5. Flint

5

FLINT

"Did you get what you needed?" Violet asks, getting to her feet and brushing away the fear she must've felt. My heart aches for her, but again, I'm bowled over by how strong she is.

"We need to do it again," Thorne says, shaking his head. "And again and again. I need the exact moment. We need at least three in a row where it's the same."

"Fuck," she mutters and pushes her hair out of her face. "Okay. Okay. Let's start again."

I watch with growing concern as Violet steels herself for another run-through of that horrific night. Her determination is admirable, but I can see the toll it's taking on her already.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" I ask gently. "We can take a break if you need it."

Violet shakes her head vehemently. "No, I want to get this done. The sooner we nail down the exact time, the sooner we can break this bond."

I exchange a worried glance with Caine, but we both know there's no talking her out of it.

"Okay," Thorne says, resetting his stopwatch. "From the top again."

Caine and I take our positions, summoning the illusion again. I open my eyes as I hold my hands like an antenna for Caine to borrow my magick. Ice lightning flickers around my fingertips and tickles my palms. I grimace when I see him start to sweat, but he shakes it off. This is taking all he has, but he won't stop until Violet says it's time to stop. I close my eyes and focus on pushing through as much magickal energy as I can to him, and then I open my eyes again as I feel him take it. I want to observe Violet and make sure she is holding up.

As Violet relives that night for the second time, my heart clenches at the fear in her eyes, the desperation in her movements - it's all too real.

By the third run-through, Violet is visibly shaking, though she tries to hide it. When Nathaniel appears for the third time, she flinches so hard I nearly lose my concentration on the spell.

Before I can call it quits, she lunges at the illusion of Nathaniel, her teeth bared, and she smashes him in the face with her fist, her foot following up with a kick to the nuts.

"I hate you!" she screams, pounding on him. "I fucking hate you for doing this to me!"

Her words hurt, I won't lie, but I know she doesn't mean it in the sense that she wishes she'd never met us. It's a normal reaction, I suspect, from being turned against your will, having everything you knew taken away from you without your say-so. I try to put myself in her shoes and then smile. I lock gazes with Caine, who is struggling to maintain the illusion, and mimic a staking. He nods, and a stake appears in her hand.

She pauses for a second to look down at it, and then she slams it so hard into Nathaniel's chest that I flinch slightly.

"Fuck, baby girl," I mutter. "Do it again." I can't help the hard-on it gives me seeing her this way. Does that make me a bit twisted? Yeah, probably. But still.

"No," she snaps. "We are wasting time. From the top."

We run through the re-creation ritual several more times, with Violet reliving that traumatic night over and over. Each time, she pushes through despite her obvious distress.

After the sixth run-through, Thorne finally calls a halt. "I think we've got it," he says, consulting his notes. "The timing was consistent across the last four iterations."

Violet nods, dropping to the floor and pulling her knees up, looking exhausted but relieved. "So, what's the verdict?"

"Based on our calculations, you were turned at exactly 12:17 AM," Thorne replies. "That gives us the precise timing we need for the severance ritual."

Caine and I release the illusion spell, both of us drained from maintaining it for so long .

"You did great," I tell her softly, sitting down next to her and wrapping my arms around her. "How are you feeling?"

She gives me a weak smile. "I'm okay. Tired, and even more ready to be done with all this."

I nod in understanding. "We're one step closer now. You should rest."

Thorne agrees. "Yes, you need to recover your strength. The severance ritual will be even more demanding."

"Plus, classes tomorrow and whatever you are doing with Amara," I add.

"So, when do we do this? Amara said I had to have a foundation of these Morgana powers before we try it, but I think I have that. I can feel it here." She punches her gut.

I exchange a glance with Thorne and Caine. We're all worried about rushing into this, but we also understand Violet's urgency.

Thorne speaks up first. "I think we should give it at least another day or two. You've made incredible progress, Violet, but the severance ritual is incredibly complex and dangerous. We can't afford any mistakes."

Violet opens her mouth to protest, but Caine cuts her off gently. "He's right, snowdrop. Plus, you need time to recover from today. This kind of emotional and magical exertion takes a toll, not just on you."

