Endless: Violet Eden Chapters: Book Four

by Jessica Shirvington

  ‘A position on the Assembly would be a huge honour,’ Lincoln said.

  ‘Indeed it would. But I have to be honest with you, if you continue on this path I can’t see that happening. Your connection to this girl is clouding your judgement. You are putting her above your responsibilities to the Assembly.’

  When there was only silence, I heard Josephine sigh.

  ‘Lincoln, she is not one of us – I have an eye for these things. You’re honour-bound to her, which is admirable, but you also need to look beyond her and see the bigger picture.’ She gave another heavy sigh. ‘I think you should consider putting forward an application for a partner replacement. Griffin and I are both capable of appealing to the Seraphim guides on your behalf.’

  I was sick of hearing conversations from the other side of the door. Sick of being let down by people and only finding out what was really going on in the world by eavesdropping.

  Lincoln’s power caressed me lightly, sending a warm shiver through me. I smiled, realising he was reminding me he could feel me from a mile off, just like I could him.

  ‘I’ll take that under advisement, Josephine,’ he said, his response so non-committal I almost laughed.

  Her tone dropped down a notch. ‘Why am I sure, then, that you will not?’

  ‘Because she is my partner,’ he said, as if that answered everything. ‘Shall I bring her in now?’ he added, not so discreetly telling Josephine I was standing right outside her partially open door.

  Score one for us!

  The door swung open and Lincoln stood behind it, gesturing me into the room with a wink. It seemed Josephine wasn’t the only one who could play the word game.

  Josephine had a long list of dos and don’ts she felt the need to run through with me. I paid attention to the headlines. Effective tomorrow, I would be expected to participate in Academy training. Like Spence, I would not have to attend normal classes, though special theory sessions would be arranged to bring me up to speed on Grigori history. Much to Josephine’s surprise I was happy to hear that.

  The part I wasn’t so excited about was that I would be Academy-bound until after my formal testing in three weeks and had to choose an in-house senior Grigori as my mentor to prepare me. I had to nominate someone by the end of the next day.

  I agreed to everything, then asked, ‘Where are my parents?’ I stopped short of adding, ‘And when can I see them?’ The truth was, I wasn’t sure I was ready for that yet.

  Josephine pursed her lips. ‘They are in the holding cell on the level below here. They will remain in quarantine until Evelyn has been through a full debriefing. However, as per your father’s stipulations I will arrange for you to have access to him in due course, though visits will be supervised.’

  I gave her a level stare. ‘You do realise holding her won’t accomplish anything. She’s Grigori, just like you. All she wants to do is stop Lilith, that’s all she’s ever wanted to do.’

  ‘We have our reasons. They are not for you to question, Violet.’

  Josephine sat back in her chair wearing a smug expression.

  She was up to something. Why was she so keen to have Evelyn locked up? What would she gain from holding her here? Me? No, it was more than that. Every move Josephine made was calculated. I suddenly had a terrible thought: ‘You want Lilith to come for her?’

  Lincoln straightened in his chair beside me when Josephine didn’t immediately deny it.

  ‘You have her locked up and defenceless because you think Lilith is crazy enough to break into the Academy just to kill her!’ I shouted, jumping to my feet.

  Josephine still didn’t respond.

  ‘Is that true?’ Lincoln asked.

  Eventually, Josephine waved a dismissive hand in the air. ‘Even if that were to happen, which I’m not saying is our intention, we have both of your parents well guarded and behind Academy shields. No exile, no anybody, could even get close to them.’ She smiled tightly. ‘Evelyn isn’t going anywhere without my say-so.’

  Before I could argue, Lincoln stood and placed a halting hand on my shoulder. ‘Have you had any more leads come through on Lilith’s whereabouts?’ he asked.

  She turned her attention to her perfectly manicured fingernails. ‘Not yet, but we will. Griffin has passed on Evelyn’s theories regarding the missing children. We’re yet to form an opinion on that, but we’re looking into it.’

