Page 85 of Blood

“Yes, what did you discover?”

Both of our heads whirl toward the intruder to see Cal standing against the doorway, his pink hair ruffled and his red wings spread out behind him, the inky black veins appearing particularly brutal in the pale lighting of the apartment. As always, the cupid bleeds poise and sophistication, even with the scowl marring his perfect features.

“When I received your text, Violet, I was afraid you were breaking up with me. Of course, I wasn’t worried. Not truly. I’m too handsome to be broken up with.” Cal huffs haughtily and steps farther into the room. Despite his domineering attitude, I can see a sliver of fear seeping into his eyes, emphasized by the crinkles on his face. “What’s going on?”

“Come here, my love,” Violet says, her voice soft. She pats the couch cushion next to her, and Cal stalks forward without an ounce of hesitation. He moves to sit next to her, and she immediately grabs his hand in both of hers.

“What is it? What do you know about my family?”

Steel bands encircle my chest as I volley my gaze between the two of them. Violet seems at a loss for words, her perfect teeth lowering to nibble on her lip, as she squeezes Cal’s hand hard enough to leave bruises. Unable to stand the tension saturating the air, I slide off the armrest and perch on the opposite side of Cal, placing my arm around them both. Their combined scents envelope me, and my feeling of contentment and peace ratchets up a dozen notches.

“When we went to the monster council, Alex discovered something that concerns you,” Violet whispers. “I didn’t want to mention anything until I knew for sure, but I need to go to the monster council today and...”

“Violet, just tell me.” Cal’s free hand comes to land on my thigh, and I quickly place my palm on top of it, hoping I’m able to provide him even a modicum of comfort.

“The White Stag seems to believe that Zeus was behind your imprisonment and the murder of your family.” Violet keeps her gaze lasered in on Cal, tears brimming in those bright blue orbs.

“What?” Cal has gone completely still beside me. Frozen. Even his hand in mine feels like an icicle.

“The mate bonds... They’re a connection between two or more souls, as you know.” She offers us both a wobbly smile, but it doesn’t meet her haunted eyes. “Apparently, once a mated monster dies, his soul doesn’t immediately pass on to the afterlife. He or she remains on Earth, tethered to the other half of their soul. According to the White Stag, when Zeus discovered what you could do, he bribed the council members to...get rid of you and your family.”

A gasp of pure anguish rips from Cal’s chest. “But why? It doesn’t make any sense. My parents...my siblings...my aunts and uncles and cousins... They couldn’t do what I could do. Why kill them? Why let me live?”

“I don’t know, Cal.” Tears trickle down Violet’s cheeks as she leans in close, as if she means to hug the cupid. At the last second, she pulls herself away, her eyelashes fluttering shut. “But that’s why I wanted to talk to you about it. I need to meet with the monster council to gauge their sincerity when it comes to fighting with us against Zeus, but I also thought we could discover the truth about your family in the process. Of course, we don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable with it. Or I could gather the information, if you need—”

Cal throws himself into her arms as another low, heart-wrenching sob echoes through his chest. His pain slices at my own skin like a razor.

“I’m so sorry, Cal. So, so sorry,” she whispers as she hugs him back, rubbing her hand up and down his spine. I move to hold him from behind, and he leans into me, allowing the two of us to sandwich him between our bodies.

“You’ll be okay, my friend,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to his temple. I lift my head to meet Violet’s eyes over his shock of disheveled pink hair. “We have your back. Always.”

“Always,” Violet agrees, and then her voice hardens, turning to granite. “Even if that means killing every last fucker on that monster council.”

CHAPTER 30

CAL

It feels as if there are a thousand needles being jammed into my skin.

I thought I knew pain, grief, and guilt, but it’s nothing compared to what swirls inside of me now. The cumulation of those emotions, compounded by my rage, makes me a living, breathing force just barely hanging on. I can feel the darkness inside of me clawing toward the surface, demanding I let it free to play, and claws burst from the tips of my fingers.

Maim.

Kill.

Destroy.

But then Violet places a hand on the small of my back, and some of the darkness percolating inside of me fades away. Not all, but enough to keep me coherent and focused on the matter at hand.

The last time I felt such rage and fury was when Alex’s bastard of a father tried to kill my mate during the Roaring. I lost myself to the beast within me, kidnapping the fucker and torturing him until he begged for mercy.

And mercy came, of course.

In the form of a knife to his chest.

I suppose I need to apologize to Alex for killing his father, but the necromancer doesn’t seem too shaken up over the bastard’s death. Perhaps he’ll even thank me one day for ridding the world of such a despicable excuse of a monster.

That fury from before burns within me now, only it’s not the same blistering heat that I remember. It’s...cold. Icy. The type of frost burn you’d receive if you stayed outside in a snowstorm a little too long for comfort. Hurt has lodged itself in my ribs like a sliver of ice, and no amount of wiggling will remove it.

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