Page 79 of Live To Tell

Ethan nods. “Yeah. I’ll let you speak to Dorian about that. I don’t want to listen to another rant about Petrescus.”

“Very well. Have you broached the subject of necromancy with the shifters?” asks Violet blithely—the question I’m too frightened to ask.

“Yes,” he says softly. “The news did not sit well with the elders, and some don’t believe me.”

“Sit well? I bet that’s an understatement,” she replies. “Do they know where Trent is? Any suspicions who may be responsible?”

Ethan shakes his head. “I have to tread carefully, Violet. The actions of a few witches against shifters has set back their trust a hell of a lot.”

“But the elders need to discuss this. If there’s anybody within the settlement who’s connected to the necromancers—or whoever’s behind all this—you need to know. Dorian needs to question them!”

Ethan lowers himself onto the edge of the teacher’s desk. “I’m concerned whether I should take you with us if your ‘personality’ might make the meeting difficult.”

Violet clamps her lips together and shakes her head. She’s insistent that we involved her. I wasn’t sure I wanted Violet to walk into the shifter’s settlement with us, although now I’ve met Ethan I’m more than certain she’s safe.

“Violet wants to gather more clues,” I say jokingly. “She won’t risk speaking out of turn.”

Ethan barks a laugh. “Do you know my daughter or not?”

“I’m not accompanying you for clues. I want to be with you to ensure you walk away again, and that the elders assure Ethan you’ll remain free.”

“Violet. The elders want to speak to Leif about what he remembers.”

A sharp spike of panic hits me. I met Roderick once, when in that cell. Once he’d finished demanding answers about my connection to the deaths, he told me that ‘the people you belong with’ will stop anything happening to me.

Yeah, he was right. Roderick meant shifters, but Violet and Rowan—and Grayson—are the ones I belong with. They’re who’ll help. Violet’s small hand curls around my fingers and perspiration beads along my back as I cautiously meet Ethan’s eyes. He drops a look to where I hold his daughter’s hand and then regards me.

“Is the witch okay with this?” He switches his look to Violet.

“This?” she asks.

“You and Leif. You’re bonded to Rowan.”

“‘The witch’ has a name. Rowan.” Ethan arches a brow. “Is Rowan okay with me caring about his best friend?”

“There’s more than ‘caring’ here, Violet. Hell, you just freaked out about me hugging you, and you’re holding a guy’s hand.” Irritation edges his tone and the idea that I might walk away without upsetting Ethan evaporates. “Eloise mentioned your unusual choices, but I thought she must’ve imagined that.”

“I mean, we’re mostly just friends,” I blurt out, picturing him breaking my face if he thinks I’ve done more than hold his daughter’s hand.

Ethan suppresses his amusement. “Calm down. Eloise already had words with me about my little girl growing up.”

Violet chokes. “Little girl? Stop!”

“And the Petrescu is out of the picture now?” he continues.

“I said, can we stop,” retorts Violet.

I slide a look to her. She’ll easily deny any closeness to Grayson in front of Ethan because she did such a good job of denying this to herself for weeks.

He folds his arms across his chest, and I uncomfortably watch how his large muscles flex. “I hope he’s worth the aggravation, Violet.”

“Excuse me? I’m offended on Leif’s behalf.”

Ethan’s dragon eyes fix on Violet. “I’ve no issues with Leif or Rowan. I’m concerned what’ll happen if this Petrescu guy isn't off the scene. How do you know Josef attacked Grayson if you stay away from the guy?”

The pair are silent long enough that my skin goosebumps at what might happen next.

“Dorian’s Petrescu obsession is unhealthy,” she says eventually. “And how did this become about him?”

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