Page 57

Click here to see a full-size image of Vonetta by art.bymikki.

Admittedly, Vonetta didn’t feature as more than Kieran’s sister for me for the longest time. However, when she started accompanying Casteel and Poppy on their missions and ultimately became Crown Regent, I started seeing more and more of her, and suspect that will continue.

Hair: Black cornrows—tight, narrow braids—that reach her waist.

Eyes: Wintery blue.

Body type: Tall.

Facial features: Skin the color of night-blooming roses. Sharply angled face. Broad cheekbones. Full mouth.

Distinguishing features: Throaty feminine laugh.

Other: Sixty years younger than her brother, so about one hundred and forty.

Personality: Easygoing. Kind. Suffers no fools when it comes to men.

Habits/Mannerisms/Strengths/Weaknesses: Loves candied fruit and demands it from Kieran when he annoys her. Terrible cook. Quick with a blade. Found it hard to believe that anyone in Solis was innocent until she met more Descenters.

Preternatural traits: Fawn/sand/tawny-colored in her wolven form but smaller than Kieran. Imprint is woodsy, like white oak and vanilla.

Background: Spessa’s End Rise Guard. Helped Casteel remember who he was and remind him that he wasn’t a thing after his imprisonment.

Family: Mother = Kirha Contou. Father = Jasper Contou. Brother = Kieran. Sister = new infant not yet named. Aunt = Beryn.

VONETTA’S JOURNEY TO DATE:

I first noticed Vonetta in my visions and research when she met Poppy at the Contou residence.

The first time she meets Poppy, she tells her that she can call her Netta and admonishes her brother for not telling the soon-to-be Queen that he has a sister. As they shake hands, Vonetta feels the same lightning-like static charge the other wolven have. And, like her brother, she tells Poppy that she smells old, though not of death like Kieran did.

Netta watches while Poppy heals Beckett, and like others, believes she may be from the Empath Warrior bloodline.

The wolven indulges Poppy in a training session and brings her a gown to wear for her wedding the following day. Poppy asks about the Joining as they talk, and Vonetta tells her what she knows, explaining that it strengthens the bond. She adds that it doesn’t always have to happen at the wedding—it can occur before or after—that it’s not always sexual, and it is never weird. She also says that no one expects Poppy to do it.

As Vonetta helps Poppy get ready, Poppy laments how she’s the reason everything they’ve built in Spessa’s End is now at risk and apologizes for bringing trouble. Vonetta reassures her that it’s not her fault, nor is the inevitable battle.

When Vonetta adds jewelry to Poppy’s ensemble, she explains that diamonds are traditional and are the joyous tears of the gods given form. Wearing them signifies that the gods are with someone, even as they slumber.

Poppy asks questions about what will happen next after the wedding, and Vonetta tells her that once she and Cas reach Evaemon, the King and Queen will demand a celebration in her honor—one that will last days—so they can introduce her.

When Duchess Teerman and her knights arrive and a fight breaks out, Vonetta’s hind leg is injured in the battle. Once things settle, and the others set out, Vonetta remains behind in Spessa’s End but plans to return to Atlantia soon for her mother’s birthday and the birth of her new sibling.

Vonetta arrives at Cove Palace to inform the Royals, Cas, and Poppy that a convoy of Ascended are in Spessa’s End, requesting an audience with Casteel and Poppy. She says that Ian is leading the group and informs Poppy that her brother has, indeed, Ascended. Both she and her brother feel Poppy’s grief at hearing the news.

The siblings inform their parents that they are again heading to Spessa’s End. It’s an arduous trip, and Vonetta is exhausted once they arrive. She’s also still reeling over the fact that she can hear Poppy in her head.

After their discussions with Ian, Vonetta wonders if he told Poppy to wake Nyktos, hoping that the King of Gods would kill his sister. Though she realizes that Cas and Poppy are considering it regardless, so she’ll have to deal with whatever happens.

In Evaemon, Vonetta displays some hostility toward Perry. Given the happenings of late, she’s a bit overprotective since Cas’s friends have betrayed him. She also takes it upon herself to become Poppy’s shadow on her first day in the palace as they await the transfer of crowns.

Vonetta, in wolven form, joins the group of guards during the Council meeting. I remember seeing her and her brother in wolven form that day. They’re absolutely beautiful and majestic. When Ambrose refuses to bow to Poppy, and Cas tells him to either bow before his Queen or bleed before her, Vonetta makes her agreement known with a deep growl.

Unwilling to miss a chance to see Iliseeum, Vonetta joins the group that travels to the Land of the Gods. During the trip, she asks about my journal, saying she might be interested in reading it—as one should be. Just as she does, the floor collapses, and she falls. Luckily, Emil catches her, and Poppy is able to use her eather to lift Netta to safety.

When they pass through the mists, and skeletal soldiers erupt from the ground, she berates Emil for not warning them about what he saw in the hole and then tells him he’s a mess after he calls her beautiful amidst the chaos. As the group battles the skeletons, she fights back-to-back with Emil until Poppy finally finishes them with her power.

As she gazes upon Dalos, she wonders if any gods are awake. Then, realizing what covers the ground, she remarks that they’re walking on diamonds.