Page 51 of Violet Legacy

A frown marred her face as she clutched the journal to her chest, as if it was her only chance of survival. Something almost forgotten stirred within him at the sight. The need to protect was almost overwhelming.

“Something that shouldn’t exist,” Rieka said. She blinked deliberately as she took a step back. “It looked like an anaconda had bred with a sabertooth tiger.” She opened the journal, hastily turned the pages until she found what she was looking for, and flashed it at him. She waited a second before she continued. “You don’t appear surprised. Or shocked.”

A charcoal rendition of a mated serpopard pair, their necks intertwined, stared straight at him. It was a near-perfect likeness of the creatures. He’d promised Rieka he wouldn’t lie; he was not about to go back on it. “Serpopards. They became extinct over eleven thousand years ago.”

Rieka stared at the drawing, then back at him. “They look pretty much alive to me.”

“They appear to have been able to reintroduce some of their numbers over the last thousand years.”

Rieka gave him an incredulous stare. “And you have just decided not to let us mere humans know they still exist? I’ve seen this movie, and it never ends well.”

It was growing increasingly difficult to keep up with Rieka’s obscure human cultural references, particularly when they were older than she was. An unusual coping mechanism, but one that was growing on him.

“Most Atlanteans don’t know they exist,” Dante answered truthfully. He and Anhur were determined to keep it that way.

They had only accidentally come across the existence of the serpopards five years earlier. From what they had gathered, the population was still small enough that it remained below the detection threshold, and the rare sightings could be attributed to wild animals. The serpopards favored deep underground caverns for their hunting grounds, but that was perhaps changing. If the intel from Kade was true, someone had introduced them to the subterranean tunnel systems within New York City. “It may cause mass hysteria if humans and Atlanteans become aware of them.”

“How come we haven’t come across them in the fossil records?”

Always pragmatic. He liked that about Rieka. “The first fossils were not uncovered until the late twentieth century, and we have disguised them as dinosaurs.”

Kade had reluctantly told them what they actually were. As a member of the hunter class, Kade was one of the few Atlanteans who had been aware serpopards still existed in the world, and one of the few who had been trained to hunt them. It had been an enlightening conversation.

Rieka muttered something under her breath, sounding suspiciously like a dinosaur park. Her knuckles were white as she held onto the journal. Her heart raced faster than normal. But that wasn’t what finally caught his attention.

He stiffened, pulling Rieka closer to him. “Why is there blood on your arm?” Dante stared at the bracelet she wore, silently berating himself for not noticing the injury earlier.

“It seems to have attached itself to me,” Rieka said as she turned her arm to show him the entry wounds. She chewed her lower lip. “The arms have inserted themselves.”

The fear from the creature had now transferred to the object on her arm. Dante gently touched Rieka, careful not to touch the wounds. “Does it hurt?”

“Not unless I try to pull them out,” Rieka admitted. “This isn’t some sort of torture device that I accidentally put on, is it?”

He didn’t know. A rush of rage ran through him at the sheer arrogance of not realizing he had put Rieka in danger. He was more than aware of how Vandana and her priestesses had notoriously used everything at their disposal as potential weapons. He forced himself to focus on what he could influence. Aadya may have the answer—if his grandmother was in the mood to share.

“We will get it off.” It was a promise.

Rieka nodded as she covered her arm. She went to move, but he pulled her closer to him. Having her near him soothed him as he embraced Rieka’s warmth. Rieka was safe. And mostly unharmed.

“You are taking this surprisingly well.”

Rieka laughed. The sound curled around him. “I’m pretty sure I’m still in the denial stage.”

Knock. Knock.

He looked up at the door as it slowly opened. Even from where he was standing, the damage could be seen through the half-opened door. Torn tapestries and objects had been carelessly thrown around the room. Kai had used his guards to search the space, and to send a message to Dante.

“The guards are done.” Talik walked out, leaving them alone.

Rieka turned and stared at Dante. “Someone had access to my room the entire time?”

“This room is a foyer. It connects the two side rooms together, but only to those granted access to it,” Dante said. He paused. “Fingerprint access. The room you are staying in was Aldora’s.”

“And the connecting room?”

“Mine.” Dante half-turned. He already knew what Rieka’s response would be before he asked. “Would you prefer to stay here or see what the damage is in your room?”

Rieka clutched the journal against her chest. “Lead the way.”

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