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VIOLET

Dorian hasn’t spoken to me since the confrontation. Confrontation . The word isn’t big enough for the moment that was inevitable since I entered the outside world. Like it or not, the man has a grip on other people’s lives that he’ll utilize if he can’t control me.

During my childhood, I never questioned my father’s position in the world or had any awareness about his tenuous grip on leadership. I knew how powerful my family is but never considered the magnitude of his past actions, or how he’d repeat them if threatened.

I’m now sharply aware. I’ve reached the turning point where I’m no longer the person Dorian expected me to become.

At this point, I have only one choice: back down and keep away.

Dorian’s searching for people who would end a leadership founded in fear.

Don’t interfere. End my investigative involvement and allow him to takeover with apprehending Whitegrove and the necromancers.

Instead, I can pursue the bigger issue: ensuring others’ safety. I’ve failed to do this with my single-minded actions, and that needs to change.

The decision to meet Viktor alone and everything that happened afterward prove my naivety about the world.

I’ve put lives at threat, but not in the way I once expected.

What if that outburst at Dorian last night creates a worse situation for Grayson?

Dorian could kill him before I get a chance to protect him.

Does my mother now know about the enormity of our encounter in the gardens? Did she remain close by and witness anything? Eloise didn’t speak to me when I returned to the house, but hers and Dorian’s raised voices reached me as I sat in my bedroom afterward.

I never considered the discord it would create between them, and I’m eager to leave before Ethan and Zeke return in case I face the wrath of my whole family.

Eloise wouldn’t allow Dorian to trap me on the estate, and neither would my other fathers.

The problem is, how far will Dorian go to assert himself over the family?

The argument that the family always make join decisions fell flat after Eloise’s behavior in hiding facts from Dorian, but four people who were once trapped against their will would never do that to me.

And although Dorian rules the supernatural world, all in our household are equal.

This morning, with Eloise in attendance, Dorian listens to the remainder of my findings, but he refuses to accept any information I gleaned as atonement for my actions. Yes, Viktor’s death has led to a major discovery via focus on Cornelius, but due to events beyond Dorian’s wishes.

Out of his control.

Despite his calmer exterior this morning, Dorian’s underlying fury remains, and I must take care that it’s directed against his true aggressors.

Although I didn’t find much inside the mausoleum, I have handed enough evidence for Dorian to interrogate Cornelius.

I’d expected Dorian to send men last night, but I sense he’s preparing for a larger strike.

Dorian often utilizes discretion so as not to alert his opponents.

If Dorian’s psychometry specialists find evidence at the mausoleum, Cornelius won’t be able to complain that Dorian Blackwood is victimizing him.

Locating Josef is also part of Dorian’s immediate aims, but Grayson’s name isn’t mentioned today. Is this another example of Grayson’s usefulness delaying Dorian’s ultimate plans for him?

Yes, I will step away, but not from everything. I mentioned Madison and the tiara, and Dorian flew into another rage about how he doesn’t give a shit about a girl who died eighteen years ago when he has issues with Cornelius’s current activities. Plans that need halting immediately.

I dropped the subject, and he returned to demanding information about my recent discoveries.

I’m forced to bargain my way off the estate. This means accepting Dorian’s insistence that Eloise place a tracking spell on me. She’s never done such a thing, and I am mortified at both the invasion of privacy and the distrust. But I have no option if I want to leave.

Allowing me to return to the academy must be Dorian moving the pieces in his deadly game with Cornelius. Before either Eloise or Dorian change their mind, I blood rune myself out of Scotland and return to the academy grounds, threats still ringing in my ears.

How will Cornelius react when he discovers I’m not in Scotland? Dorian needs to move swiftly.

Earlier, Grayson sent a message to assure me of his safety after leaving the mausoleum.

I advised him to return to the academy before his uncle locates him, and for us to remain together at all times.

Every one of us. He doesn’t reply which triggers a flurry of unwelcome physical reactions.

No. Dorian hasn’t touched him—he would’ve told me.

But Josef? Has he?

In an earlier message to Rowan, I kept details about my meeting with Dorian succinct, assuring him of my bodily integrity. But that won’t be enough information for my friends, especially Rowan.

They’re owed an explanation as to why Dorian allowed me to leave, and what happens to us all next.