Gypsy Rising (All The Pretty Monsters #5)(19)

His own lips struggle to stay pressed in a thin line. He gives one shrug of his shoulder.

“What was the bet? Who desperately wanted to know if I’d ever fucked Shera?” I ask, lifting an eyebrow. “And how very immature of you to use this moment to cash in on whatever that sad bet was.”

“It was just a small wager, Arion. One placed out of boredom between Emit and I, after I had to bloody his face up a bit for slacking on a border issue. Shera caught our attention, since she was the only beta you’d ever personally trained, especially since she looked far too similar to you know who. Don’t worry. You’ll thank me when I cash in.”

I don’t like it when Vance smiles like that. I hope it’s pointed toward Emit and not me.

“Back to the important matter, since life may hang in the balance and all,” I carry on, finding it unnerving to be the one forcing the serious topic. “The necklace wasn’t the only reason she was so strong, but it did play a significant role. Without it, she may be able to lift a curse, but she won’t be able to inflict one. She’ll lose some of her heaviest threats.”

He leans forward, brow furrowing. “Even without you aligned with us, we’d likely be able to handle her, if she doesn’t have curses in her back pocket.”

“Precisely,” I say with my own dark smile. “Not to mention all her weaknesses I can extort, if she crosses any lines regarding Violet. Violet is safe, and so is my favorite beta. Emily will have to fend for Isiah.”

He stares, not saying a word or making an expression for several long minutes, likely processing the severity of such well-kept secrets.

“When it comes to war, how significant will the loss of that necklace be? How much will that turn the tide?” he murmurs almost absently.

I can see the wheels of war already brewing in his Van Helsing mind.

“It won’t come to war, Van Helsing. And I’ll keep all the other details to myself, if you plan on using me against her like she used me against you.”

“You act as though she’ll give us a choice. We forced her underground, Arion. She didn’t go down willingly. Nadine nor the other skin walkers went down willingly. This is going to get ugly the second they begin rehydrating. It’s all Idun’s waiting for. And the very first weakness she’ll attack is the one we set ourselves up for—Violet. She’ll ruin her if we don’t stand together. For fuck’s sake, wake up, Vampyre!”

He pants for air in the otherwise silent room. In a span of moments, he went from believing the three of them could handle her, to trying to bully me into taking a side.

“This is why I turned on Idun enough to chase after the first woman to tempt my curiosity. I was a man of iron faith, who never strayed from his values or beliefs, in spite of the many times you three tried to tempt me with the darker pieces of the world,” I tell him, perching up next to the still-sobbing shifter on the ground. “As a soulless immortal, I have a different moral compass and view of the world, but still, I could never be tempted from my path. Violet tempted me like nothing and no one, aside from Idun, has ever tempted me before.”

I leave out the bits about being forced to watch them agonize over my punishment for a full century. Even as Emit hated me with all his might, he also hated himself for putting me under.

“Idun tempted me into the darkness. I was a man who chose my own fate. I may have voted against the altar, but I chose not to be left behind. In the end, I chose all of you and Idun. Violet is a much more satisfying center, and I love the ways she tempts me. I love it far too much.”

He scrubs a hand over his face when I smirk.

I gently take the portrait back from him, feeling the fine threads of the canvas brush over my fingers.

“You all played Idun’s game every time you went on the attack,” I tell him, as I take the rusty sword and find the sharpest edge. “I learned from your many mistakes what I’d do differently if ever I stopped caring for her. Do you honestly think I’d leave room for error?”

He simply stares at me for a moment, hesitance shining in his eyes. After a beat, he finally answers me.

“I think Idun has played you the worst, and you’ve still been unable to see it, even as you claim you’re ready to let her go,” he says somberly. “And I think I dread the day you realize just how unpredictable she can be, when it’s you she crosses with not one single ounce of compassion.”

I say nothing. He keeps using what I say against me, and if I punch him right now, we’re going to really fight. The tension’s in the air. Idun’s too close to risk that right now. Not when I still need to set the new rules.

My phone chimes with a message, and I click open the short clip of our very drunk little monster climbing atop a table, dressed like a man. I’ve never found men’s clothing lewd until this moment.

“We can have this debate at another time, Van Helsing. Damien and Emit are getting a drunk, partying, fun Violet all to themselves, while we do all the work. I’d like to get this wrapped up as soon as possible.”

The head of our private, one-person audience drops to the ground, as a few drops of blood fly from Vance’s quick-swinging sword. I pretend I saw that coming, mostly because I didn’t realize how low my guard had gotten.

“As you wish, Vampyre. Do me a favor and start the fire,” he says with mock casualness, as he strolls out.