Page 42 of Violet Legacy

“Dante. As always, your taste is impeccable.”

Rieka blinked at the voice, too distracted to recognize it at first.

“Kai,” Dante acknowledged. He moved, blocking the Atlantean’s view of Rieka.

Rieka froze. Lord Kai of House Mestor. The individual who had been responsible for ensuring Rieka was tormented nonstop for two years after the official announcement of the forgery. Visceral memories she had thought forgotten slammed into her. Her pendant was ice cold.

Kai had bankrolled the zealots who had hounded her. It had only been five years, three months, and six days since she had identified the forgery belonging to House Mestor. She had turned Kai and his family into a laughingstock. And he had done everything in his power to ensure that she was punished for it. Funding the zealots and advertising her work and home addresses had just been the tip of it.

“Are you going to introduce me to your companion?”

Rieka shook her head silently as she tried to mold herself to the banister.

“No.” Dante took a couple of steps forward as he skillfully redirected Kai away from Rieka and back into the main room.

Left alone, Rieka inhaled sharply. The faint scent of lavender tickled her nose. She was at the Jimourt for a specific reason, and Dante had almost made her forget. Vandana’s tomb was here. She knew it as sure as she knew that Lilian Sinha had not been entirely truthful about their family history.

Eleven chimes echoed through the ballroom. One hour until she would have access to the statue.

The crowd in front of her surged as the beat of the music picked up. More Atlanteans had joined the dance floor. Beautiful bodies covered in gold and unimaginable wealth surrounded her. A stark reminder that she didn’t belong. Nor did she want to.

Her arm tingled. A jolt of electricity ran through her as the bracelet glittered in the light. She blinked. The bracelet was still only highly polished bronze. She must be imagining things. Quietly, she walked through the crowd. Each step she took was like a dagger to her senses. Like someone had turned the faucet on and allowed the emotions to slam into her. They blended into each other until she couldn’t tell what they were. For a moment, she wanted to run back to the balcony—to Dante and the quiet—but she wouldn’t. She needed to be away from the crowd. Rieka pushed through the growing throng of bodies, as she ignored the stares and whispers that followed her.

She accidentally brushed up against an older female Atlantean. Her skin burned at the contact as a wave of pure hatred washed over her. Rieka almost stumbled.

The woman with burning red hair snarled at her. “Ga’toh.”

The derogatory Atlantean term for hybrid.

It was only ever used for those who were considered at the bottom of the food chain. Rieka flinched. In a room full of people, she didn’t think she had ever felt so out of place or alone. She didn’t need this bullshit. Changing her direction, she strode toward the large metal doors that would lead her to freedom. To the statue.

Chapter 25

Danteknewtheexactmoment Rieka left the gala, but following her out would be equivalent to announcing he had a weakness.

It was disconcerting how quickly he’d become accustomed to Rieka’s presence, how often he looked forward to seeing her, or using any excuse to touch her. An antithesis to everything he was used to. He watched as she weaved through the crowd unobtrusively. Talik followed a short distance behind.

“You are distracted,” Anhur stated, amusement in his voice.

Dante turned his attention back to his uncle. If anyone else had said that to him it would be insulting, but it was Anhur. While it had taken centuries to acknowledge the truth, he was far more alike to Anhur than to either of his parents.

The crowd beneath them surged; the ball was in full swing. People loitered on or near the dance floor. Every so often, they would glance up to where he and Anhur stood, half-hidden within the enclave. No one would hear their conversation. Most guests were smart enough not to approach them without an invitation. “Kai wanted to discuss New Atlantis.”

Anhur snorted. “The floating monstrosity.”

“A business merger were the words used.” Dante picked up a glass of champagne. The light golden liquid swirled as he surveyed Anhur’s guests. “It was open to interpretation if the invitation was for House Mneseus, or for me.”

“There is greater interest in New Atlantis than I was expecting.” Anhur nodded to a passerby. “I am hearing murmurs of questions asked about why the contents of the vault haven’t been transferred. They note it will be another five hundred years before there is another opportunity.”

Dante surveyed the ballroom. Countless bodies moved as one, as allegiances were simultaneously broken and created throughout the course of the evening. “What do you think?”

Anhur shrugged coolly as he kept a watchful gaze on Frankie as she mingled in the crowd. Her bodyguard trailed behind her discreetly. “It is a dangerous game to want to recreate the past.” He looked down at his arm. A hint of a glowing tattoo peeked out his shirt cuff. “We benefit far more when we forge an alternative path and share a collective vision with humans. Or, as Frankie bluntly reminds me, we are in danger of inbreeding and dying out.”

Dante chuckled. He’d been on the receiving end of many of her discussions. “It will be interesting to observe New Atlantis’s reception once the newness of the island fades. It has only been fifty years.”

“House Euaimon has started construction on an underwater city,” Anhur sighed as he pinched his nose. “Too many of the Houses’ focus is on recreating the past, perhaps to the detriment of the future.”

Frankie smiled up at them from the crowd, her brown eyes laughing mischievously.

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