Embrace, Entice, Emblaze (118 page)

“Dad.” I held still and looked at him. “Dad, I’m sorry.”

He returned my gaze for an instant, desperation flooding his eyes.

“I love you, Dad.” I pulled my arm out of his hold using a physical strength he couldn’t possibly comprehend, leaving him holding only the bracelets that had covered my markings.

We both gasped, looking down at the otherworldly patterns

that started to churn and swirl, reflecting different— impossible—

colors and then, as if rising from beneath, outlines of the feather- tip markings that matched those on the carved box and my mother’s

wristband. All of it entirely inhuman.

I pulled down my sleeve in shame.

“What
are
you?” he said in a daze.

My eyes welled. “I’m your daughter, Dad, but…I’m her daughter

too.” I picked up my bag.

“Don’t blame this on her!”

“No,” I half laughed and took my bracelets from his still-

suspended hand. “Of course not.”

I walked through the door, snapping off the handle when I

closed it, locking him inside. I got into the elevator to the sounds of Dad pounding on the door, screaming my name.

I’m sorry, Dad.

I didn’t know if I would ever get the chance to make things

right again.

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————

Steph didn’t talk much on the way to the airport. She could tell things hadn’t gone well with Dad. I should have just lied to him.

Steph clearly hadn’t had any major drama getting away from her

place, though it hadn’t left her in the best mood either. Her mom had helped her pack.

The taxi pulled up outside the terminal. Spence was waiting for us.

He hoisted our bags under his arms.

“You’re being awfully helpful,” I said, attempting to shift into a better mood.

“Hey, we might be on our way to Death Island, but I’ve always

wanted to go to Greece.” He shrugged, almost dropping a bag.

“And it beats another desert.”

“True,” I said, agreeing wholeheartedly. I never wanted to see

another desert again.

My phone rang and I pulled it out of my pocket.

Home.

I pressed end and turned it off.

“Where is everyone?” Steph asked, keeping the conversation

moving as she brushed a hand over my arm in silent support.

“Waiting for our plane. It just landed,” Spence said, weaving

through the crowds.

“Whose plane is it?” I asked, following him past the maze of

people checking in.

“The Academy’s,” he answered, shooting me a sideways glance.

I stopped midstride. “Spence, is Josephine on the plane?”

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His worried look deepened and he nodded.

Perfect. This day just keeps getting better.

I’d forgotten all about the Academy sending in their pit bull.

“Where do we check in?” Steph asked, looking around.

“We don’t— private flight. We just have to go through passport

control over there.” He pointed to a small tunnel with a sign above saying “Private Aircraft.”

We presented our passports and I snuck a peek at Spence’s. It

looked just like mine, a blank cover that didn’t say anything on it.

“Why didn’t they ask why our passports look different?” I whis-

pered when we’d gone through.

He smiled devilishly. “Because they’re all under a glamour.

Wherever we are, they will present as if they’re passports of that country. No matter where we go, when we arrive, someone will say,

‘Welcome home!’”

It was genius.

Then I saw something else. “Spencer
Gregory— that’s
your name?” Spence took his passport back and put it away. “Don’t have a

reason to be anything else. No one knew my parents’ last names

and I’d always been Spencer Smith before that— or whatever my

foster parents made me call myself. When I found out who I really was, I made it my official name.” He pushed through the door at the end of the corridor. “Here we are.”

Despite the easygoing explanation, I felt a history in the weight of his words, the loneliness that lurked behind them, and I had a sudden urge to wrap him up in cotton wool and keep him safe

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always. Instead, I gave him a gentle shoulder nudge, which he

ignored, as we entered the holding room.

Everyone was there, wearing casual, easy- to- fly- in clothes. I didn’t need to look to know Lincoln was in the far corner, but

I couldn’t stop my eyes from traveling to him. He was leaning

against a glass wall, looking out over the airstrip. He didn’t turn my way, but by the tight set of his shoulders, I could tell he knew I’d just walked in.

Samuel and Kaitlin were sitting in a lounge area with Nathan

and Becca. After acknowledging our entrance, they went back to

their conversations.

“Violet,” Griffin said. He was standing with Dapper, and what-

ever file they were looking at was quickly closed. “You’re here,” he said, sounding relieved.

“Said I would be,” I replied, wondering if Lincoln had mentioned something to Griffin about me not going.

Onyx was sitting at a small table with more than a dozen tiny

bottles of alcohol, several already empty. He waggled a few fingers at me and then drank another one.

I shot a look back at Griffin. He just averted his gaze as if there was nothing he could do about it.

Dapper, though, walked over to Onyx and started to pocket the

bottles. “I’ll portion them out.”

Surprisingly, Onyx shrugged and put up little fight.

A long, sleek jet rolled along the tarmac, and we all watched as it pulled to a halt. I’d seen that plane before; when we arrived back 214

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from Jordan, the Academy had had people waiting to take Nyla

and Rudyard. Griffin had carried Nyla aboard.

By the haunted look on his face, Griffin was reliving that

memory too.

The plane’s engines shut down and men dressed in dark blue

overalls ran toward it with fuel hoses.

“We board in ten minutes,” Griffin called out. Everyone nodded

and started gathering their bags.

“Violet,” Griffin said quietly. I followed his lead and moved

toward the back of the room with him. “You’ve probably already

figured out…” He looked at the jet.

“Josephine’s on that plane?” I asked rhetorically, but when he

kept looking at me, I realized it was more than that. “She’s coming with us.” I thought at least she might be staying to rest for a day or so.

He nodded. “Listen,” he said hurriedly. “I promise you I will

do everything I can to stop them from forcing you into anything.