Her eyes widen. "Shit. Are you okay?"

"We're fine," I reply for Caine before his honest bluntness puts Violet off from trying the ritual. Caine is a badass, and he will shake this off after a hot shower and some food. Violet, on the other hand, won't.

She sighs, clearly frustrated but unable to argue with the logic. "Okay, you're right," she says reluctantly.

"About Amara," Thorne says, his brow furrowing, "I think we need to have a serious discussion about her role in all this. There's still a lot we don't know."

Violet nods slowly. "You're right. She's been helpful, but I can't shake this feeling that she's not telling us everything."

Caine leans forward on his cane. "Our dads and Blackthorne trust her. That goes a long way with me."

"Same," I agree, "but if you are getting vibes, then we need to keep an eye on her."

"It's not vibes, as such, it's her obvious connection to Nathaniel. The way she spoke about him before was concerning. She has known all along he is this monster, so why not take him out?"

I pause and exchange a glance with Thorne. It appears he might be thinking the same as me.

"What?" Violet asks. "What are you two silently agreeing on?"

"They think you are the only one who can hurt him," Caine drawls before we can reply.

I sigh and rub my hand over my face. "Caine," I groan.

"What?" Violet says. "Why?"

"Just a theory, princess," Thorne says. "He was in a room with two incredibly powerful beings plus their offspring, me, his mother who clearly doesn't like him and the Headmaster of the best supernatural academy in the world… and no one who tried, could get to him, except?—"

"Me," she says. "I hurt him. But you guys trapped him."

"Not the same. Defensive versus offensive," I say. "Very different beasts."

"Shit. Shit. Shit! So, this lies on me to get rid of him? I can't do that. He's hundreds of years old."

"Eight hundred of them, but you can do this. But only once we break the sire bond. Before then, I don't think you will be able to handle the ramifications." I grasp her chin lightly and turn her gaze to mine. "But you can do it, baby girl."

"Eight hundred years old? Eight hundred? Fuck." She sinks against me, and I hold her, stroking her gorgeous hair and twirling a lock around my finger. "This is too much. I can't think right now."

"Let's get you back to bed. It will be dawn soon anyway," I say and stand up, helping her rise with me.

"Yeah, I can feel the pull of it," she murmurs and then frowns.

"What?"

"That's the first time I've felt it."

"You have embraced your true vampire self," Thorne says. "You will start to have a lot of firsts now."

Her gaze shoots up, heated as she stares at him.

He chuckles. "Yeah, that too, princess."

She presses her lips together and looks down, a cute blush on her cheeks. "Come," I say, hoping she will ask me to stay with her. I take her hand, and we head back to her room.

Once outside, she looks up at us and lets me go. My heart clenches, but she gives us a tired smile. "I'll see you all later. Thank you for everything you did tonight. I'm glad that we were able to get the exact time for the ritual."

"You did all the work," Thorne says.

Caine snorts softly, and Violet looks up at him with a giggle. "We all did the work. Go and rest. We are going to need all the strength we can get in the next few days."

"That's my line," I murmur, pulling her close and dropping a light kiss on her lips.

I release Violet reluctantly, watching as she gives Caine and Thorne quick hugs before retreating into her room. As the door closes behind her, I let out a long sigh.

"She's pushing herself too hard," I mutter, running a hand through my hair.

Thorne nods in agreement. "I know. But can you blame her? She's desperate to be free of Nathaniel."

"We all want that," Caine adds grimly. "But you're right, we need to make sure she doesn't burn herself out before the ritual."

"True," Thorne says. "But we need to be careful. The severance ritual is dangerous enough without adding exhaustion and emotional strain to the mix. "

We pause at the intersection where our paths diverge to our separate rooms.

"So, what's the plan?" I ask. "Give her a day to rest and then do the ritual?"

Thorne shakes his head. "Two days minimum. I want to go over every detail of the ritual again, make sure we haven't missed anything, and Violet needs more time with Amara to strengthen her Morgana abilities."

"Sounds like a plan," I mutter, and push open the door to my room. I collapse on the bed, the lending of power having taken more out of me than I care to admit, and I find oblivion quickly.