to
meet them?” she hissed to him under her breath.
“Smile pretty, Violet,” he said.
Heads were still swiveled in their direction as everyone watched
the three of them with open curiosity. Violet had no idea what was
being communicated beneath the surface of the brothers’ comments,
but she sensed that she was missing something.
“Well, don’t you all know how to
make an entrance.” Margo appeared at the bottom of the staircase on
Jonah’s other side. Violet was blown away at how beautiful her
friend looked. She wondered when Margo had had the time to get so
gussied up when she had spent so much time helping Violet get
ready. Margo looked pointedly at Jonah. “Stirring up trouble
again?” she said sweetly.
“Always,” Jeremiah answered with a
condescending tone and a warning look at his brother before Jonah
could respond. “Perhaps you can corral your escort,
Margo.”
Violet suddenly realized the awkwardness of the
situation she was in and that Jonah had created.
“I promised the fair Violet that I
would not let her go this evening, and I don’t intend to,” Jonah
said, putting his hand to her back and guiding her down the last
steps.
Violet stole a glance over her
shoulder and she saw that Jeremiah’s jaw was clenched tight and his
eyes were shooting daggers at Jonah’s back. Jeremiah slipped down
the stairs to Margo’s side and started talking to her in a low
voice. Margo immediately flushed and shook her head. The dismay on
her friend’s face was obvious, and Violet wondered if it was more
than just Jeremiah’s displeasure.
The squeeze on her arm brought her
back to the man next to her, who was smiling at her with a knowing
grin. “Like I said, it’s good for my big brother to not always get
what he wants,” he said conspiratorially.
“He certainly seems like the type
who usually does though,” Violet said. The last thing she wanted to
be was a toy to be fought over. Although the experience was
completely new to her, it was completely distracting and
overwhelming. “When he got all weird and serious upstairs, he made
it sound like this event could be dangerous for me.”
They crossed the foyer and stood
right outside the wide doors that led into a brightly lit room.
Violet could hear the melodies of string instrument floating to her
ears and she had the strange sense that she had stepped back in
time. Jonah put a light hand around her waist and drew her over to
the side. His eyes were serious now.
“Well, he figured out that you
appear to be immune to compulsion, which actually is a really good
thing when you are in a room full of vampires,” he said.
“Compulsion?” Violet
echoed.
Jonah continued as if he didn’t
hear her. “There are a few things that Jeremiah and I do agree on.
He wasn’t wrong that the people gathered here tonight, although our
allies, could turn on us at any moment if they sensed weakness
within the house of Montrose. There are several covens that have
openly broken away from us, and it is only a matter of time before
there could be a full-out civil war. That’s why having you here in
open support of our coven is so important.” There was clear pain in
his voice as he said this, and Violet wondered again how she had
gotten mixed up in all of it.
“I still don’t understand why I
matter in all of this,” she said in an equally low tone. “Margo
said I’m some kind of map. So does everybody know about this? Is
that why my support would be so important?”
Jonah nodded. “If Jeremiah can lift
the curse of the bloodlust, then he thinks that he will be able to
reunite all of the covens once again in peace. Unfortunately, the
woman who has assumed his same position for the covens who oppose
us would love nothing more than to beat him to it. It would
legitimize her claim that the Montrose coven is no longer fit to
lead.”
“This sounds...epic,” Violet said
lamely.
A flash of amusement crossed
Jonah’s face. “Indeed. That’s why you are so
meet them?” she hissed to him under her breath.
“Smile pretty, Violet,” he said.
Heads were still swiveled in their direction as everyone watched
the three of them with open curiosity. Violet had no idea what was
being communicated beneath the surface of the brothers’ comments,
but she sensed that she was missing something.
“Well, don’t you all know how to
make an entrance.” Margo appeared at the bottom of the staircase on
Jonah’s other side. Violet was blown away at how beautiful her
friend looked. She wondered when Margo had had the time to get so
gussied up when she had spent so much time helping Violet get
ready. Margo looked pointedly at Jonah. “Stirring up trouble
again?” she said sweetly.
“Always,” Jeremiah answered with a
condescending tone and a warning look at his brother before Jonah
could respond. “Perhaps you can corral your escort,
Margo.”
Violet suddenly realized the awkwardness of the
situation she was in and that Jonah had created.
“I promised the fair Violet that I
would not let her go this evening, and I don’t intend to,” Jonah
said, putting his hand to her back and guiding her down the last
steps.
Violet stole a glance over her
shoulder and she saw that Jeremiah’s jaw was clenched tight and his
eyes were shooting daggers at Jonah’s back. Jeremiah slipped down
the stairs to Margo’s side and started talking to her in a low
voice. Margo immediately flushed and shook her head. The dismay on
her friend’s face was obvious, and Violet wondered if it was more
than just Jeremiah’s displeasure.
The squeeze on her arm brought her
back to the man next to her, who was smiling at her with a knowing
grin. “Like I said, it’s good for my big brother to not always get
what he wants,” he said conspiratorially.
“He certainly seems like the type
who usually does though,” Violet said. The last thing she wanted to
be was a toy to be fought over. Although the experience was
completely new to her, it was completely distracting and
overwhelming. “When he got all weird and serious upstairs, he made
it sound like this event could be dangerous for me.”
They crossed the foyer and stood
right outside the wide doors that led into a brightly lit room.
Violet could hear the melodies of string instrument floating to her
ears and she had the strange sense that she had stepped back in
time. Jonah put a light hand around her waist and drew her over to
the side. His eyes were serious now.
“Well, he figured out that you
appear to be immune to compulsion, which actually is a really good
thing when you are in a room full of vampires,” he said.
“Compulsion?” Violet
echoed.
Jonah continued as if he didn’t
hear her. “There are a few things that Jeremiah and I do agree on.
He wasn’t wrong that the people gathered here tonight, although our
allies, could turn on us at any moment if they sensed weakness
within the house of Montrose. There are several covens that have
openly broken away from us, and it is only a matter of time before
there could be a full-out civil war. That’s why having you here in
open support of our coven is so important.” There was clear pain in
his voice as he said this, and Violet wondered again how she had
gotten mixed up in all of it.
“I still don’t understand why I
matter in all of this,” she said in an equally low tone. “Margo
said I’m some kind of map. So does everybody know about this? Is
that why my support would be so important?”
Jonah nodded. “If Jeremiah can lift
the curse of the bloodlust, then he thinks that he will be able to
reunite all of the covens once again in peace. Unfortunately, the
woman who has assumed his same position for the covens who oppose
us would love nothing more than to beat him to it. It would
legitimize her claim that the Montrose coven is no longer fit to
lead.”
“This sounds...epic,” Violet said
lamely.
A flash of amusement crossed
Jonah’s face. “Indeed. That’s why you are so
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