Embrace, Entice, Emblaze (64 page)

Jessica shirvington

a thank-you to Dapper. She didn’t say anything else. She knew I couldn’t talk it out right now.

————

Everyone was at Lincoln’s by the time we arrived. A feeling of disappointment overwhelmed me. It was great having everyone around,

and I had never had so many friends, but at the same time, I wasn’t used to such a constant invasion. It felt like everywhere I turned, someone else was there. I barely had any time on my own anymore.

It was all too much.

I went through the motions, involving myself in conversa-

tions when necessary. Mostly, the talk revolved around the night before, recapping the story or asking questions. Luckily for me, it seemed no one had gone into the role I had played in too

much depth.

I was aware of Lincoln sitting at the dining table with Magda

close beside him. At one point, I’d made a hesitant move toward him, but he’d seen me coming and turned away, so I, pathetically, kept on walking past them to the espresso machine. Spence was

rummaging through the fridge, clearly unhappy with its contents.

“Any milk?” I asked, grabbing a mug.

“Milk, yes. Snacks, no,” he said, emerging with the milk and

nothing else. He passed the carton to me and must have noticed

the tears welling in my eyes.

“Hey, you okay?” He put a hand on my shoulder, but some-

thing caught his attention and he dropped it again. “Oh man, I’m gonna…” He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder and walked away.

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I turned around to see Lincoln, arms crossed as he watched

Spence move to the sofa. He didn’t even look at me.

I took up a spot on my own near my wall, wishing I could slip

behind the drop cloth and disappear. Every time I looked over to Lincoln, Magda was whispering something in his ear, then breaking into sly grins I was sure were meant only for me. She was so smug, sitting there, looking perfect in white jeans and a caramel- colored sweater. Her clothes were always immaculate, and she wore the

kind of labels only Steph could rival.

Everyone chatted away as we waited for Griffin to arrive, the

last person due. I talked to Nyla for a while but had the feeling she was formulating too many opinions of me, so I moved away when

I could. My legs were throbbing badly and I felt blood seeping

through my pants. I hoped the fabric wasn’t sticking to the wounds as the blood dried.

When Griffin finally arrived, he greeted Nyla and Rudyard

and then headed straight over to where Magda and Lincoln were

huddled. Magda stood, gave him a brief embrace, and talked

quietly with him. I inched closer but couldn’t hear much, other than that she was leaving and it was something she couldn’t get out of— though she hadn’t seemed keen to go anywhere just a minute

ago. She was brusque with Griffin and within moments landed a

quick— and annoying— kiss on Lincoln’s cheek before she basically flew out the door. I was guessing her abrupt departure was the

reason she didn’t have the chance to say good- bye to me.

Yeah
right.

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“Is everyone here, then?” Griffin called out, returning his attention to the room.

We all nodded. He was about to convene a meeting. With the

information we gathered last night, it was now more important

than ever to find those Scriptures. I knew they would have been working on strategies all morning. He was about to lay it out for us— what was going to happen, how it was going to happen. The

problem was, Griffin didn’t have all the info.

“Right, come and sit down,” he went on, readying to start the

spiel of a leader. I was glad we had him. The burden he must carry was huge. I was exhausted from just a week of having to deal with these people. I couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be for him at times.

Everyone dutifully moved in around the couches, squeezing

together. Steph looked cozy tucked in with Salvatore. I smiled

at her, noticing as I did that she was looking back at me with a worried expression. Lincoln moved closer too but kept a slight

distance from everyone else, choosing to remain standing at the end of the kitchen bench. It could have just been because there was no room left on the sofas, but I was certain it was more than that.

More
to
do
with
staying
away
from
me!

Griffin made himself comfortable in the main armchair, and

because there was no room left for me, I just sat on the floor, which suited me anyway. My legs were on fire and at least there, laying them out straight didn’t draw any extra attention.

“Okay, I know you were all planning on training today, but

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instead, we need to work out how we are going to deal with the

new information we have,” Griffin began.

Showtime.

I half raised my hand. “Actually, before you do that, I need to tell you something,” I confessed, taking a deep breath.

“What do you mean, Violet?” Griffin asked.

“I mean, there’s more. I…I know who’s after the Scriptures.”

I saw Lincoln take a tiny step toward me and then move back to

his place as if he wasn’t sure what to do— or what he
wanted
to do.

I bit down on my lip.

Stay
strong.

“Phoenix is back.”

“
What?!
” Lincoln snapped. His eyes narrowed and zeroed in on me.

I knew it was big news, but it still shocked me to see him look at me like that.

“He was at Hades the other night. When we got there— ” I

shook my head, angry that I had allowed this much to happen. “I could sense an exile and I checked him out, but he wasn’t causing any trouble and Dapper reminded me that we’d promised not to

fight in his place. The exile from the farmhouse last night, the one who got away, was also at Hades, working for Phoenix.”

“Are you sure? How do you know?” Griffin asked, urgently.

“He used his abilities on me…and Spence.” I looked down.

“He…”

“He made you kiss Spence,” Lincoln answered for me. I looked

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up and could see the anger drain away as understanding dawned on his face. “Violet, Phoenix did that?”

“Did you really think I’d just throw myself at her so easily?”

Spence jumped in, feigning offense, trying to lighten a moment

that couldn’t be.

Zoe punched him in the arm.

Lincoln’s gaze didn’t shift. His green eyes glistened as he

continued to stare at me from the other side of the room. I could see the agony in them. And the fear. But now was not the time.

I’ve got more to tell.

