Page 93 of Violet Legacy

Rieka laughed.

It was a sound he would never get enough of. The nurses had cleared her of any physical injuries, but there were flashes when she seemed to disappear from the world. Times when he wanted to drag her back to reality, but all he could do was be there when she was ready. He couldn’t wipe away the memories of what happened to her.

But for now, she looked happy, and he would ensure the happiness outweighed the darker moments.

A trumpet sounded in the distance; the brassy tone interrupted the silence.

“The Jimourt has officially ended?” Rieka asked. She walked toward the open balcony, carefully navigating around the pile of books. Dante followed her.

The rolling sand dunes he had detested as a child had begun to soothe him. A reminder that he was no longer focused on the past. He followed Rieka’s gaze and searched for the low-flying jets that could be heard. The outside world remained unaware of what had happened beneath the Arx. Dante and Anhur would work together to keep it that way. They had decided that Vandana’s tomb would remain unfound, and Rieka had suggested that Dante continue funding select projects to maintain the façade before declaring a change of focus. They had also agreed that the vault would remain closed for now. It was a battle that he and Anhur would bring to the council in the near future. Their history should not be hidden from their people.

“Have you found Lucien?” Rieka turned to face him. His white shirt billowed in the breeze. She looked mussed and disheveled; it was fast becoming one of his favorite sights.

“No.” Lucien had disappeared into thin air. Unfortunately, it was unlikely that would be the last they would see of him. “We will get the pendant back.”

Rieka nodded, but he could sense her disbelief. Lucien was a wildcard; one they could not predict.

“I can feel it, just beneath the surface, but I can’t call the flame forward. It’s like the flame has been extinguished.”

Dante was at a loss as to how to respond. “Do you want it to come back?”

“I don’t know.” Rieka sighed. She crossed her arms, her shirt tails riding up, exposing more of her colorful tattoo.

“It’s like I extinguished it or used everything I had access to.”

Dante closed the gap between them. He tugged at an errant curl as he placed it behind her ear before he pulled her closer and inhaled the scent that was uniquely hers.

“Did you find the closure you needed?” It was blunt, but he wanted to ensure that there was no miscommunication between them, nothing that could send them backward.

The conflicting emotions in her gaze pierced his heart. She was still an open book when it came to her feelings. “Maybe one day I will understand my mom. But a lifetime is hard to erase in a couple of days, even if her intentions were good. She was trying to protect me.” A bittersweet tone edged Rieka’s voice. “What will you do about your father’s legacy? We found the tomb.”

Dante closed his eyes. “Nothing. He would want this secret to be protected if it meant keeping you safe. In the end, he did not care about the wealth or the accolades. He just wanted to find the truth.”

“I never gave you the report on the artifacts.” Rieka straightened her shirt, smoothing it out as she took a step back.

Dante reluctantly released her and watched her struggle to regain control. On the outside, she appeared collected, but beneath it, he could sense the turmoil. He could taste a hint of fear. The type of fear and loneliness that was borne out of always thinking she was the second choice. Never again.

“But that isn’t why you hired me.”

Dante reached out, brushing his fingers on Rieka’s shoulder. This was not a conversation he wanted to have, but he refused to build a future on a lie. She needed the truth. “No.”

Rieka stood painfully still as she patiently waited for his response. The wild colors of the burning sunset behind her matched her eyes.

“I knew who you were from the moment I saw you.”

Rieka’s gaze widened, the reds of her eyes bleeding into the whites.

“As a child, my father told me that only the royal lineage, those born to rule, had eyes the color of flames. Sypha also had a vision that you would lead me to the greatest treasure in the world. I thought Sypha was describing the tomb.”

Silence filled the room. It took all his control not to reach out to Rieka and brush away the silent tears. He would give away everything he had accumulated—his pride and legacy—if it would mean he would never hurt Rieka again. “I didn’t realize until it was almost too late that it was never about finding the tomb or Atlantis. Or about strengthening my wealth and legacy.”

“What made you change your mind?”

It was as simple as it was complicated. After seven hundred years, someone had broken through to him, forced him to realize that there was far more to life than material possessions and a cold violet legacy. “You.”

He pulled her in closer and hugged her. She instantly melted in his arms. A part of him released the tension he hadn’t realized he had been holding. “It was never a choice. You stole something I didn’t realize I had.”

Rieka looked at him, confused. “What?”

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