Page 56 of Violet Legacy

Dante blinked, and he was back in his childhood room. The dreams were becoming more vivid, and the ache of the whiplash from the sandstorms was lasting longer. The small cuts he had acquired had quickly healed. Somehow, the vision was able to cross into reality; he didn’t know how, and he hadn’t broached it with Sypha.

Rieka was still asleep in his bed. For the first time, he wished he could stop time and make sure Rieka was protected from what was coming. But it would not last—nothing ever did. Dante ran his hand through his hair. He did not know what to do next.

A rap on the door echoed loudly. Ignoring it, he focused on studying Rieka.

The blanket had been thrown off during the night, and Rieka’s T-shirt had ridden up, revealing her long legs and another tattoo. The colorful piece covered most of her thigh. It was of an outstretched woman with rainbow phoenix wings. A beautiful rendition of the human motif. More than anything else, he wanted to trace the outline, just like the lilies etched onto her skin.

He looked over his shoulder. The journal was perched on the edge of the bed next to him. As Rieka had slept, he had read the journal cover to cover, looking for any clues that Rieka may have missed. Dante toyed with the edges of the photo; faint watermarks bled into the glossy paper. Lilian Sinha’s pale blue eyes seemed to go straight through him. Even in a photograph, the haunted look was hard to miss or to ignore. There was no mistaking Rieka’s mother. They could have passed as sisters, except for their coloring.

Concentrating on the photo, the remnants of an almost forgotten conversation he had with his father ran on repeat through his mind. Talal had told Dante tales of people, human and Atlantean, he had encountered on his worldly travels. As children, Dante and Aldora had hung onto every word, urging Talal to repeat the tales until the stories had become part of their memories. Dante had barely thought of the old stories, but there was one that was seared to his soul. Talal had been adamant that he had met Vandana’s heir. An Atlantean with haunted eyes so pale they were almost white. Glancing at the photo, it was easy to believe that Talal had been right; he had met Lilian Sinha and known what she was.

Dante had so many questions he wanted to ask, but Rieka wouldn’t have the answers. Only her mother would, or his father. Dante slipped the photo back into the journal, careful to return it exactly as he had found it.

He was too wired to sleep; he glanced at Rieka. She hadn’t stirred. He let himself wonder what it would be like to kiss her awake, see those beautiful eyes come alive for him. At his command. He pushed the thought away. Rieka needed to rest.

Tap.

“The penguins ate the cheese,” Rieka mumbled as she turned around and buried herself deeper under the blankets. The bronze bracelet was a dark beacon in the light. A reminder that there were things he couldn’t control. At least it appeared unchanged, and Rieka seemed to be relatively unaffected by it. But there was an unfamiliar scent beneath Rieka’s—it was subtle, with an almost metallic tinge. It was linked to the bracelet.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The rosy fingers of dawn streaked across the sky. He could stay here and watch Rieka, but whoever was on the other side of the door would not leave.

Dante strode to the door before quickly shutting it behind him. Yellow eyes stared at him. The silver white of Khalida’s hair made her look almost angelic in this light. \Talik stood across the hallway, half hidden by the shadows.. It didn’t stop the clear animosity between the two Atlanteans. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. “How goes the hunt?”

A haughty look of disdain crossed Khalida’s face. “It goes. The guards found pieces of the statue.” Khalida touched the hilt of her sword as she stared straight at him, unblinking. The tattoo on her wrist glimmered in the darkness. “In the area Rieka had been working. They also found a small but not inconsequential piece in her room.”

Dante closed his eyes for a moment before he snapped them open. “When?”

“Thirty minutes ago. House Mestor demanded they re-search everywhere she had been working.”

Kai. He was going to ruin the Atlantean after the Jimourt. Systematically destroy everything the Atlantean held dear. Lucky for Dante, it always came back to money and influence. “And?”

“Anhur,” Khalida started, “has emphasized that Rieka remains under your protection and because of your familial ties, she will also remain under House Azaes’s patronage.”

Dante blinked. He had not been expecting the public support from Anhur. It sent a message and would also force his own House to do the same. His mother, Dion, may hibernate, but the three ruling families of Mneseus protected each other. “Did he say anything else?”

Khalida was very much Anhur’s daughter and shadow, and there was nothing she didn’t know about House Azaes, even if she had denounced her hereditary claim to the throne centuries before.

“No.” She smiled; the edges of her lips turned into a snarl, the light not quite touching her eyes. “Rieka wears an interesting pendant. I was not the only one who would have noticed it.”

No. Anhur had raised an eyebrow when he had seen the pendant. As had Sypha. Rieka was in no danger from them. Every time he thought they were getting closer to finding the tomb, another hurdle was thrown at him. But it was abundantly clear that Rieka was linked to all of it. He just had to unravel exactly how she was involved. “What do you know of the Anki?”

Khalida stared at him; the barest hint of her pupils widened in surprise at the mention of the name. “Nothing.”

If Dante had blinked, he would have missed it. Khalida had heard of them, but he would not push the matter. He didn’t know who else was listening to them. “And the Jimourt?”

“It will go on. The destruction of the statue will circulate if the gossip hasn’t already started. The hunt will remain under wraps. Kai is not aware of what killed the guard. Was far more worried about the blood on his shoes than the deceased Atlantean.”

There was no mistaking the disgust that tinged Khalida’s words. Dante was not surprised. Atlanteans were not immune to petty emotions, despite what most humans believed.

Khalida turned to walk away but faced him as an afterthought. “Aadya requests your presence.”

An order. One that he wouldn’t be able to ignore for long. Dante looked back at the closed door. He wasn’t leaving Rieka alone. “It will have to wait until midmorning.”

Khalida smirked. “Aadya has also requested you bring Rieka.”

Riekawokewithastart. Her heart raced as she looked around the foreign room.

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