More of the Academy will meet us in Santorini. If things get too…

if Phoenix is successful, we will need all the forces we can gather.

There are fifteen thousand innocent civilians living on that island.” He looked down.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked, putting a hand on his

arm but dreading what he was about to say.

“I have to go to mainland Greece. There are Grigori there who

need to be informed and complications that we must prevent. It’s the way things are done there and since I’m still officially the leader, 215

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it is my responsibility, unless we hand over the entire case to the Academy…which we won’t.” He emphasized the last words. “I’ll

take Nathan and Becca with me, but it might take a couple of days to sort everything out. The Grigori there are hard to find— few in number and overrun by exiles. Josephine is of a Seraph, so while I’m gone, she will automatically assume control over any Grigori who answer to me. Technically, I can nominate someone to speak

in my absence, but Josephine will ultimately have rank.”

“What does that mean?”

The doors leading out to the tarmac opened and a small vehicle

drove a set of stairs up to the jet door.

“Do what she says,” Griffin said, looking increasingly nervous.

He put a hand on my back and guided me forward.

“She is very good and you can trust that she wants to stop

Phoenix, but Violet…” He leaned in close, whispering now.

“Lincoln told me how your senses have developed. Don’t tell her anything about your powers that you don’t need to. And
don’t
defy her. She prides herself on being the most powerful of us all.”

“But you said she was the Vice?” There had to be someone

above her.

“She is.” He squeezed my arm, too tight for comfort. “By
choice
.” And then he let go and powered ahead of me, leading our pack.

We left the holding room and walked onto the tarmac. Lincoln

moved quietly, loading our bags into the baggage compartment. I passed him mine, trying not to look at him, but when our fingers brushed, our eyes met. I didn’t know what to expect, maybe that 216

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he would say something about me not coming or maybe nothing

at all, but instead he gave a crooked smile and I felt a little of that warmth that only ever came from him seep into me like a ray of

sunshine. I smiled back and his stunning green eyes lit up for me, and I knew, though they weren’t nearly as spectacular, that mine did the same.

Despite everything else, I let myself soak in the warmth as I

climbed the stairs behind Steph. Until, that is, I walked straight into the back of her.

“What— ” I started to say, but Steph’s yelp drowned me out.

“I can’t believe it!” she cried, now running up the steps two at a time.

I leaned to the side to see what she was looking at and there they were: Salvatore and Zoe.

Before I knew what I was doing, I yelped too and followed at

Steph’s pace, bounding up the steps.

Steph was already in Salvatore’s arms and he was speaking quickly in Italian to her. I grabbed Zoe and we hugged like the friends we now were— friends who had fought and suffered loss together.

“You came back!” And I realized then that I’d started to doubt

they ever would. At least not for this, not when they knew it was such a lost cause.

“We told you we would, didn’t we?”

I pulled her tight. Someone coughed behind me.

“Ah, Eden, you might want to let her go now.”

“Oh,” I said, releasing my grip and actually looking at Zoe

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properly. Her spiky, short hair now had pink tips, which somehow still managed to look dangerous. She was wearing a dark gray

camouflage- pattern sleeveless dress. Only Zoe would pull the

overall look together so well, finishing it off with heavy leather boots and her dagger hanging from her waist.

Spence lifted her into the air.

“Let’s move the reunion into the plane, people,” Griffin said,

coming up the stairs behind us. But he was beaming too. We’d all needed some good news.

I moved past Zoe into the cabin, and Salvatore and Steph broke

their embrace long enough for him to say hello. I could tell instantly that his English had improved even more and that I would be able to understand almost everything he said.

Everyone shook hands and hugged as we moved inside. I reached

the main cabin area first and spotted the small entourage already seated at the back.

A woman who must have been Josephine sat with her legs crossed.

She had long brown hair with auburn streaks that were highlighted by her tight ponytail. She wore a figure- hugging scarlet wrap dress, more feminine than most Grigori attire, and was clicking the top of a pen in her hand as she stared directly at me with aqua- blue eyes.

Six Grigori flanked her and it was clear to see why: dressed in similar black clothes and with their eyes not on me so much as on everything, they were definitely bodyguards.

The woman, who looked about thirty, was older than any

Grigori I had met. I had no idea of her real age but knew, perhaps 218

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by her frighteningly superior air, that she was significantly ancient.

She stood up, taking her time, making a point. This woman rushed for no one.

I felt Lincoln move up behind me, his hand lightly touching

the small of my back, cautioning me as much as he was supporting me. I could feel his worry through our partnership, and this time, I didn’t step away from his comfort.

The woman looked toward Lincoln and gave a tight smile.

“Lincoln Wood.”

“Josephine,” Lincoln said calmly. “It’s good to see you. Allow me to introduce you to my partner, Violet Eden.”

Her eyes briefly cast to me as if I were a fly she had just swatted, though she couldn’t help but pause when her gaze reached my

wrists, despite the fact they were once again covered.

“Yes. Violet…Eden. I’ve heard so much and yet…” She looked me

up and down. “Well, let’s just say I was expecting something else.”
Oh. We’re going to be great friends.

She pursed her lips and looked right through me as if I were no longer there at all. “Is that you, Griffin Moore?” she called out, and waved a hand in the air. It was odd to hear everyone’s full names, like once she said them, a certain command was assumed. I didn’t like it.

“Take your seats, everyone,” Griffin said, not rushing but heading in our direction. It was a sweet power play and I liked that Griffin made her wait. “Stephanie, perhaps you can do that from a sitting position,” he said, squeezing past her and Salvatore in a lip- lock.