KADE ASHFORD
“No, absolutely not.”
“Please?”
“It doesn’t matter how many times you ask me, Elena. My answer isn’t going to change.”
“But I can help!”
“You could also die.”
“I’ll be careful!”
“Like I said, that doesn’t matter. Anything could happen, you know.”
Elena pressed her lips together in a small pout, which Kade ignored as he pointed out the window.
“Look, Violet's here. We’re going to leave now, so go back to camp and play with Nest or something.”
As soon as Elena saw Violet, her pout turned into a smile as they waved at each other.
“What’s this?” asked Violet as she opened the door and sat in the passenger’s seat next to Kade. “Why’s Elena here?”
“I’m coming with you guys to help!”
“No, she’s not.”
“Yes I am!”
“Go inside, Elena.”
“But I want to help! Why are you being so mean?”
“I’m not being mean, I’m saying this because you could die!”
“It’s okay, I can defend myself! My curse is super strong, ask Violet!”
Kade couldn’t deny that he was curious about Elena’s curse, but now definitely wasn’t the time to show interest.
“Look, Elena,” he sighed. “You might be capable, sure, but you’re still just a kid. Who knows what could happen?”
“But I want to help! I need to pay you back somehow for saving Granny Pia.”
“Granny Pia wouldn’t want you doing something so dangerous.”
“I already got her permission!”
“No you didn’t.”
“Yes I did! She said I could go, you can ask her!”
“Even if she did, you need to let Ajax know -”
“He said I could go if you guys said yes.”
Did she really go around asking everyone? I can’t even tell at this point.
Violet, who had been sitting silently for a while, spoke up.
“I think it’s fine if she comes with us.”
“What?!”
Elena’s eyes were now sparkling and full of hope, staring at Violet like she was some sort of savior.
“I went on my first mission when I was younger than her,” she continued. “Everyone needs to go at some point.”
The logic wasn’t wrong, but Kade was still hesitant.
“Plus,” she said with a cheeky grin. “I’ll keep her safe, so don’t worry. And I know you wouldn’t let anything happen to her either, right?”
“Of course not.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Naturally, Kade knew how powerful Violet’s curse was, especially since he had seen it first-hand. He was confident that even if he messed up somewhere along the mission, Violet could cover for him and protect Elena. And again, Violet was right on how everyone goes on their first mission sooner or later.
After a bit of pondering, he looked over to the determined Elena and said, “It could be really dangerous.”
“I know.”
“You could get hurt.”
“I know.”
“So run when I tell you to, and stay close to us at all times, got it?”
Kade could see as her eyes visibly lit up, and her face cracked into an almost too-wide smile. She gave him a thumbs-up as she said, “Got it! I’ll make sure to do that!”
Kade returned a light smile and turned around to grab the steering wheel.
“Alright then,” he said. “Let’s get going.”
***
“It’s not like I didn’t expect it, but you can drive pretty well, huh?” Violet asked a few minutes into the trip. Being able to drive at the age of seventeen wasn’t really out of the norm, but Violet’s surprise was understandable, since phantoms didn’t exactly live a normal life, either.
“As much as any other trained soldier, yeah.”
“Minus Nest,” she added.
“Minus Nest,” he agreed.
Hours flew by. Elena fell asleep in the back seat, and Kade had already finished filling Violet in on the details of the mission. He had told her that there was an exorcist meeting coming up in a city called Lavris, which was known to be a party and gambling district, and that the person behind all the attacks was sure to be there. He left out how he got all this information, and Violet didn’t ask. A sign that she trusted him, maybe? Either way, Kade was glad that he didn’t have to explain himself. He didn’t want to tell anyone about his curse just yet, but maybe he could reveal that he had come from the future pretty soon. But then again, who knows what could change if he did that?
Let’s not do anything drastic yet, he told himself. Focus on the big mission for now.
Along with the sound of Elena’s soft breathing, the only sounds in the car were the engine and the tires speeding through the quiet, lonely path. They were driving through a desert road, with nothing but a repetitive view of dry dirt and mountains in the distance outside the window. The sky had gone almost completely dark, with only a shimmer of light remaining. It was a good thing that it wasn’t hot, at least. Kade looked to his side, and it was obvious that Violet was bored as well.
“You can take a nap too if you want, you know,” he said. “I’ll wake you up when we get there.”
“Hm? Oh, it’s fine. We’re almost there anyway, right?”
“That’s true, but you looked like you were spacing out.”
“I was just wondering how she was doing.”
“Who?”
“Iris. My sister. I haven’t seen her lately.”
“She’s part of the camp, right?”
“She is, but she mostly just goes out on her own and does who-knows-what. Ajax only relies on her for the really tough missions since her curse is so powerful.”
Kade sat and listened as Violet talked about Iris with a softened expression.
“I think I’ve told you before, but we’re twins. Though we’re nothing like each other. She has blonde hair, for one. And our personalities are complete opposites, too. She’s not exactly the nicest person at first glance, but she does care about people a lot. Even though it’s only by a few minutes, I’m still older than her, so I was always playing that big sister role when we were little. Even now, I can’t help but want to look out for her, even though she’s probably more capable than me now.”
“That’s pretty impressive in its own way,” shrugged Kade. “And it’s understandable considering what kind of lives follow curses.”
Time seemed to speed up as the two of them - mostly Violet - went on. They talked and talked, until Elena’s voice could be heard from behind them shouting, “Oh, look, I think I see the city!”
Kade thought she was still asleep, so her voice suddenly calling out like that caught him by surprise, but she was right. In the far distance, city lights could be seen, and in a desert like this, there was only one city that would shine in the night so brilliantly.
“Yup,” Kade said. “That’s definitely Lavris.”
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