Gypsy Moon (All The Pretty Monsters #4)(89)

She laughs humorlessly once again, almost hysterically.

“No,” she says, wiping the tears from her eyes now. “No. No. No,” she says again, walking away as she only laughs harder. “It’s unbelievable that you even imagine a world where it’s possible,” she carries on through her fit of laughter, never turning back.

“That woman is more insane than ever,” I note as she cackles her way up the stairs.

“She wants in our heads,” Emit says just as Violet opens the door and walks out, having intentionally avoided our arguing, most likely.

The arguing hasn’t even started yet.

Everything always gets postponed when Idun’s in town. Our war with Marta is sure to come.

My eyes rake over Violet, as she sighs and runs a hand through her hair, eyes meeting mine. When Marta makes her move, Violet will be caught in the crosshairs.

The focus starts coming in very sharp, and I quickly walk out of the room, going to once again view that clip, as something new and determined stirs inside of me.

I don’t always hate the Van Helsing curse. Not when it works for me instead of against me.





CHAPTER 25





VIOLET


“Are you staying with one of us or her for now?” Damien asks, tucking an errant lock of hair behind my ear. “I’m sure you’d like to spend some time with your mother.”

I’m currently putting a very big pin in all my emotions and thoughts regarding my mother, because that’s what she asked me to do. And because I can’t deal with all this right now.

“Actually, I think I’m going to work on that really stout potion. We have all the materials, and—”

“For the rising?” Damien asks, confused, just before he exhales harshly like he’s just remembered they forgot to tell me they’re not doing it.

“I already explained,” Arion says to me with a tight expression, tugging my hand into his. “We can’t risk being weakened before the rules are in play. She’ll come out of hiding soon, love. Promise.”

A door upstairs slams really hard.

“I just want to have the potion ready. We have extra ingredients, right? Even the ones that are hard to come by? Mom said she had enough for a few batches just with her own supply,” I go on, deciding Mom’s stove and makeshift hidey-house will have to do.

The three of them exchange a glance. Emit’s lips tighten, as he leans against the wall. Vance makes a sound from upstairs that must be sort of loud if I can hear it, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Idun’s been to Shadow Hills, but she left over a month ago and hasn’t gone back,” he calls down on a pained breath before something thuds the ground.

Arion whirs by me, and Mom comes through the front door. Just as I reach the top of the stairs and spot the collapsed Van Helsing, Mom’s confused eyes land on Vance.

I immediately go to him, dropping to my knees, while he stays propped on all fours, swaying like he’s dizzy.

“You really managed to track her out of the hellacious loops she surely left behind? That quickly?” Mom asks almost disbelievingly.

“Does every-fucking-body know about the motherfucking loops?” Vance asks, almost sounding drunk, as he starts to lean too hard to the right.

A groan turns into a grunt, as he falls to his side, and I move next to him, grabbing his cheeks with both hands.

“We agreed there’d be no touching of any kind,” Mom snaps. “No more breaking the rules.”

“I and they agreed they wouldn’t touch me,” I remind her absently, as I keep my hands pressed to Vance’s cheeks, holding his head steady, while his eyes roll around in his head. “Is he okay?”

“He’s immortal, Violet,” Marta says like she’s frustrated. “He can’t die from being cursed or he’d be dead by now.”

“I bloody almost found her,” Vance groans, limply wiping his literal bloody nose.

I catch his sleeve and pull it back from his wrist before the blood gets on his one and only shirt he currently has, until he can find a store that sells high-end tailored suits around here.

I feel Mom’s eyes burning a hole in me like I’m the traitor she spent seven hours pushing out of her vagina that felt mortal, and all that other disgusting stuff she mentioned earlier.

I subtly flip her off, and she knows exactly why, as I tend to Vance’s nose.

“I smelled beta shifters, so she’s already found her den,” Vance goes on. “But I lost it after that.”

“Do you know if you were close to the den?” Arion asks him like it’s urgent.

Vance slowly shakes his head, eyes still rolling around in his head. He goes limp and passes out after that, and I stare down in so much confusion.

“It would have taken more focus than he’s capable of for him to break the loops Idun would have left him with,” Mom says like Vance is making it all up.

“Unless he really wants to find her,” Arion argues, even as I lamely try to ignore the content and context.

As they argue and plot against Idun, while also arguing about the best way to be more diabolical than the queen of all things sinister, I tend to Vance. My overwhelmed mind strays to a piece of my arguing-talk with Mom.

“What are you talking about?”