“It doesn’t matter, being the Alpha these people need is more important. What you saw today was a small portion of it. We can go to human doctors for most things, and we heal incredibly fast naturally. But taking Paige to the hospital would have exposed us, which, as you know, can’t happen. These people deserve more than just making ends meet. They deserve someone who will stand up for them. If I have to give up my own wants and needs for them, I will. That boy you just brought into this world should grow up knowing how to be a man, not scraping by and figuring it out as he goes.”
Violet looks at me like she understands completely and goes back to looking up at the sky.
“You turned out pretty okay, Silas.”
“You turned out pretty okay too,” I tell her, grabbing her hand against my will and squeezing. She doesn’t shrug me off and I realize if this is the only touch I ever get from her, then I’ll cherish it for the rest of my life.
Despite having had time with Violet today, my body still demands that I go to her house, so I do as I have the nights before and pack a bag and make the drive to the massive purple home. I park my bike in the same spot, and it immediately disappears before my eyes.
All the pumpkins on her porch are already lit and before I can knock on the door, it’s swinging wide open on its own accord. No Violet insight.
Just her demon of a cat, who blinks at me with its yellow eyes.
“Hello, Walter,” I tell him and he hisses, before retreating upstairs.
I walk back into the kitchen, the dishes are being washed with no one in sight, just a sponge in midair with a plate, before a rag dries it and it is placed on a drying rack. A timer goes off and I watch in complete fascination as the oven turns itself off and the door pops open, a tray of muffins floating on top of the stove.
I can’t deny that the magic is impressive and captivating.
She’s not in the living room or dining room.
Instead, I look out the back window and find her barefoot, wrapped in a blanket, sitting on the ruins of what was a gazebo from the photos we found. The moon is in its last quarter, butthe glow of solar or magical powered lights leads me down the path.
The frogs are croaking obnoxiously loud near the water, but I can see why sitting out here would be peaceful.
Violet glances up at me, but doesn’t speak. She looks pale and worn out and I can’t stand it.
“Are you okay?” I ask, not knowing what else to say.
She sighs and puts the necklace that’s wrapped in silk on the ground of the wood base, that I’m not one-hundred percent sure can hold my weight. I look down at the familiar necklace and back up to her.
“You haven’t put it on yet?” I ask her.
“It’s not an amethyst,” she says matter-of-factly. “I wondered how it was so bright, and the more I looked at it, the more I realized it's moonstone covered in magic.”
I furrow my brows and sit down, the wood complaining as I plop my weight down.
“I mean, I don’t think either of us is surprised it has some magical qualities?” I reply.
“No, I just—I feel like when I put this on, everything is going to change.”
“I don’t know about you, Vi, but I’d say the last couple of weeks have been pretty wildly different from our normal life.”
“Part of me thought about tucking it away, forgetting about it.”
“You’re good at that,” I say, feeling like an ass as soon as I do. But Violet doesn’t argue, she just nods with a shrug.
“Compartmentalizing helps protect myself. I had to put you in a box, Silas. Or I wouldn’t have been able to live. I’ve kept my mother in a similar box, taking my grand-mère’s word, my coven’s word. I don’t know if it’s because I moved into her house, finding her, but both boxes I kept firmly shut have both exploded in my face.”
“You think this will explode in your face?”
“I can feel it. Maybe it’s a witch’s intuition. But this necklace, it’s more than jewelry. It’s not protective magic, it’s something else,” she says, glancing down at the hypnotizing purple and opalescent color of the necklace.
“Should you have a coven member here?” I ask, hating the idea, but if she’s that worried about the magic, there’s only so much I can do.
“No, I just need you to make me a promise.”
“Aren’t we in enough trouble for making each other promises?” I ask.
