Page 83 of Villains and Vengeance
I nod and I don’t ask anything else, liking Iron’s answers less and less.
At the Cluster, I find that Iron was right. Maddox and Jules are sitting at the table. She’s staring at the wall, her hands clasped in front of her.
‘Done?’
I nod.
‘Any problems?’
‘Silas was sniffing around,’ Iron says, walking around the table, his eyes glued to Jules. ‘Killed and dumped.’
‘Good riddance to the bloodsucker,’ Maddox sneers, ‘so long as his death can’t be traced back to us.’
‘Not a chance.’
‘Good.’ Maddox nods and stands up.
‘It’s time,’ he says to Jules.
I think she’s going to rail and cry now, but I should have known better.
Instead she stands up and downs what’s in her cup. She takes a step, but stumbles. Maddox’s hands come out to steady her.
She looks up at him, fear in her eyes. She’s visibly shaking.
‘And I thought chivalry was dead,’ she snaps with a smirk and a quirk of her brow.
And, just like that, the woman I knew as Victoria is back. She rolls her shoulders and stands up straight, confidence covering her like a shroud. Except I suddenly see it for what it is.
It’s a shield. She’s terrified. She’s just very good at pretending she isn’t.
I need to get away from her. We need to finish this.
‘How long do we have until it’s time to go?’
Maddox checks his watch.
‘Fifteen hours roundabouts.’
I eye Jules. ‘Let’s get this done,’ I growl, grabbing her arm.
She pulls out of my grip with a strength I didn’t think her capable of.
‘At least do me the courtesy of letting me walk to my fate on my own.’
I step back and glance at Maddox who nods.
‘After you,’ I mutter.
She moves in front of me. Her posture is rigid, but her steps aren’t hesitant.
We escort her to Dante’s throne room and, just before we go in, Iron makes her visible. I notice there’s still no scent though.
Of course there’s no Silas to greet us because he’s currently making his way to wherever that river flows down to, so we go in alone.
Jules is a fucking sight to behold. I hate that I think so, but it’s true. She walks right into the throne room, head held high. We follow her like worker bees to a queen.
As soon as he sees her, he sits up.
