"Thank God, you’re finally here," Ivy exhaled in relief as she opened the door to see Violet. She stepped aside, only to reveal Griffin standing at the corner with his usual sweet smile.
"Hello?" Griffin greeted, waving politely.
"Oh. Hello." Ivy smiled back, slightly thrown off. She had expected Violet to come alone, but clearly, that wasn’t the case anymore.
Now that Violet was mated, she and Griffin went practically everywhere together like twins joined at the hip.
"Are we not welcomed?" Violet asked when Ivy lingered at the doorway, still staring.
"Oh, sure," Ivy said quickly, stepping aside to let them in.
Violet walked in with Griffin, their hands intertwined. She glanced around and wasn’t surprised why Ivy had chosen not to leave. The new room was much more spacious than their old one in the East house. The walls were painted in a cool pastel tone, soft and soothing. But what truly caught Violet’s attention was the sight of four beds. Not three.
Her steps slowed at once.
Since she now cohabitated with Griffin, the bed count should have dropped, not risen.
Almost immediately, a pang of jealousy hit her. Of course, they had gotten a new roommate.
Violet wasn’t against her girls making friends, but the thought of someone else joining their inner circle didn’t sit right with her. Violet didn’t want to share them. Not with anyone.
Ivy caught her staring and explained, "We insisted on keeping your own bed just in case you have a fight with him and need a space to crash. You’d always have your place."She added, "No offense, Griffin."
"No offense taken." Griffin replied.
Violet was so touched, she was so speechless.
"Or," Daisy said, stepping out of the restroom, "maybe whenever she just wants to sleep over. Everything doesn’t have to be dramatic, Ivy."
She came to a stop and breathed. "Hello, Griffin. And hello to you too, Violet. You finally showed up. I was beginning to think you were going to come at midnight and bother me like some witch."
Griffin waved with his usual polite smile while Violet rolled her eyes. Daisy’s sarcastic streak always came out when she was annoyed.
"Sorry about that," Violet said, her voice unusually soft as she looked down and began tracing invisible circles with her toe. "I got sidetracked."
Ivy and Daisy stared at her, then at each other and ended up shuddering. Who was this bashful creature pretending to be Violet? The mate bond was terrifying.
Finally, Violet looked up and noticed the third bed. Her brow furrowed. "Where’s Lila?"
Daisy opened her mouth to answer but paused when she caught Griffin’s presence. Her eyes flicked to Violet, a silent question passing between them.
"Don’t worry," Violet said quickly. "He knows everything."
"What?!" Daisy and Ivy cried out in unison.
"You told him?" Ivy accused her.
Violet shrugged. "He already knew half of it before we were mated. Now that we are, it’s only right he knows the truth. Keeping secrets from your mate is basically asking for a doomed relationship. Besides," she looked at him with practically love in her eyes. "Griffin would put his life on the line for me."
"Oh, I absolutely would," Griffin promised, locking eyes with her. They just stood there, staring at each other for what felt like an entire minute, lost in their own world.
Ivy and Daisy exchanged a look and groaned. This was so cringey. Vomit-inducingly cringey. It would take them an eternity to get used to this new reality.
"Moving on!" Daisy shouted, deliberately cutting in and it worked.
She turned to Ivy. "First of all, put the necklace on her."
"Sure thing, boss." Ivy mock-saluted and headed to the drawer.
With Lila gone and Violet officially staying with Griffin, it was clear Daisy had claimed the top dog position between them. And she sure wore it well.
When Ivy returned with the necklace, Violet frowned. "What’s that?"
But Ivy ignored her and handed it directly to Griffin. "Care to do the honors?"
"Gladly," Griffin said, taking it from her.
Violet had no choice but to turn around, giving Griffin her back.
She felt the brush of his fingers against her neck as he swept her hair to the side and her breath hitched. There was just something intimate in the way he handled her.
When Griffin clicked shut the clasp, the chain settled cool against her skin, the medallion resting just above her collarbone. Violet lifted it and took a good look at it.
The medallion’s design was strange as it had two heads carved into the surface. However one head was facing upward while the other was downward, yet they were bound together. Around them were unfamiliar inscriptions etched into the metal, probably Fae. Typical Lila’s style.
"What does it mean?"she asked just incase.
"We don’t know," Ivy answered. "Lila just said we had to make sure you wore it. Apparently, it’s supposed to mask you from Baron’s people."
Violet shot her an exasperated look. "So the same Lila, who none of you have told me her whereabouts, told you to throw some mystery necklace on me that could do God knows what, and you just went ahead with it?"
"Well, don’t come for us," Ivy raised her hand in defense. "Lila’s your girl, and while she acts all cryptic and shady, at the end of the day, we know she means well."
"She left you a letter," Daisy added, pulling it out. "Says it’s supposed to explain everything."
"And," Ivy said, "it’s up to you whether or not you want to share whatever you learn from it."
"That sounds serious," Griffin said, his eyes on Violet with concern.
Violet’s stomach began to twist with unease. She realized just how grave the situation had become. It wasn’t like Lila to disappear without explanation, and then leave a letter that apparently held answers to her questions?
Still, she reached out and took the letter from Daisy.
All eyes were on her now. The weight of their attention settled on her shoulders, making her uncomfortably self-aware as she unfolded the paper and pulled out the note.
"I’m going to read it out loud," Violet said.
"Really?" Ivy asked, visibly surprised.
Not just her, Griffin and Daisy looked equally taken aback.
"It’s not like you guys won’t find out eventually," Violet explained. "We’ve all waited too long for the truth, and it’s finally here. Besides, if you’re a hundred percent with me, then you should know what you’re fighting for."
The three exchanged glances and gave a final shrug in agreement. She was right.
"Alright, here I go." Violet took a deep breath, the kind one takes before battle.
She held the paper steady and began.
"To Princess Violet..."