“Not according to Zion,” I respond honestly. “The only explanation is that Gemma managed to shield her from a distance, but once she entered Zion’s immediate truth, that shield failed.”
“And with it,” Jacob murmurs. “Zion’s purpose was revealed.”
“Funny how quickly things change.”
Jacob sighs, shakes his head. “I will admit, when he first whispered the truth to me, I almost broke my cover.”
Smiling, I ask, “It was that shocking?”
Jacob is quiet for a moment, then responds, “It was certainly…jarring. I mean, we knew it was possible, but it’s not something I thought about on a daily basis. Having it suddenly dropped on me was a real slap in the face.”
I look over at him, still plodding along and feeling like we’re getting nowhere at a snail’s pace. “Did you think you’d be first?”
Jacob gives me a dirty look and shakes his head. “Hell, no. I honestly believed it was all an outdated myth and we were all destined to live our days alone.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
“At least now we know it’s not all bullshit.”
“You always look on the bright side, Jacob,” I reply with a chuckle. “One of the traits I like most about you.”
Rolling his eyes, he jabs me with his elbow again. “You can stop trying to avoid the big issue looming at the end of our walk.”
“I’m not avoiding anything.”
Jacob gives me his best not-buying-it look, and it’s my turn to roll my eyes. I know he’s right in some ways, but at this moment, I’m unreasonably annoyed that Vivian hasn’t had the same flood of information we all had at one point or another. She scorched the actual earth with her otherworldly paramour but hasn’t received even the most basic memo on her earlier existence.
“I bet the delay is due to Gemma still having some control over her,” Jacob offers helpfully. “If Gemma has high-tailed it elsewhere, it’ll be easier to jog Vivian’s memory.”
“That doesn’t mean it’ll beeasy.”
“Probably not, but she’ll forgive you.”
Grimacing, I go to respond, but then, an exit miraculously blinks into existence. “Thank God for small miracles.”
Jacob and I head toward the door, stopping in front of it so I can inspect it for soundness. Satisfied it will do the trick, I reach for the doorknob, only to be stopped by Jacob’s hand on my forearm. I half-turn toward him, and he asks, “What are you going to do, then?”
I smile, feeling a bit smug that I get to be the person to nudge her toward the truth. “I’m going to do exactly what I told her I’d do if she screwed up.”
“What’s that?” he asks with a slight frown.
I raise my brows, my hand turning the knob as I reply, “I’m gonna kick her ass.”
Jacob’s eyes widen a bit, and I laugh as I walk through the doorway.
TWENTY-SEVEN
THE HARD WAY
Vivian
“Wake up,” a voice grits out, pulling me from the numbing darkness I’ve sunk into.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I do my best to ignore it, instead focusing on the echoing nothing in my chest. It’s quiet here, comforting, a place where I can pretend nothing ever happened, and everything is fine.
For example, I can pretend that my loving sister Gemma is still the loving sister of my memories and not the traitorous demonic bitch who controlled me for most of my life for her own gain.
“I swear to the gods, Viv,” the voice responds, closer this time. “If you don’t get your shit together, you’re gonna find I’m good on my earlier promise to kick your ass.”
