She tore her gaze away from them.
“I was introduced to the Bellare through Ryker Drycari,” Viviane finally began. “He’s—”
“The man who blackmailed Aidon because you told him of his power,” Josie filled in. Viviane’s lips pursed.
“I was going to say like a brother to me.”
Josie arched a brow. “Really? How interesting. You’ve never once mentioned him to me. How many lies did you tell during our relationship?”
Did she even know Viviane?
“I never mentioned him because I knew his affiliation would bother you.”
“Yes,” Josie bit out, her arms bracing on the table, “it would. And yet you had no qualms about joining the Bellare yourself.”
“It’s not that simple,” Viviane argued. “Ryker’s parents were killed by Visya pirates. Avis Lavigne nearly lost half his fortune to a Persi who manipulated him into a fraudulent investment. And look at what your own uncle did to his daughter in the name of—”
“Dominic was a bloody heretic,” Josie snapped. “And a human at that. He wasn’t a champion of the Visya, he was a champion of Kakos and destruction!”
“Several would argue the Visya and Kakos are one and the same,” Vi answered calmly.
“And that would be an affront to the Visya who have fought and bled and died for the protection of those humans!” Josie’s voice trembled with the force of her rage. Her brother had risked his throne, hislife, in a battle for the fate of this realm. And what of Aleissande and the Visya force? They’d put themselves on the front lines for the sake of the humans in Eteryium.
And then there was Vera, the Visya child who had been killed when the Bellare tried to assassinate Aidon because he’d sentenced Avis to banishment. Her only crime had been her existence.
“I didn’t say I agree,” Viviane said softly. Her gaze dipped to the table, her hands sliding into her lap. “I’ve realized the Bellare’s motives were far too extreme.”
“And when did that dawn on you?” Josie asked. “When a child lay dead in the street? When the Bellare stormed the castle? When my parents vanished? When I was pinned to the street with a knife at my fucking throat?”
Viviane’s eyes lined with tears. “You have to understand,”she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek, “I was…so angry about what Dominic had done to me. When he ordered Aya to turn me, it merely reinforced every horrible thing the Bellare think about the Visya. Even now, I’m still…learning how to come to terms with what I am.”
Josie’s eyes burned, traitorous tears creeping toward her lash line. She knew all of this already. She’d tried to be patient, to be calm, to be understanding. How many excuses had she made for Vi?
“She gave you the choice,” Josie breathed, wiping furiously at a tear that tried to escape. “I saw her give you the choice. You told her you weren’t done.”
Vi’s throat bobbed. “Me choosing not to die is not the same as me choosing to be given power against my will.”
“Do you think I don’t know that?” Josie exclaimed. “I hear your screams in my nightmares! If you think I hold you responsible for what was done to you…” She bit off her words, swallowing against the lump building in her throat.
“I cannot—will not—make your trauma about me,” Josie finally said. “But your betrayal started long before Dominic reinforced your beliefs from the Bellare. I trusted you. I loved you. And you used that trust and love for your own gain. You chose the Bellare over our future the moment you decided to use the information about my brother to bring about his demise.”
Viviane sat up straight, her eyes flashing with some of that old fire. It made Josie’s heart twist in her chest, a bone-deep ache drawing her shoulders forward, as if she could protect herself from the hurt. “For someone who claims their uncle was a treasonous heretic, you’re awfully intent on taking him at his word.”
Josie blinked. “What do you mean?”
“He told you that I planned to spread the knowledge about Aidon. But you’ve never once asked me if it was true.”
Dread was the damndest thing. It could eviscerate the heat of anger in a single swoop down one’s spine, washing away the flush of rage and leaving the skin pricking in its wake.
“That’s…” Josie rubbed at the bare skin of her arms, desperate to stave off the chill that dread had left behind. “No,” she asserted. That couldn’t be; she surely must have had some evidence that Dominic spoke true. She tried to rack her brain for it, but all she found was a tangle of hazy memories that had carved scars so deep, her mind refused to conjure specifics.
Tears pricked her eyes again, and this time, Josie was helpless against them. She hated the way her voice cracked into something small as she asked, “Was he lying?”
Viviane’s throat bobbed, but her chin remained jutted forward, that subtle defiance etched into her posture. “Ryker and I hadn’t yet decided our way forward.” Vi pressed her lips together tightly, but it did not prevent tears from spilling down her cheeks. “But I suppose that is betrayal enough.”
Josie wasn’t sure if Viviane meant the words as truth or sarcasm, but she found she didn’t disagree. Itwasbetrayal enough for her. Perhaps they would have never used the information. Perhaps Dominic had exaggerated how dire a threat it was. But it did not change the fact that Josie had trusted her partner, and Viviane had taken that trust and crushed it beneath the sole of her shoe.
The outcome was the same: Josie was heartbroken, the Bellare was in power, and Viviane…
