Vivienne Von Vexx's Arc

Chapter 15 of 21

Vivienne moved through the grove with the bracelet hidden in her fist. The sky was paling fast, and she had no story ready. If her brothers caught her now, her face would tell them everything. She needed to reach her room before they saw her. She slipped along the old name-etched tree, where the carved letters marked the narrow path she had used since girlhood. The route bent behind the hedges and away from the open courtyard. Halfway through, she stopped cold. Beyond the last branch stood the pink-leafed tree near the castle steps, and beneath it waited Alastair and Montague. Crushed petals lay thick at their feet. They had been standing there a long time. The red doors of the castle entrance were only twenty paces past them. There was no way around. Vivienne pressed the bracelet deep into her pocket, drew a slow breath, and stepped out into the open. She did not try for a lie. She lifted her chin and walked straight toward the gate as if she had every right to be returning at dawn. Montague opened his mouth. Alastair touched his arm. Neither brother spoke. They only watched her pass, and Vivienne understood, with a small shock, that the old resignation between them had become something else tonight. She slipped through the red doors and shut them behind her. Her secret was still hers. But her brothers now knew she had one worth keeping.