I turned to Julian. “What’s going to happen next?” I asked.
“Cherry will go to trial, and then she’ll be found guilty and rot in prison, just like you wanted.” He glanced at me. “Thatiswhat you wanted, isn’t it?”
“I meant with my mother. As soon as the police tell her about Cherry’s arrest, she’ll want to know why I’m not calling her or coming home to see her. How do we deal with that?”
“Violet… the Club council aren’t total monsters. Selection girls can be granted compassionate leave during major family crises. And I think this would qualify.”
My shoulders sagged with relief. “Oh.”
“There are protocols, of course. You can’t reveal the truth about where you’ve been or what you’ve been doing,” he went on. “But youarestill allowed to leave under those special circumstances.”
“Okay.”
He rubbed his jaw as we waited at a stop sign. “What we should be worrying about now is whether the Council will realize I sneaked you off the estate tonight.”
“You think it’ll be a problem?”
“Probably not. We’ve only been gone for two hours,” he said. “But I worry about you constantly, so it's on my mind whether I like it or not.”
A ghost of a smile tugged at my lips. “Even if someone did happen to notice that I wasn’t in my room tonight, we can just say we were doing a late-night study session in the estate library.”
“True.”
Julian finally pulled into the estate grounds, the Dionysus mansion looming ahead in the darkness. He parked and came around to open my door. After ducking through an unguardedstaff entrance, we walked through the quiet corridors toward my suite, carefully avoiding the guard rotations.
I was already thinking about collapsing into bed, maybe letting myself finally break down now that it was over, when Julian opened my door.
We both froze.
There was a man in my suite.
He stood by the window, hands clasped behind his back, looking out over the grounds. Tall, broad-shouldered, with salt-and-pepper hair that caught the lamplight. He wore a perfectly tailored suit that looked like it probably cost more than most people's cars.
I felt Julian go rigid beside me. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.
The man turned, and I recognized him immediately. I'd seen him at the Eleusinian ritual, sitting at the center of the Council. He had the same sharp jawline as Julian, and the same piercing blue eyes too, though these were colder. Calculating. There was something about him that radiated authority; the kind of power that didn't need to be stated because it was simply understood.
His gaze swept over me, assessing. Not hostile, but not warm either. Just... evaluating, like I was a problem to be solved.
“Miss Calloway.” His voice was cultured, controlled. “We've seen each other before, but I don't think we've been officially introduced.” He took a step forward, extending his hand. “I'm August Valcourt. Julian's father.”
43
Violet
Shit,shit, shit…
I took August's hand, forcing my grip to stay steady despite my racing pulse. His handshake was firm, professional, and somehow threatening all at once.
“It’s nice to properly meet you, sir,” I said, managing a weak smile and doing my best not to stumble over my words. “I recognize you from the Eleusinian ritual. You’re the head Councilman, aren’t you?”
“I certainly am.” He returned my smile, but it looked more predatory than friendly. His gaze shifted to Julian. “I wanted to speak with you about something tonight, but you weren’t answering your phone. I assumed you were probably spending time with your Selection, so I came here.” He paused, letting the silence stretch. “Imagine my surprise when I found the room empty.”
Julian held his father’s cold stare. “Violet and I were—”
August lifted a palm, cutting him off. “Before you attempt some sort of brazen lie about enjoying a midnight snack in the kitchen or canoodling down in the library, you should know I’ve already spoken to the guards.” His tone remained pleasant,which somehow made it worse. “One of them spotted you smuggling Violet outside earlier. He assumed you’d received the requisite permissions, given your status, so he didn’t intervene. Of course, he didn’t know any better.”
“I wasn’t going to lie,” Julian said, voice carefully controlled. “We were dealing with an emergency situation at BHU that required Violet’s presence. There was no time to obtain official permission.”
