“Gods, save them,” I plead in vain to the Gods that stood by, watching this wretched woman steal everything from Viola.
“I love you, Aly.” Tobias throws one last look over his shoulder, pausing on his daughter. “Maybe in another life…” he says, his eyes holding years of regret. Then he turns back toward his mother, his sadness replaced by the same fierce determination I see in Viola’s eyes.
Then they’re gone.
My gut wrings in worry. I know this is Viola’s memory, and it isn’t finished yet.
Now Viola sits alone in the hollow of a tree trunk. She wraps her hand around her knees, her eyes pressing together at the slightest sound. Haal, she’s just a baby.
The frame moves, and Alyria stabs Tobias straight in the abdomen. He doesn’t flinch. He pulls out the knife, and there’s no blood. It takes me a moment to realize that this isn’t Tobias at all, not anymore. Rhea Corvi stands in the back, watching them with interest.
My stomach turns. Suddenly, I’m gasping for air. In the moment I did not see, she killed her own son and used him as a puppet to fight the mother of his child.
But the Deathbringer earns her name. Scar drops the undead faster than Rhea Corvi can summon them, and Alyria is relentless. She lands punches and stabs, and the puppet of Tobias doesn’t graze a single hair.
Rhea plays a dangerous game. Every time Alyria goes for a hit, she inches closer to Viola. But Alyria is faster. She stabs puppet Tobias in the neck and lunges for Rhea, throwing her to the ground and knocking her unconscious. Instead of getting up, Alyria’s body is still, over Rhea’s.
Maybe I’m foolish, but a part of me hopes the Deathbringer escaped, that she really did go into hiding all these years, plotting how to get her daughter back.
“Mama,” Viola screams, but it’s too late.
Alyria’s white dress blooms red, the tip of an undead’s claw protruding from her back. Scar slithers over, hissing as she looks back and forth between Alyria and Viola. The aspier is torn between staying with her Aspieri and bonding with her legacy. But Viola’s too young to bond.
“The time will come, Scar.” Alyria’s words weaken. Scar approaches her, gently rubbing her head against Alyria’s cheek. Haal, have mercy on the Deathbringer’s aspier. She gives her a final nod, a final look, before coiling herself into a stillness that would last twenty years.
“Mama,” Viola cries again.
Alyria drags herself off Rhea’s unconscious body. The crimson of her blood stains the grass as she crawls to her daughter. Huffing out labored breaths, she digs her elbows into the ground, pushing her body forward until she reaches Viola. But now, she can’t lift herself up, can’t give her a final hug. Viola throws her arms around her neck, and with one final push, Alyria drags her arm over her.
“Being your mother is the greatest honor of my life,” Alyria croaks, the light leaving her eyes.
“Sylas.” Paltro is shaking me. But all I see is Viola’s arms around her dead mother’s neck. She was raised by her parents’ murderer, who still failed at hiding her. The cuff she wears killed my mother and both of her own parents.
She can’t possibly know any of this, and now… I’ll have to tell her.
“Snap out of it, Sylas,” Paltro urges. He taps me on the cheeks.
The cluttered office comes into focus again, and the faint smell of mint assaults my nose. I open my eyes and wish I hadn’t. My face is wet with tears.
“We don’t have the luxury of grieving, son.” Paltro wipes his eyes. “Sierra’s dead relic was stolen. Bring me Viola’s cuff before it falls into Delaney’s hands.”
My heart is fighting between what I know to be true and what I have been taught to believe. Viola isn’t like Rhea or Delaney. She ismyViola. But her cuff killed my mother. That despicable relic is the only remaining obstacle for Delaney to resurrect her daughter.
“Willow released Grimm,” I say.
“Yes, Tobias confirmed it in the memory.” Paltro pulls down his map with the red crosses, the same one I saw here weeks ago. “I believe thatGrimm is tethered to Willow, but we don’t know where he is. We don’t know what he looks like. Your father was investigating when he died. The red crosses are all the places we think he’s been.”
Dad. Another person Grimm probably took from me.
Paltro breathes in. “Get me that forsaken cuff, Sylas, so we can put an end to this. Without the cuff, Delaney can’t bring Willow back, and Grimm won’t be able to regain his body.”
“Of course, Uncle.” I leave his office with the promise of putting an end to twenty years of murders because of revenge. Viola will understand. She has to. But am I ready to forgive that her cuff killed Mom?
Aurelia, your thirst for revenge reminds me of what it’s like to be a Mortemagi. What if I told you there was a way to bring back your daughter? All you need isThe Founder’s Book of Relics. Bring it to me, and I will grant you eternity.
LETTER FROM [REDACTED] TO AURELIA DELANEY, JULY 1937
forty-five | viola