Vivienne Von Vexx's Arc

Chapter 13 of 21

Vivienne stood at the chapel door long after the far bank went black. The hunter had walked into the fire and lied for her, and the night kept his promise quiet. She stepped outside into the cold grove, holding her burned arm close, needing some proof her eyes had not invented him. She found it at the saint's feet. A small cord bracelet, strung with pale fangs, set carefully on the stone where he had been hiding. He had left it for her on purpose. She closed her fingers around it and felt the teeth press her palm. She carried it to the grove's edge, to the old rope swing that hung from a low branch near the bright wall of autumn trees. She sat on the wooden seat and faced the water. From here she could see the spot on the far bank where he had grown small against the orange light. She tied the bracelet to the rope above her hand. Dawn came. He did not. But the fangs were still warm from her grip, and the swing held her weight, and the trees across the water did not call her home. Vivienne did not retreat. She stayed on the swing and waited, because someone had chosen her once, and the proof was knotted to the rope.