My wife stood, took two steps back to stand at my side, and slipped her fingers through mine. A second later a piece of the mountain—the size of a small boulder—broke off of the ceiling and landed on Amber’s leg. The crunch of bone and Amber’s screaming filled the room. Another piece fell on her hand, then another on her other leg, then another on her lower back. Scream after scream, boulder after boulder, Violet stood stone cold until Amber fell limp on the floor. Crumpled and crushed.
She took a second to admire her work before she looked at me and smiled.No, it’s still not the time or the place. Fucking chill, stupid dick.
“So, how did I do? Do you think my villain speech was okay? Or did it need some work?”
I placed my free hand on her cheek and ran my thumb over her skin. I hadn’t noticed before, but all her bruises had vanished. Same with all her cuts and that fucking brand. I nearly burst into tears right there. She could heal herself; she wouldn’t have to live the rest of her life wearing the marks they tried to scar her with.
“It was perfect. You are incredible and I’m so fucking proud of you.”
Her eyes fluttered closed as her smile grew and she turned her head to kiss my palm. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
I leaned forward to kiss her forehead. When I pulled back, she had a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
“You look like you’re in pain.”
“Me? What?”
Her eyes travelled down my suit. Shit, busted. This suit had fucking everything on display.
“Look, I’m sorry. I really, really am, but oh my fuck. Evil Violet is the hottest shit ever and I can’t help it.”
She popped onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to my ear. “What do you say about getting out of here so I can show my husbandexactlyhow much I missed him?”
“Fuck yes. Hell fucking yes.”
She chuckled softly, stepping back.
“Are you going to be okay? Getting out on your own?” she asked turning to her left.
Shit. I completely forgot about the witch.
“Yes, thank you for coming for me.”
The witch stood for the first time and walked over to us. Her hand wrapped around Violet’s wrist and she leaned in. I wasn’tmore than a few inches away but when the witch’s mouth moved, I couldn’t hear what she was saying.
Violet met her eye, nodding once. “Good luck. I hope freedom is everything you wished for.”
“I believe it will be.” Then the witch vanished.
“What was that about?”
“Nothing, just saying thanks. There’s one more thing I have to do. Are you okay for a few more minutes?”
“I’ll be okay for a few more hours as long as you keep me at your side. What are we doing?”
Violet grinned. “We’re going to take this mountain down on top of their whole operation.”
I hadno idea why she waited for me to break out of here when she clearly didn’t need me. In fact, I felt like I was slowing her down. I was at her heels as she navigated the halls like she owned the place, killing guards with nothing more than a blink or wave of her hands.
“Did you really just learn what your powers were?”
Violet nodded, checking around a corner before she waved me forward. “I felt them brewing the whole time. A couple weeks ago these people…they messed up my back pretty bad with a whip—nearly took the skin clean off. The doctor said I may never get it all back. I was lying on my stomach, Niko was trying to keep my mind off of everything and was chattering away when he stopped dead. He told me the skin was knitting itself back together. I had to stop it, obviously. I couldn’t let them know I could heal. I was worried that was the only thing I coulddo, which I wouldn’t complain about but it wouldn’t exactly be useful for making an escape.”
At the end of the next hall, she paused again, giving me a chance to digest everything she just said. I only saw a fraction of the scars they’d tried to leave her with. It was fucking miracle she’d gotten her voice back so fast, let alone her smile and her laugh. I would never not be in awe of this woman and her strength.
“So I forced the healing to stop. Luckily for me, the doctor was a fucking idiot.” Violet rolled her eyes. “She thoughtshewas the reason my back healed up so fast. Can you believe that?”
