Though there was a part of me that felt a sort of déjà vu.
Violet had left me in the dust once before.No word.
Surely, she wouldn’t do that again.Besides, there was nothing that could happen here.Nothing pressing to pull her away this time.
“I love you, too,” I said.
“Goodnight, Bane,” she said, pushing me away.
I watched as she smiled, leaving me to where I stood.
“Goodnight, my love,” I said as she walked away.
CHAPTER15
Violet
The entire way upto my bedroom I felt as if I could throw up.I didn’t want to lie to Bane.I wanted to tell him everything, just as I had wanted to tell him everything that night I’d left to meet my mother and ascend.But it seemed that history was repeating itself.I only prayed that I would not be kidnapped or disrupted a second time.
I looked behind me to ensure Bane was not indeed following me, breathing a sigh of relief when he wasn’t.
But a part of wished he had.That part of me was the one that was terrified I’d somehow upset the scales of balance.
He didn’t follow me because hetrustedme.I’d betrayed that trust once for my own gain, fully knowing that it was him who gave me the confidence to pursue the answers I sought.
And that hadn’t changed.For when I looked into Bane’s eyes, I saw the things I was capable of.
I told myself I was doing this forus.I needed to ascend so that we could move forward.I didn’t want to wait a moment longer.
And then I’d stupidly blurted out that thing about marriage and...
He’d said yes.
I wasn’t asking, not in the traditional sense, but...
If you had been asking, I would have said yes.
He didn’t even blink when he answered me, and that alone made my heart flutter in a way that felt more than ethereal.
Which is exactly why once I completed myArdaim, and once I made it back here in one piece, I needed to tell him the truth.
Butafter.I couldn’t risk him trying to stop me.No, I needed to ascend as soon as I could for a multitude of reasons.Plus, the sooner I did ascend completely, the better I could be with my magic.The more powerful I could be, and there was no better place to learn how to control my magic—all of it—than at Blackthorn Academy.
I walked past my door, holding my breath.I hadn’t even spoken of my plan to Delaney, for fear she would somehow let the cat out of the bag.I hated keeping secrets.Then again, I’d spent most of my life keeping my magic a secret, and I hadn’t really had to worry about keeping secrets from friends since I didn’t have any until recently.
The guilt gnawed at me.
When I knocked on Wanda’s door, I had the heavy suspicion someone would see me and they’d just know.
Like Norman...
Who’d been spending a lot more time with Wanda as of late.
I wanted to be happy for them.
Wanda seemed lighter, ever since that day at Cheeky’s, like some unforeseen weight had been lifted off her shoulders.Or perhaps, it was just impossible to be sour around Norman.It was no wonder he could incite lust.His charm rivaled that of a golden retriever or an excitable himbo in a rom-com.For a man with multiple arms—er, tentacles—he was surprisingly vibrant and dare I say, fun?
I knocked not once, but twice, just as we had discussed.I couldn’t ascertain how long I stood there.