  I worked hard not to roll my eyes. She knew as well as us that all those missing kids were no coincidence. It was clear she had no intention of sharing any real information with us.

  When Lincoln walked me back to my room, we passed Mia and Hiro in the corridors.

  ‘Hey,’ Hiro said, dressed in his ghosting uniform of all-black.

  Lincoln and I nodded to him.

  ‘Hi Mia,’ Lincoln said. ‘Good to see you.’

  Mia nodded curtly. ‘You too.’ She barely glanced at me. ‘Violet.’

  ‘Hi,’ I said, wondering why she was being so frosty. I hoped we’d all kind of become friends since Santorini, what with the shared battlefield and all.

  ‘We’re on duty,’ she said.

  ‘Sure,’ Lincoln said. ‘We’ll catch up later on.’

  She nodded and the two walked on.

  ‘Was that weird?’ I asked Lincoln when they were out of earshot.

  ‘No. She’s just focused on her work. She’s always been like that.’

  ‘I guess …’

  Lincoln dropped me off at my room and promised to return later. We had plans to meet Griffin, Spence and Zoe for dinner. They were going to give me a full run-down of what to expect once my classes started tomorrow. From the smirk on Lincoln’s face I could tell he was looking forward to seeing how I fared in prac classes. I resolved to make sure I did him proud. As my primary trainer he took my performance results personally.

  In my room, I found a note that had been left on my bed.

  Dear Violet,

  I’m glad you are here.

  My invitation still stands if you should like to visit

  Nyla at any time. I have alerted the guards on her door

  that you are an approved visitor.

  On another issue, I wanted to offer my service as a potential

  mentor in your preparations towards your final testing.

  I would consider it an honour.

  Rainer.

  I smiled, slipping the note into my pocket. I’d just found myself a mentor.

  After spending some time exploring Building B, I returned to my room to find Zoe sitting on her bed looking way too pleased with herself.

  ‘I take it you beat Spence?’ I asked, wondering how bad a mood he would be in at dinner.

  ‘That would be one description,’ she said. ‘It was the most fun I’ve had in days.’

  I laughed. ‘You’re evil!’

  ‘Yeah, but I see my evilness as a service to the greater good. My superiority will only make Spence a better fighter in the end.’

  We both laughed.

  When we had calmed down and were reclining on our respective beds, Zoe rolled onto her side and pushed herself up onto her elbow.

  ‘So?’

  ‘So, what?’ I responded, pulling out my ponytail and running a brush through my hair.

  She raised her eyebrows expectantly. ‘Are you going to tell me about it?’

  I wondered if my meeting with the Assembly was supposed to be kept confidential but no one had told me it was. And Zoe had been incredibly patient.

  So, I told her everything – how I had met the Assembly, about Lincoln’s fight with Seth and Drenson’s power test, which made her sit up, eyes wide, on the edge of her bed.

  ‘Then, we took Lincoln back to his room and I … you know …’

  She raised her eyebrows. ‘Violet, why are you blushing?’

  In the absence of Steph for the foreseeable future, Zoe was my closest girlfriend. And I needed to be able to talk to someone about this stuff.

  I groaned. ‘I kissed him.’
>
  Zoe blinked. ‘Oh, you’re going to have to give me a lot more details!’

  ‘It helps my healing – it makes it easier for our powers to merge and makes us both really strong.’ I grimaced, realising I wasn’t being entirely honest. ‘Okay, I don’t have to do it that way any more, but his shoulder was dislocated and I thought the distraction might … you know, help …’

  Zoe nodded, keeping a serious expression. ‘Practical and convenient.’

  I rolled my eyes.

  ‘And?’ Zoe pushed.

  ‘And … It worked. I popped his shoulder and healed him but … We were still kissing and I … I guess I was weakened from using so much power already and I kinda …’

  ‘Kinda?’ Zoe prompted.

  ‘Jumped him,’ I admitted.

