Page 73 of Violet Legacy

“Bitch. Do you think a flesh wound will stop me?” Idris slurred, his words hard to understand. His pale eyes widened. Foam appeared around his mouth as he swayed.

“The knife belongs to an immortal.” Rieka pulled the blade out slowly before kicking Idris in the chest.

He crumbled under the impact. His body convulsed as it hit the ground.

Rieka didn’t move. “And you need me alive.”

The beast behind her purred like a giant cat. Rieka whipped her head to stare dumbfounded at the animal. For a moment, she had forgotten about the serpopards. But they hadn’t forgotten about her.

The heat within the room soared as Rieka pushed herself against the coffin. She tried her best to mold her body against the cool stone. The violet flame touched nothing but the disintegrating statue. Kicking at Idris, she turned over and pressed the lily.

Nothing happened. Agonizing pain shot through her as a fire burned through her arm. She tried to cover her ears as the voices continued to grow louder.

No. No. No.

“Dante didn’t share all his secrets.” Idris chuckled.

The sound sent chills down her spine as she struggled to stand. A hand reached out and tightly wrapped around her right ankle a second before she was dragged along the cool rocky floor towards Idris. And oblivion.

Chapter 44

“Removetheblaster.”Chaucerstood in front of Dante with a determined look. “It doesn’t have to be hard. No one needs to get hurt.”

Dante hesitated for a moment. The blaster was not his only weapon, but it was the most efficient one to use. Chaucer’s accent was thicker than normal, signaling his nervousness. Dante could use it to his advantage and keep him away from Rieka.

“What are you doing?”

“It was the only way. Rieka has the key,” Chaucer started before he pulled himself together. “The tomb is finally within our grasp.”

Chaucer fidgeted in front of him. “Put down the blaster!”

He calculated the distance and time it would take for Chaucer to react. Enough for him to move out of the way if he needed.

Chaucer’s blaster clicked. “Don’t make me use this. I would hate to mourn the closest person I have to a brother.”

Dante slowly lowered the blaster and nudged it away, so it was still in reach if he needed it. He wasn’t concerned about himself. “Where is Rieka?”

“Safe. We only need her to find the tomb.”

“I thought you were friends with Rieka?”

Was it jealousy that had driven Chaucer down this path? Whatever it was, Chaucer was not working on his own.We.Dante tried to think about who Chaucer would work with. It had to be someone who had enough influence to convince him to pick up a weapon. Chaucer was squeamish when it came to violence. It had made him an outsider within the Delacroix family. “Or at the very least—colleagues.”

“I am.” Chaucer shook his head, the weapon wavering. “Don’t. You want the same thing I do. The tomb. I at least want to share it with the public. You want to cement your power base. And then none of the other Houses will use your patriarchal lineage against you as a weakness,” Chaucer laughed darkly. “Talal would have been right about his theories—and not just the crazy Atlantean who had been attached to the Delacroix heir.”

None of that mattered now. Someone was willing to kill for the statue. If they knew who Rieka was— An iciness descended over him as he registered the pungent scent. The decaying smell of the serpopards was almost tangible. Dante wanted to look up and see how many of them surrounded them, but he couldn’t afford to take his attention off Chaucer. Not when he was this unstable. “Is this what you want?”

“If the end justifies the means,” Chaucer responded, a smirk edging his lips. “It is the Delacroix way.”

Dante flinched. It was a mantra they had indoctrinated him with. One that Dion had whispered every night to him as a child when she’d sent him to bed. He should have known Chaucer would have been subjected to the same. After all, their mothers were sisters. “If Rieka is hurt…”

“He promised she would be unharmed,” Chaucer said.

“Who?”

A hint of concern crossed his features. It was a look Dante did not recognize. Chaucer was not lying. He believed Rieka was safe and would remain untouched.

Dante closed his eyes before snapping them open. “Rieka is a descendant of Vandana.”

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