Shadows Entwined (Shadows Descent #3)

7. Violet

7

VIOLET

A howl of rage tears through the chamber as I watch the mother I never knew die to save me. My power roars through my veins, increasing tenfold out of sheer desperation and grief for the woman who bore me.

I snatch up the discarded stake, hands shaking but my soul steady. As Nathaniel reaches for me, I drive it deep into his heart.

“This ends now,” I snarl, my eyes blazing with power and fury.

Nathaniel’s face contorts in shock and pain. He stumbles back, clawing at the stake protruding from his chest.

He doesn’t explode into ash straight away. He just stares down at the stake, and Caine takes the opportunity to ram the silver eagle of his cane into Nathaniel’s balls. He gurgles and doubles over, dropping to his knees.

“You stupid girl,” he hisses. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”

“All I need to know is that you are gone from my life and this world.”

Nathaniel’s eyes widen, fear and disbelief flashing across his face. He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. Instead, cracks spread across his skin.

“No,” he whispers. “This can’t be...”

With a final, anguished cry, Nathaniel’s body shatters into a million particles of ash. They hang suspended in the air for a moment, like a constellation of stars, before falling to the ground at my feet.

The chamber falls silent except for the panting from the men involved in the fight. The sudden absence of conflict is jarring after the chaos of the past few minutes. I slump back against Flint, my body trembling with exhaustion and the aftermath of adrenaline.

“It’s over,” I murmur, my voice hoarse. “He’s really gone.”

Flint’s arms tighten around me, his chin resting on top of my head. “You did it, baby girl. You’re free.”

But the victory feels hollow. I gaze at the pile of dust where Morgan had been just moments ago. A lump forms in my throat, threatening to choke me.

“Mum,” I whisper, reaching out a shaking hand towards the ashes. “I barely knew you.”

Thorne kneels beside me, his face etched with sorrow. “She loved you, Violet. More than you could ever know.”

“But why?” I choke out, tears streaming down my face. “Why did it have to end this way?”

Thorne takes my hand, squeezing it gently. “She loved you, Violet. She would have done anything to see you safe.”

I sob, the weight of grief and guilt that I didn’t know I could still feel, crushing down on me. Is this because it was my birth mother? Did I somehow know my parents weren’t really my parents, and that’s why I didn’t grieve them properly? It all seems so wrong. Everything is wrong.

Flint holds me tighter, murmuring soothing words into my hair.

Caine approaches, his face uncharacteristically solemn. “We should gather her ashes,” he says softly. “Give her a proper send-off.”

I nod, wiping my eyes. “Yes. She deserves that much.”

As Caine and Thorne carefully collect Morgan’s remains, I bury my face in Flint’s chest.

“I hate to be the one to say it, but we can’t let this slow us down,” Blackthorn says.

“With all due respect, Sir,” Flint starts. “Violet just lost her mother.”

“No,” I say, sniffing and straightening up. “Professor Blackthorn is right. We still have the Convergence to deal with and the Order of the Shadows Descent. I doubt with Nathaniel gone that they will just stand down now they know who I am. I don’t want to end up as a stone statue for the next fifteen hundred years.”

Flint nods, but I can see he wants to say something.

“You’re right,” Flint says reluctantly. “But we need to take a moment to regroup. You’ve been through a lot, Violet.”

I shake my head, pushing myself away from him despite the exhaustion weighing me down. “We don’t have time. The Convergence is coming, and we need to be ready.”

Blackthorn nods approvingly. “With the academy still on ice, we have a few moments to regroup.”

“What’s our next move?” I ask, my voice steadier than I feel, even though I feel idiotic for asking. My brain won’t brain right now.

Thorne comes closer and wraps his arm around my waist. “We need to secure the academy. With Nathaniel gone, the Order of the Shadows Descent will make a move and without him controlling them, or whatever it was he was doing, they might go rogue. We don’t know what their end game is.”

“Agreed,” Caine says, leaning heavily on his cane. “We need to head back to the library and take a situation report.”

I feel a sudden wave of dizziness. The room spins, and I stumble.

“Whoa, easy there,” Thorne says, catching me before I fall. “You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

“I’m fine,” I insist, even as black spots dance at the edges of my vision. “We need to...”

My words trail off as another wave of dizziness hits me. This time, I can’t fight it. The world tilts sideways, and I feel myself slipping into unconsciousness.

“Violet!” I hear Flint cry out, his voice sounding distant and muffled.

Then everything goes dark.

I wake up to the familiar sight of the infirmary ceiling with my back freezing and a bit wet. Blinking groggily, I try to piece together what happened. The ritual, Nathaniel’s attack, Morgan’s sacrifice... it all comes rushing back in a flood of painful memories.

“Hey, you’re awake,” Flint’s voice says softly from beside me. I turn my head to see him sitting in a chair next to the bed, looking exhausted but relieved.

“How long was I out?” I croak, my throat dry as I realise I’m lying on a slab of ice on a bed in the Infirmary.

“About two hours,” he replies, reaching for a cup of blood on the bedside table. “Here, drink this.”

I take a few sips, the cool blood soothing my parched throat. “What’s happening? Anything?”

“Nothing yet. The Academy and everyone still in it, apart from us, is frozen. Gaida and her dad left.”

I nod, knowing that it is for the best. I hope I get to see my friend again soon.