  Once Zoe had stopped laughing, she gave me her thoughts. ‘First of all, Lincoln is gorgeous and he clearly loves you just as much as you love him. The fact you guys are being torn apart is the definition of tragic. So, don’t beat yourself up about it – if I was on top of him half naked I’d totally be dishing the moves!’ When she saw my narrowed gaze she quickly added, ‘Hypothetically, of course.’

  After I settled my head back on my pillow, Zoe carried on. ‘The question I have is this: You said that when you and Lincoln heal each other together it makes you both strong, rejuvenates you or whatever, right?’

  I nodded.

  ‘Then … wouldn’t it make more sense that the two of you were at your strongest when you were finding it so hard to pull yourselves off each other rather than exhausted and at your weakest like you said?’

  I opened my mouth to argue. Closed it.

  Silence.

  My mind went blank.

  What the hell am I supposed to do with that?

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  ‘Fairly examined, truly understood, No man is wholly bad nor wholly good …’

  Theognis of Megara

  The next morning I stood in the middle of one of the sparring rooms facing my opponent, who also happened to be one of the Academy Grigori I most liked.

  ‘Morgan, I don’t want to hurt you,’ I said, after I pulled her up. Again.

  Morgan shrugged. ‘I’m okay.’

  And she was. Morgan was a great fighter, but I was better. On natural strength and speed alone I outclassed her. On top of that, Lincoln had trained me so I was also tactically more aggressive. The Academy taught from the one book of moves and it hadn’t taken me long to decipher their predictable pattern. Lincoln, on the other hand, drew from a number of different disciplines – kickboxing, judo, army-combat training – and had the final clear directive of winning at all costs, allowing for unsportsmanlike conduct when required.

  It was an approach I shared wholeheartedly, one that many of the Grigori I was training with would no doubt share once they’d been fully exposed to the wrath of exiled angels.

  I’d been allocated to an intermediate-level group since, according to the Academy, I was technically ‘untrained’. Griffin had recommended I go straight into Advanced Combat – the level Zoe and Spence now trained in – but Josephine had vetoed the suggestion. It quickly became clear that although my group were naturally fast and strong, they had little idea what to do with their Grigori strength.

  Valerie was running the class and had thrown me into it first thing. That was three hours and five opponents ago. I could tell she’d planned on teaching me a lesson and putting me in my place.

  Guess that isn’t going to happen.

  I didn’t think it was okay to beat down people who had had significantly less training than me, but it did seem to be helping in my assimilation with the other students. The Academy was a place where strength was respected.

  ‘Cause strength means not getting yourself killed. Or anyone else.

  ‘Again!’ Valerie ordered.

  Morgan pushed herself to her feet. In her training uniform of short fitted tights and black singlet top, the fresh bruises were clear to see. I’d already managed to send my first three opponents to the infirmary, before I’d stepped off the gas. I was glad Lincoln wasn’t around. If he’d seen me holding back he would’ve gone mental.

  I frowned, thinking of him, knowing that he’d be busy with Griffin. We had agreed at dinner last night that while I was showing up to my Academy training and putting on a good face, Griffin and Lincoln would be out sourcing more info on Lilith and Phoenix.

  It annoyed me that I wouldn’t be doing my bit, but they’d insisted that having me to concentrate on might keep Josephine from watching them too closely. In addition, Academy members in training weren’t permitted to leave the buildings without prior consent and before my testing was complete it was unlikely any of the teachers would grant me permission to leave. I added my house arrest to the extensive list of reasons I hated this place.

  Morgan came at me. She was learning and avoided my right leg. She got in a few good hits, and I dodged rather than taking her out straight away. When I saw my chance I lifted her into a tackle, taking her down with as little force as possible. But at the last second, to make sure I wasn’t going to have to do it again, I landed on top of her.

  ‘It would be nice if you fought with a shred of honour. Ninety per cent of your moves are illegal,’ Valerie chastised me.

  Suppressing a sigh, I stood up, offering Morgan my hand and helping her up. I glanced at Valerie and noticed Rainer standing near the entrance to the room. I wondered how long she’d been watching.