“He wanted to show me that even though our emotional bond

was broken, he was still strong enough to influence me and other Grigori. He was giving a display of how powerful he really is. When I confronted him, he showed me something else as well.”

“You spoke to him?” Lincoln asked, now taking that tentative

step in my direction.

I braced myself to say it. “He still has some kind of hold over me.”

“Do you want me to explain?” Spence offered, sensing the

tension in the room.

Lincoln shot Spence a look from beneath a furrowed brow.

Spence actually seemed to shrink in size.

“No. Even
you
don’t know everything,” I replied, keeping my focus on Griffin. It was easier that way. “When Phoenix healed me, he bonded our life forces. The other night, he…he took the healing away. It was as if Onyx had just stabbed me again.”

“He reproduced old wounds?” Nyla asked.

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Lincoln didn’t say anything, and when I chanced a quick glance, I couldn’t work out if he looked more livid or petrified.

“This is very serious, Violet.”

“I don’t need you to tell me that, Griffin,” I snapped.

Griffin nodded. “You’re right. But Phoenix has capabilities

we are not fully aware of yet.” He turned to everyone else. “For the benefit of those who do not know, Phoenix is something of

an anomaly. He is the son of an ancient dark exile, Lilith, and also”— he looked down, worried— “he is the son of man.”

“Doesn’t that make him like a Nephilim?” Zoe asked. Nephilim

are the result of exile and human breeding. Often they just

produce a normal human. Sometimes they produce something

more, but their offspring are not as powerful as exiles and generally not as destructive. They weren’t common or usually viewed as a

major threat.

Griffin rubbed his eyes. “No. Phoenix was conceived prior to

original sin, before mortality. When he was made, man was of

similar power to angel. Angels acknowledged Phoenix as one of

their own and he existed in the realm of angels before he was cast out. So Phoenix can blend like a human, can almost completely

shut off the senses, and has a very capable handle on his ability to influence and control emotion.” Griffin looked at me sternly. “You should’ve told me the moment he resurfaced.”

I nodded and hated that I’d let him down.

“It was pretty bad. Blood everywhere. I can confidently say

we all thought she was going to…you know…right there on the

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floor,” Zoe confirmed. She sounded so blasé, but she couldn’t hide the heavy gulp that followed. Nyla gave her a look that stopped any further contribution.

“When he left, I healed…but…Phoenix is tied to me, physi-

cally. If we return him…” I sucked in another breath, struggling to deliver the finale. “If his physical form dies…”

“It will kill you too,” Lincoln said, the blankest expression on his pale face.

“Yes.”

The room was soundless. Everyone had a question, something

to say, but no one dared. All eyes darted between Lincoln and me.

They could feel the energy leaping between the two of us.

Finally, I said, “I think I know where he is— where they all are.”

“Where?” Griffin and Nyla asked simultaneously.

“The airport.” I shifted my leg and a shooting pain flew up my

thigh. I tried to hide the gasp and wondered if there was some glass left in the wound. “Don’t ask me how; I just know.”

“Was that what you were trying to sense last night?” Rudyard asked.

“And why you then lied about it,” Griffin concluded, less

impressed.

I just nodded to both. “Kind of. I sensed something at the

airport the other day that I can’t explain— I just knew it wasn’t right. Then, when we arrived at the farmhouse, I recognized the exile that we later…questioned.” I tried and failed not to gulp at the memory. “He was at Hades the other night, just before Phoenix.

He must’ve told Phoenix I was there. Anyway, after seeing him at 180

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the farmhouse, I knew it was too convenient that they were so close to the airport. Phoenix must’ve had them hiding out there. I think that was also why they targeted me.”

“What do you mean ‘targeted’ you?” Lincoln asked, increasingly

upset by his lack of knowledge.

I felt a bit defensive and was about to say something when

Griffin jumped in.

“I tried to call you last night to explain, Linc, but you didn’t answer.” Griffin didn’t wait for his response and instead turned back to me, absorbing everything I was telling them. “It makes sense, since you’re someone he’s fixated on. He would have told them to try and play on your fears. Violet, do we need to know what they showed you? Is this all somehow tied into a fear you have?”

I thought about the question. Though it made me want to

curl into a ball, it was fair enough. Everything else seemed to be connected.

But
how
could
they
know
my
innermost
fear
when
even
I
didn’t
fully acknowledge it until the moment it was revealed?

“No. It was just a game. It wasn’t about the actual fear,” I said, confident I was right.

“Get out!” Lincoln said loudly, bordering on crazy, startling the whole room. He ran his hands through his hair angrily, as everyone looked at him, frozen.

“Leave!” He marched up to the door and aggressively pulled it

open. “This is my home. I’m happy to have you all here, using it for your needs, but right now…Get out!”

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Griffin and I, who knew Lincoln the best, stood. Griffin

motioned for everyone else to do the same. One by one, people

removed themselves from their seats and made for the door. Griffin paused when he passed Lincoln.

“Take the time you need, Linc. But we need to strategize. We

need you on board. We’ll continue this meeting at six tonight at Hades. Come and join us when you’re ready.”

I started walking toward the door after Griffin left.

“Not you!” Lincoln snapped, and when I flinched he quickly

apologized. “Sorry. I’m sorry,” he said, softening his tone, his hand wavering in midair, as if he wanted to reach out to me. “I didn’t mean to…We need to talk.”

I nodded. I was way too tired to argue, so I collapsed onto the sofa and put my aching legs up to rest. If he wanted to yell at me, I was at least going to be comfortable.