Page 36 of The Vipers' Vow

Now, with that sentence, Vani has made me feel like shit and wish I had been more of a real friend to her. I vow there and then that in the future, I will.

I’m going to protect her, and not just from our enemies, but from us, the Vipers.

It’s a solemn vow and one I make standing in front of her father, with my face on fire from his punch and my rage building. For once in my fucking life, I bank it all down and stay in total control, for her.

If the twins want to keep playing this game with me and her, they’ll have to vow it, too. That she will be protected and we won’t break her.

I know this can’t be easy for her. Her father is an intimidating man, and all of us struggle with the authority of our parents. But she’s come here for Lex, and for us too. She’s willing to blow her relationship with her father to pieces, and potentially change his opinion of her dead mother, all so we get Lex back. So the four of us can stay together. She’s so fucking brave, and I want to wrap her in my arms and tell her how proud I am.

Now isn’t the time, though. There will be plenty of time for me to tell her—and show her—later.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about, Dad,” she says. “It’s about Verona Falls and my reason for wanting to go there.”

His eyes narrow. “Go on.”

“When Mom was dying, she told me I had a sister.”

Jack-the-blood flinches, but his expression remains like stone. The news has clearly affected him, though. Vani continues hurriedly, as though she’s worried if she stops, she won’t be able to get started again.

“She was born before you even met her. Her name was Reagan.”

Her dad clicks on to something. “Was?”

Vani nods. “Yeah, she died at Verona Falls. She fell from a tower, though why she was there and how she fell is a mystery.”

“And she was your mother’s daughter?” He seems to think of something. “Who was her father?”

Vani draws a breath and blurts, “Jarl Olsen.”

“What?” The word snaps like a firecracker in the room.

“I don’t know the full truth behind it, but Mom said she didn’t have much choice when it came to getting pregnant.” Vani’s cheeks turn pink as she basically says that Olsen raped her mother. “And after the baby was born, he took the child and told Mom that if she ever came back, he’d kill the baby and her.”

Jack-the-blood drags his hand down his face. “Jesus Christ. Why did she never tell me any of this?”

“Because she didn’t want you going after him in revenge.”

His eyes narrow. “But now you’re here, telling me. Why?”

“Because I spoke to Jarl and he says Mom basically abandoned Reagan, that she was a terrible mother who had issues with substance abuse. He said Reagan was better off not knowing who her mother was.”

Vani’s eyes grow misty with fresh tears, and I want to pull her in for a hug, but I don’t want to either interrupt or step across the fragile boundaries we’ve put in place.

The muscles in Jack-the-blood’s face tighten. “Your mother was…troubled… when she and I first met. We both were.”

“So, his version of the story might be true?” The disappointment is clear in her tone.

He shakes his head. “Fuck, no, Ivani. Just because she had issues doesn’t mean she wouldn’t have been a good mom to that baby. She might have had problems, but she was still strong.”

Vani’s chin wobbles and she bites her lip. She sniffles and nods. “I’m happy to hear that.”

Jack-the-blood lets out a low growl. “I can’t believe your mom went through that with fucking Olsen. Why didn’t she tell me?”

“For the same reason I didn’t want to tell you,” Vani reasons. “She didn’t want you to start a war.”

He clenches and unclenches his fists. “He needs to pay for what he did to her. He stole her baby.”

I feel like I’m watching a game of table tennis, following the ball as it pings back and forth. Emotion and tension are high in the room, and Vani hasn’t even gotten to the ‘oh, and you’re wearing his necklace, and we need it back in order to get one of my three boyfriends out of Olsen’s clutches’ part.

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