AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Gavin’s brows dipped as he peered outside, studying the gloomy sky. “Julius hired his own men back in Scoria. He might be alone or with them.”
“Why weren’t they waiting here, then?”
“He thinks he’s already won. He’s just toying with us. But I do think they are waiting. The question is where.”
Unfortunately, Julius’ approach was working. Violet knew how perverted his mind was—and now he had her sister. “I think they might be out there, in my father’s boathouse.” She pointed at the structure. For a moment they stood quietly, staring out at the pier which stretched toward it across the sands.
Then Gavin pressed his lips tightly together and turned toward her. His hand traveled along her spine in a gentle caress and settled between her shoulder blades. “I’d say we get this over with. We don’t want him to get his hands on Thalea.”
Her heart slowed when his russet color eyes met hers. The warmth that flooded her wasn’t the unpleasant despair that had been driving her mad this entire time, but a wholly different sensation that brought her ease. “You don’t have to die here, Gavin. Not because of my stupidity. You should go back to your family.”
“I have a family, and she is standing right next to me. Stop trying to save me, Violet. I make my own choices. I want to stay with the woman I love while she tries to rescue her people.”
Tears blurred her vision, and she swallowed and took a shaky breath. Her nerves were strung too tight, and it left her dizzy. “I love you, and I’m sorry.”
“If you think I blame you for making that choice, you’re wrong. Not after Julius hurt you, and I had spent a good few days before that defending the bastard.” He shook his head and looked away, attempting to hide a deep frown. “I wish I’d my eyes open before all of it happened.”
They came up with a simple plan. She would run ahead of Gavin, hoping to draw any bounty hunters out of hiding. Then they would go into the boathouse together. If no one ambushed her, she would investigate the place alone while he inspected the surroundings.
The small backyard was cluttered with fishing gear, old and busted nets draped everywhere. Her house lay at the end of a natural lagoon, isolated because of the strong winds and storms which whipped it. The land had been in her family line for centuries, even though her parents had rebuilt the house when they’d moved here. Perhaps it was the magic in their blood that had protected it from the unforgiving weather. She steeled her spine as she crept over the uneven boards of the pier, her heart beating fast.
Violet hated the idea of walking into a trap. It would be so easy to leave now and forget that these last few days had ever happened. To put aside her love for her sister, who was almost a stranger.
But it was her fault that they were in this position. She wasn’t going anywhere.
The waves crashed around her, thick droplets clinging to her skin and hair. She kept her body low and close to the planks, hoping her poor attempt at a shielding spell would mask her approach.
The water foamed as it retreated, the tide high and spilling on top of the uneven boards. The air around her tasted crisp and humid. A storm brewed in the distance, shaking the place with a strong wind.
No one jumped out at her from the boathouse. No bounty hunters or Crows. Yet, deep in her gut she knew that behind those doors was her enemy. The cocky bastard assumed she would bend to his will. But he didn’t know that the God of Shadows himself was tied to her—and to Thalea.
32
VIOLET
The inside of the boathouse wasn’t anything like she remembered. The building used to be beautiful. Its green paint had long since peeled away, revealing the silver wood underneath. The windows were cracked, shattered, or missing entirely, like they’d sunk into the water.
The floor was the same as the pier outside, forming a U-shape at its center that housed her father’s proudest possession. Torn by the weather and the sea, a large fishing boat bobbed up and down. The ceiling had partially collapsed on top of it, and it creaked with every movement.
Drops of rain drenched her as she looked over the ruins of her past toward the three shapes on the other side.
Her mother and sister kneeled on the floor, with Julius standing between them. “Surprise, Cora,” he said in a hoarse, rattling tone, then coughed. “I bet you didn’t expect to see me here.”
“No. I thought you were dead.” She made her way toward him slowly. Keeping him talking would buy her family time. Make Julius focus his anger towards her, and give Thalea a chance to run.
“Ah. Not a step closer. Drop your blade. Now.” He snarled the words, no longer pretending. His eyes never left Violet’s swift movements as she stepped over a fallen board. The turquoise water beneath could have fooled anyone into thinking that this was some tropical beach. Beautiful, but dangerously cold. Especially during winter.
It gave her a sick joy. Julius was afraid of her talent with a knife. But not even her well-honed skills could convince her to throw her only physical weapon from this far. It was too much of a risk. In the best-case scenario, she risked it lodging itself somewhere on her father’s fishing boat. Worst case, and it would end up on the seafloor.
“I said drop the blade!” His frown deepened. He looked considerably smaller than when she’d left him to die. Sick.
“Go fuck yourself, Julius.” Violet pressed the words between tight lips, panic churning deep inside her. She wasn’t under any delusion that he was planning on letting any of them live.
“I don’t have to kill both of them,” Julius bartered. “But if I have to repeat myself, I will, and rather swiftly.” He yanked both her mother’s and sister’s heads back to further prove how much power he had over her. Their exposed throats bobbed with their cries.
Violet froze instantly.
“Don’t do it, Violet!” Thalea’s wavering voice broke the tense silence that had fallen on them. Her words had the opposite effect, and the prickle of tears stung Violet’s eyes just as the knife dropped from her opened hand.
