Page 49 of A Touch of Iron
“You wouldn’t have picked a hiding place too far away,” he surmised as he valiantly continued his forcible search. “That necklace is your weakness. If it were me, I’d keep it …”
As if a lightbulb went off in his head, he stopped what he was doing and turned in my direction. “You’re wearing it, aren’t you?”
I chuckled. “As the current owner of the necklace, I get to make my own decisions.”
Creed started toward me but I was faster. I extended my hand and blasted him with a gust of wind hard enough to knock him against the dresser. I heard wood splinter, and I wondered if anyone else could hear what was going on in my room. Times like these, I really missed Rook.
“I won’t let you near it,” I flouted. “You might as well give up now.”
He slowly stood, dusting himself off as his hands ignited with a whoosh. When he pulled his hands apart, a cord of fire was tethered to each palm. He hurled it my way with all his might.
Fire licked along my arms without conscious thought. In the blink of an eye, I halted the fiery cord from wrapping around my neck and hurtled it back toward its maker. He caught it easily and extinguished the flames.
“Don’t make me use my full force, Creed. I’m no longer Aurora. I have all my memories back and I know how much damage I can do,” I warned, knowing full well if I expended too much energy, I would pass out. It was an empty threat, but he didn’t know that.
Creed edged back toward the balcony. “You can’t protect it forever, Violet.” With a running leap, he bounded over the railing.
He was gone before I could blink, leaving me with a mess to clean up.
20
VIOLET
Ifinished cleaning my room just as Rosemary knocked on the door and entered. The last thing I wanted to make her do was clean up Creed’s mess. Besides that, I didn’t want her going back to Alec and telling him how she’d found my room in a state of disarray. Alec would put me under twenty-four-hour supervision in a blink.
Rosemary poked her head into my room. “Lady Violet?”
“I’m here!” I put away the last of the clothes that had been strewn about my room and stepped out of the closet. “Is Alec ready?”
She nodded. “Yes, he’s waiting for you in the courtyard. He asked me to escort you.”
“Thank you.” I followed her out of the room and considered telling Alec what had happened.
I knew the smart thing to do would be to tell him that Creed managed to worm his way inside the castle grounds and assault me. He pushed me around a little, but what he wasreallyafter was the necklace. Which reminded me – I needed to find a new hiding spot for it.
We arrived at a secluded alcove within the courtyard, one I hadn’t noticed during my many walks along the manicured gardens. Alec was alone. Rosemary dropped me off and excused herself, whispering, “Good luck,” before disappearing back inside the castle.
Alone, I nudged him. “Can you do me a favor?”
Alec glanced around to make sure no one was nearby. “Sure. Anything.”
I unclipped the necklace around my neck and handed it to him. “Keep this safe for me.”
He held onto it for a second before trying to hand it back. “I can’t, Vi. This is too valuable. I don’t know if I could handle the guilt if I lost it or worse, someone stole it from me.”
“Wear it,” I advised. “That way you can never lose it. It’s not safe with me, and I need someone I can trust to hold on to it. Please, do me this favor.”
Alec was skeptical. I understood his hesitation, but he finally clasped it around his neck and tucked it under his tunic so no one could see. “If I lose it, you can’t get mad,” he joked. “But seriously, though, I promise to keep it as safe as possible.”
I sighed gratefully. “Thank you.” I wanted to elaborate further and tell him why it wasn’t safe with me, but the words stuck in my throat and I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. Fear of being viewed as a delicate damsel in distress, I suppose.
Just then, Jon appeared, alone. He walked toward the secluded alcove, glancing around to make sure no one noticed us.
“You’re here,” he said as he approached. “I didn’t think you’d actually show.” He gave me a meaningful look.
“Well, what can I say? You piqued my interest. Now let’s see if you can keep it.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
Alec casually leaned against a stone wall, looking far too relaxed. “So what do the rebels want Vi to do? You must have a plan of sorts.”
