Sora's POVThe records I need are in Violet's keeping. So there's no way around it. I have to go see her.
I take Bobby. Not Riven. Riven in a room with Violet would end with Violet needing medical attention, and I don't have time for that.
The main house hasn't changed. Same cold marble, same portraits of dead Blackwood Alphas glaring down like they smell something bad. I walked these halls for seven years with my head down.
I don't put my head down now.
Violet's in the sitting room. She looks older. The treason scandal's been hard on this family, and it shows on her. But the second she sees me, the old face snaps right back into place.
"Well," she says. "The corpse walks."
"Violet."
"I'd heard the rumors. Didn't believe them. You never did have the decency to do anything cleanly. Ev