“How do you feel?” he ventures after I finish the blood.

I take a moment to assess myself, flexing my fingers and toes. “Better, I think. Cold, wet and still tired, but not as weak.” I look down at my chest, half-expecting to see a gaping wound. But there’s nothing, not even a scar. “It’s like it never happened.”

Flint nods, relief evident in his eyes. “Morgan’s sacrifice... has it given you a power boost?”

Frowning, I take stock. “I think so,” I murmur, feeling something rumbling under the surface that wasn’t there before. “She gave me her power as well as her life force.”

He nods slowly but doesn’t say anything.

A lump forms in my throat at the mention of Morgan. “I wish...” I start but can’t finish the thought. There’s too much left unsaid, too many questions I’ll never get answers to.

Flint takes my hand, squeezing gently. “I know. We all do.”

I swallow hard, forcing myself to focus. “Where are the others?”

“Caine and Thorne are patrolling the academy grounds in case anyone tries to attack while we are on ice. Blackthorn is doing Blackthorny things.”

I snort despite the seriousness of this entire situation. “Did you get the feeling there was something between him and Morgan?”

“Like what?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. History.”

“I didn’t see it, but then I wasn’t looking.”

Fair enough. Maybe I’m reading too much into it.

But maybe I’m wondering if Blackthorn is my dad. Surely he’d know that? Surely Morgan would’ve said if he was right there? Surely he would’ve recognised her enough to show it?

Nah. I’m reading way too much into it.

I nod, pushing myself up to a sitting position and sliding across the frozen slab of bed. The room spins for a moment, but I grit my teeth and wait for it to pass. “We need to join them. There’s no time to waste.”

“You need more blood. Here.” He hands me another cup.

I take it gratefully and gulp it back, feeling strength flood back into my body and the world rights itself. “Thanks. That helps.”

Flint watches me carefully as I swing my legs over the side of the bed. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? No one would blame you if you needed more time.”

I shake my head firmly. “We don’t have that luxury.”

He nods, resignation and pride warring in his expression. “Okay. Let’s go find the others.”

As we make our way through the frozen halls of MistHallow, I shudder at the eerie stillness. Students and faculty alike stand frozen mid-motion, like living statues. Like Morgan was all those centuries. It’s unsettling.

We find Thorne and Caine as we head outside into the blizzard.

“Hey,” I say as they come over, covered in snow. “I have an idea. Follow me.”

“Are you feeling okay?” Caine asks as they fall into step behind me as I march across the campus to the library.

“Grand. That blood helped.” It helped everything. It has pushed my grief and fear aside, as well as making me stronger. I frown and stop dead, the guys crashing into the back of me. I turn with a glare at them. “Was that human blood?” I ask.

Flint looks abashed. “I raided the Blood Bar. Don’t tell Blackthorn,” he says in a rush.

I giggle, feeling like my old self again, only better. Lighter, freer. “I won’t, but is there any more where that came from?”

“Plenty,” he says with a beam. “Doesn’t look like the staff had a raid lately.”

I nod, feeling bright. I feel like I can accomplish anything with that blood coursing through me. This is what I was meant to feed on. This is what will make me thrive in this time of need.

We enter the library, ducking around the frozen forms of the Order.

“What’s your idea?” Caine asks.

“We move them.”

He frowns. “Move them where?”

I shrug. “Who cares? Away from here.”

“I’m not sure I can do that,” Caine says. “If we throw magick at them, it might undo the ice spell.”

“So, we get our resident Dragon to pick them up and take them to the mountains or wherever.”

Flint raises an eyebrow. “You want me to fly dozens of frozen creatures to the mountains?”

“Why not?” I say, feeling energised and reckless. “You’re strong enough, aren’t you?”

He looks offended. “Of course I am. But it would take multiple trips, there’s at least twenty of them.” He gestures to the frozen ferals.

“It’s actually a good idea,” Thorne says. “It would get them out of our hair while we focus on one thing at a time.”

Just then, Blackthorn strides into the library, his face grim. “We have a problem,” he announces.

“What now?” I groan.

“The wards are failing,” he states. “Without the full power of the academy behind them, they’re starting to crack. We don’t have much time before they fall completely.”

A chill runs down my spine that has nothing to do with the frozen library. “And when they do?”

“Anyone will be able to enter freely,” he says gravely. “And I can assure you that they will be lining up to get inside the perimeter.”

“Shit,” Caine mutters.

“Okay, so we move the ice-ferals and then undo the Ice Age,” I say. “We’ve got this, guys. It’s all good.”

Blackthorn gives me the side-eye at my breezy attitude. “Are you okay, Miss Violet?”

“Perfect and raring to get everything back on track. So shall we?” I ask Flint.

He shrugs with a smile. “As you wish. But you’re going to have to carry them outside. I don’t think the library will take too kindly to me bashing through the roof when I shift.”

“Meaning?” Blackthorn asks.

“Flint is going to Dragon shift and move the Order out of here, so we have time to think and plan,” I explain quickly. “Can you help us move them outside so he can get started?”

His surprised look turns to one of approval. “What a cracking idea, Miss Violet. Well done.”

I beam with pride and turn to an icy wolf to my right. “Okay, ice-pop, let’s do this.” I crack my knuckles and gather my vampire strength to lift the wolf to move him outside.