possessed by ancient forces," Flint adds helpfully, flames dancing in his hair. "No pressure, mate."

I take a deep breath, feeling four different types of magick settle into uneasy harmony. "Yeah. Flint, you'll need to keep the transformed magick active. Stop it from becoming stagnant or regulated. Caine, you'll have to direct it into new patterns and help it form barriers instead of breaking them."

"How do I do that?" Flint asks with a frown, sparks flying from his fingers.

I grin, trying to lighten the mood. "You know how to irritate the fuck out of me, so I'm sure you can find a way to annoy the ancient magick into staying distracted and active."

"Oh, cheers," he mutters, but shoots me a grin anyway, his flames brightening momentarily.

"Part of you will want to embrace it completely," Thorne says, his shadows deepening with concern. "We need to remind you that you can't."

I nod, feeling my vampire nature stir at the mere mention of power. "The vampire part of me craves power, add that to Morgan's wild magick and I dread to think."

"You could become the thing we are trying to stop," Caine says quietly, his frost patterns turning jagged with worry.

"Exactly. I could become exactly what Nathaniel wants. A force strong enough to break the barriers between realms." The thought sends chills down my spine despite the competing temperatures around us.

Flint frowns thoughtfully, his flames dimming. "So, we're not just transforming wild magick. We're transforming you."

"Yes." The word comes out barely above a whisper, carrying the weight of destiny. "Everything I am - vampire, witch, vessel, Catalyst - it all has to change. Has to become something new."

"Something balanced," Caine says, understanding dawning in his green eyes. "That's what Morgan's been trying to tell you, isn't it?"

I nod, feeling her presence stir like autumn leaves in the wind. "The key isn't controlling the power or unleashing it. It's finding a way to be both. To exist in between, like she did."

"Like shadows," Thorne murmurs, his darkness dancing around us with newfound purpose. "Neither light nor dark, but something else entirely."

"Exactly. It's why you are the key." I feel my magick respond to his understanding, purple light mixing with shadow in ways that shouldn't be possible but somehow are. "That's why you have to be my anchor. You already understand how to be two things at once."

He nods once.

"So, we're good?" I ask, looking around at them all. "Really good?"

"No," Thorne says, making everyone tense. "We're better than good. We're ready."

We share an elated smile that things are falling into place, our different magicks harmonising briefly in a display that makes the air shimmer.

But then I feel it. A tremor in Caine's time freeze, brief, but unmistakable. It's like reality hiccupping.

"Five days," he says grimly, clutching his cane tighter. "Give or take. "

"Then we better get to work," I stand, feeling my various types of magick swirl beneath my skin like competing symphonies. "Thorne, we need to practise channelling power through your shadows. Flint, start researching transformation spells, anything about changing the nature of magick itself. Get Blackthorne involved. This may require, uhm, less light and more dark. Caine..."

"Focus on maintaining the time freeze while experimenting with directional magick," he nods, frost spreading in determined patterns. "Got it."

"Right then," Flint claps his hands, flames dancing between his palms. "Let's go save the world. Or worlds. Whatever."

As they move to their tasks, I feel Morgan's presence stir like leaves in an autumn wind.

Well done, little flower. You're learning that true power isn't about choosing between things. It's about embracing all of them at once. Now, let's see if you can survive it.

"Are you going to help me?" I ask aloud, my voice echoing strangely in the magick-charged air.

The guys turn back to me with frowns.

I hold my hand up and wait, but there is nothing. Not a single breath from her. The silence feels deliberate, weighted.

I'm not sure if that's a bad sign or worse, the end of the world.

But I guess we're in this too deep to back out now.

For nothing else, I refuse to give Nathaniel the satisfaction of breaking the veils between worlds.

If that means I have to die to stop him, you bet your fucking arse I will.