  With a shrug, I explained. ‘In my experience, exiles aren’t so much concerned with honour as they are with ripping off my head. If it’s them or me, or if I’m trying to defend a human I’ll make any move I can to put them down and contemplate what kind of person that makes me afterwards.’

  ‘That’s one view. The other is that if you walk too close to the edge the lines between the monsters and yourself can start to blur. You risk waking up one day to discover you’ve become just the same as them.’

  I stared in disbelief at Valerie as she waved a hand at the class.

  ‘We’ve seen enough today. Dismissed.’

  As Morgan walked out with me I started to apologise.

  ‘Don’t,’ she said, putting her hand on my arm. ‘I learned more today, fighting you, than I have since Nyla was taking this class.’

  I nodded, accepting the compliment with a sense of pride.

  ‘Did Valerie just call me a monster?’ I asked.

  Morgan cringed. ‘She’s not as bad as she comes across. I think she was just surprised you were so strong.’

  ‘Isn’t that what you said about Josephine?’

  She cringed again. ‘What can I say? I like to see the best in people.’

  I guess I couldn’t complain about that, since I was more than happy with her seeing the best in me. I needed all the friends I could get.

  ‘Violet, do you have a minute?’ Rainer asked as we passed.

  I stopped as Morgan continued on with an apologetic wave. She thought I was about to be told off.

  Probably right.

  I threw my training bag over my shoulder and followed Rainer into a side room. The space was dimly lit with several golden artefacts dotted along the dark wooden shelves. In fact, the room was at odds with the bright and modern fit-out of the rest of the Academy buildings. Rainer sat down behind a large mahogany desk.

  She motioned for me to take a seat.

  ‘I live here full-time at the moment. I needed at least one place where I felt myself,’ she said, as if reading my mind.

  I put my bag on my lap and leaned on it. I’d been training for hours. My body was in a world of hurt.

  ‘Did you get my note?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes, thank you. I … Um …’ I didn’t know how to talk about Nyla with her, with anyone, really.

  She shook her head again, as if knowing exactly what I was thinking. ‘Take your time. She’s not going anywhere in a hurry, but I believe there is still hope. If I didn’t,’ she flashed me another gl
impse at her warrior eyes, ‘I’d finish things myself.’

  I admired her optimism but … I was there when Nyla’s soul shattered. She wasn’t coming back.

  Rainer kept going. ‘I wanted to ask you if you have considered my offer to be your mentor?’

  I had discussed it with Griffin last night and we had agreed it was very generous of Rainer and something I should jump at, but after the class I’d just been through …

  ‘I don’t seem to fight to the Academy standards. And I don’t intend to change, either.’

  She lifted one eyebrow.

  Nifty.

  ‘Did you see Seth adhering to Academy protocol when he took down your partner yesterday?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘I believe Nyla and Rudyard included you in some training when they were staying with you, too?’

  I nodded, remembering how fierce a fighter Nyla had been.

  ‘Precisely. Valerie is all about rules and regulations. She has to be in order to run the Academy effectively, but make no mistake, when you stand in front of a roomful of Grigori seniors and the Assembly for your final testing, only one thing is going to matter.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Winning.’

  I shifted in my seat. ‘And you can help me do that?’

  ‘Yes.’

  I had to respect her confidence, given that we both knew there would be a number of Grigori, including Drenson and Josephine, who would like nothing more than to boot me out of the Academy for good.

  ‘Okay, then. When do we start?’

  ‘Tomorrow. We train before your classes and directly after every day. Be prepared – I plan on working you hard.’

  I’d been so glad to have an ally as my mentor I don’t think I’d been listening when Rainer had explained the working-me-hard part.

  Two weeks after signing on with her I felt like the walking dead. From the first day of our training she’d been collecting me at 5 a.m. and not dropping me back at my room until 8 p.m. after our evening session.

  My heavy schedule meant that I’d only seen Spence and Zoe in classes and due to the fact that more than a few sets of eyes were trained on everything I did, if Lincoln hadn’t taken to sneaking me dinner in my room, I wouldn’t have seen him at all. Or eaten.