“I exceed you in every way! I’m more powerful than you can imagine, and when I kill you, others will bow at my feet!” he exclaimed, unable to contain the anger in his human form, an emotion that his previous, incorporeal self could not process. He was already well down Delusional Way.
Not exactly the message I was looking for, but good enough. In time with Miss Kinkaid’s shriek, I ran my dagger through his chest, being sure to make it a fast killing will. It didn’t need to go through the heart; lots of other places would ensure an exile’s end. The only essentials are that a Grigori blade inflict the injury and we make it count. Otherwise, exiled angels are damn near impossible to get rid of.
Archer didn’t hesitate, taking out one of the exiles and then spinning on the spot to face the other, his blade slashing straight across his neckline.
I looked away. Archer is old school and very good.
Two of my classmates, Jeff Willis and Meredith Faro, chose that moment to break out of shock and into hysterics. Jeff’s pitch was the highest. At least no one was trying to bolt this time.
It wouldn’t last long. Beth had already moved in on the other students. Every Grigori has a particular strength and we are all a bit different. Beth’s strength is memory. Like all of our gifts, though, it isn’t endless. She had about a ten-minute window of opportunity and only about a half hour “wipe” capacity and she needed to have touched her target in each case.
She started with Miss Kinkaid, who was now silent, despite her mouth being wide open and paused in a potential tense scream. Beth brushed her hand comfortingly.
“It’s okay. Everything is okay now.”
Beth moved by her, then on to the next, touching everyone in some way, even those who cowered from her, before moving to give them each a good stare.
“Help is on the way,” she said soothingly. “Would you all look at me for a moment?” she continued, pushing a little sweetness into her voice, which had everyone slightly entranced. Beth is old school too.
Archer jumped back out the window and disappeared while I walked around, making sure all evidence of the exiles’ presence had gone. Their bodies were the easiest part; as soon as they were “returned,” whatever magic had given them a physical form quickly disappeared along with their remains, but every now and then, other remains were left behind. Weapons usually, but more recently, we had started to check for other things that might hide a message, even though I knew Phoenix wouldn’t bother with such plotting. He liked to deliver messages in person.
“You have all been in art class, like any other day. Vandals have been causing havoc in the area and just like they did on Friday last week”—Beth shot me a loaded glance—“a gang of guys rode by on their bikes, hurling rocks through the windows. It was just lucky Miss Kinkaid was so quick to act that you all managed to huddle into the corner in time. A few of you were hit by flying glass, but you’re all okay and know you are safe now. Unfortunately, none of you managed to get a look at any of the perpetrators. Does everyone agree?”
My teacher and peers all began to nod.
Beth waited until she was satisfied. “Okay. Now sit silently until we are gone. Do not pay any attention to us, and you will not remember us once we have left, all except for Violet, who is your classmate and was huddled in the corner with the rest of you.”
They all nodded again.
Archer made me jump when he came bounding back through the window with a number of brick-sized rocks hammocked in his Road Runner T-shirt. He scattered them around the room to explain the shattered glass, dropping a couple on top of the desk I had broken with my forehead.
“It’s just lucky your school doesn’t have video cameras; otherwise, this would be a lot more difficult,” he noted.
Rapid footsteps sounded down the hall. Beth and Archer both tensed.
“It’s okay. Just Spence,” I said. I could sense Grigori. Not as easily as I could exiles, but I ran with Spence every day—I knew his gait well enough to be sure this was him.
Spence almost slid into the room, then looked at my classmates, saw they were held in a momentary daze, and took about one second to put all the pieces together. He snorted. “I’ve missed it, haven’t I? Jeez, Eden, you could’ve at least called me!”
Yeah. I felt bad. He’d been close and Spence loved a fight.
“Sorry. I barely had time to call in Beth and Archer.”
We all knew they were first call in these instances. Beth’s ability to make problems…go away was essential.
“Shields?” Spence asked, just as I started to feel the purr of another arrival.
“Yeah,” I admitted, hating that I still wasn’t strong enough.
There was another thump as two more feet were propelled through the window. I raised my eyes to the roof.
Did everyone have to be here?
Lincoln took in the scene in much the same way as Spence. His eyes landed on me immediately after. “You’re hurt,” he all but growled.
I sighed. “No. I’m fine. Stupid but fine,” I said, trying not to focus on him, not that it made any difference. His very presence sent every part of me, human and angel, into overdrive.
He looked like he wanted to come closer, but after a considering look at my head, he must have deduced the wound wasn’t that bad and instead turned to Beth. “How long do we have?”
“About thirty seconds until this group comes around,” she said, taking Tristan’s phone from his hand, no doubt deleting his recent footage.
“And about a minute until the school rains down on this building,” Spence said.
I grabbed a few tissues from Miss Kinkaid’s desk and started mopping the blood from my face. It really wasn’t bad.
“Violet, are you okay from here?” Lincoln asked.
I sheathed my dagger and tied my hair back into its original ponytail. “Yep, you guys go.”
Spence went back out the door the way he’d come. Archer and Beth leapt out the window. Lincoln moved to follow but paused briefly.
“Is that yours?” he asked, gesturing to my charcoal drawing, now on the ground.
“Yeah.”
His brow furrowed. “It’s beautiful…and awful too. What is it?”
“It’s me.”
Writing really is only part of the process. There have been so many people who have played a part in bringing this series together. None more so than my agent and friend, Selwa Anthony, whose guidance, know-how, and support has been invaluable. I am honored to be one of her authors.
Thank you to my stellar publishers in Australia, in particular, Fiona Hazard and Vanessa Radnidge for putting up with the countless phone calls and umming and ahhing over every tiny little detail. Special thanks to my wonderful editor, Kate Ballard, who has taken meticulous care to improve and develop the manuscript. And to Airlie Lawson, international rights manager extraordinaire.
To the incredible team at Sourcebooks in the USA, who have been an unstoppable force behind the series; I am so grateful. Sincere thanks to senior editor Leah Hultenschmidt, who has championed the series since first reading Embrace. To publicist Derry Wilkens, words cannot express how much you rock! Huge thanks also to my project editor, Kelly Barrales-Saylor, and my production editor, Kristin Zelazko.
To my friends who have helped so much: Peita Daly, Harriet Henderson (for being one of my most trusted early readers), Grant Henderson, and Ben Eaton (and the mighty trimmer!). I am so lucky to have you all in my life.
To the rest of my friends and family, you know who you are and how much I value all of your love and support.
Matt, you astound me on a daily basis with your never-ending support and complete faith in me. Thank you for being the husband you are to me and the father you are to our gorgeous girls. To say I love you just seems so insufficient…but it’s true! xx
Jessica Shirvington is the creator of the internationall
y acclaimed Embrace series. Before becoming an author, she founded and managed several companies. One day, instead of picking up a new book to read, she started to write. The first name that came to her mind was Violet…
She lives in Sydney, Australia, with her two daughters and her husband, Matthew Shirvington, a former Olympic sprinter Jessica met when she was seventeen.
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