Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz - 41

The Serpent Gardens of Dragon’s Rest grew famous for always being in season, no matter the time of year. Once word began to spread, people came to the mountains from far and wide to wander the grounds and hear of the sorcerer who once lived there and the dragon who’d stopped him from coming back.

Karina the Tempest wore a red cloak, hood up despite the summer heat. It was hard for her to be in public without being recognized, Violet supposed. Violet’s own part in the tale of Dragon’s Rest had sometimes made it uncomfortable for her among the tourists who flocked here in droves—and that was without anyone other than her friends knowing about her past as the Thornwitch. She couldn’t imagine being recognized everywhere she went.

As the hero approached, Violet took a deep breath. Nathaniel squeezed her hand.

“It’s going to be alright,” he assured her. She took comfort from his presence at her side and the way he could tell from the quaver of her breath that she was nervous. She remembered the days when she was afraid to let anyone see her emotions and not a single soul in the world really knew her.

The way she lived now was much better.

“You look well,” said the hero when she got close enough. “Civilian life seems to agree with you.”

Violet cleared her throat. “It does. I own a flower shop in town.” She felt oddly formal, like if she was anything but polite, the Tempest would pull out her sword and strike her down for not living up to their last conversation in these gardens.

“And the Thornwitch?”

Violet knew what she was asking, but she still felt nervous answering. Thankfully, Nathaniel took over, rattling off a speech like he’d rehearsed it. He might well have; she wasn’t sure.

“The Thornwitch’s magic was never the problem; it was the way Violet learned to use it.”

The Tempest looked at her. “Is this true?”

“Yes.” Violet cleared her throat and repeated herself. “Yes. I’ve spent the past year learning more about magical theory than I ever thought possible. Thanks largely to this one.” She nudged Nathaniel with a grin, and the Tempest stared.

They both seemed to realize at once that there had been no introductions. He stuck out a hand and said, “Nathaniel Marsh. I’m Violet’s fiancé.”

He beamed as he said it, and Violet blushed, twisting the ring on her finger that they’d forged together—woven from delicate vines and miniscule flowers she’d conjured and transformed into gold with Nathaniel’s alchemy. Pru was beside herself with wedding plans and had already made Daisy a fancy wedding collar to wear on the big day. But Violet wasn’t in a hurry, and she knew Nathaniel wasn’t either. For the first time in her life, she had a real future, and she had no plans to rush it.

The Tempest looked between them, amusement plain on her features. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” said Nathaniel happily. As their dog, now fully grown and huge, wagged her tail and barked, he added, “And this is Daisy.”

It never failed to astound Violet how openly proud Nathaniel was to be with her, how he wore their relationship like a badge of honor. Family had always been important to him, she reasoned, but this was her first go at it, although he’d offered many times to try to help her find her mother’s ship.

Someday , Violet answered each time. When she was ready.

She worried often whether she was doing it right, this family thing, and whether she knew how to be normal, how to be good, as well as she wanted to be. But as Nathaniel reminded her often, she was making the right choices and he was there with her every step of the way.

“Shall I show you the spot?” Violet asked, turning the attention away from her impending nuptials.

“Please.” Karina strolled with them along the garden path toward the statue. “Reports in town are of a loud noise in the middle of the night, and then…?”

“Yeah, that’s about it.” Violet shrugged. “But I don’t think it’s a problem.”

“And why is that?”

They reached the central plinth, where Sedgwick stood frozen and stony in place as usual, but that was all that was recognizable about the now-famous landmark.

The precious stone the statue had grasped in his hands was gone, as was, more startlingly, the massive figure of the dragon that had stood guard over him for more than a year.

Best of all, the space at Sedgwick’s feet was empty too.

Karina frowned at the empty space where the dragon once stood. “The rock goblins are dangerous. You’ve no idea where they went?”

“None. One of our neighbors said she saw them fly away into the night.”

“If someone gets their hands on that jewel…”

“I know.”

Karina examined the area closely, pocketing a few crumbs of stone that had fallen.

“The Queen wants me to find the Eye of the Serpent and bring it into her treasury,” she admitted. “But if what you say is true, she’ll have to make room for a slide of rock goblins in the Lune Vault as well.”

“That would make quite the hoard for that dragon,” quipped Violet.

The Tempest nodded. “It’s a problem I don’t think she’s prepared for, and I’ll tell her that myself. In the meantime, if anything suspicious happens, you’ll contact me?”

“We’ll let you know at the first sign of danger,” Violet promised.

“Very well.” The Tempest nodded curtly. “You’ve done good here, Violet. I’m glad I made the decision I did that day.”

Violet’s breath caught in her chest, and Nathaniel held her closer as she responded, “I’m glad too.”

As the hero wrapped up her investigation, Violet and Nathaniel bid her farewell and watched her take off at a fast clip down the hill.

“She couldn’t get out of here fast enough,” Violet mused warmly.

“It’s just as well,” said Nathaniel, squeezing her fondly. “We’ve enough heroes in Dragon’s Rest these days.”

As soon as she was gone, a gravelly croak brought their attention behind them. A familiar pair of onyx eyes peered out at them from one of the flower beds.

Violet’s mouth dropped open. “Peri?”

The rock goblin crept from the greenery, and only when Daisy lunged in excitement did he throw himself at them. It was hard to tell once he was wrapped in a heap of Daisy’s pale fur, but Peri looked good as new, the Eye of the Serpent safely back in his chest where it belonged.

“Where’s the rest of your slide, my friend?” Violet asked.

Peri let out a long creeeeauuugh and then went back to playing with Daisy.

“We’re taking him home obviously.”

“Obviously,” said Nathaniel, but his voice was distant. Violet raised her brows at the new light that shone in his eyes.

“What is it?” she asked. “I know that look. You’ve grabbed hold of a puzzle, haven’t you?”

“It’s reversible,” said Nathaniel, staring at Peri. “The stone enchantment. It wears off, and that means the magic could be sped along. I could end the spell.”

“But Peri and the rock goblins are back already.”

“Sedgwick isn’t though.”

Violet looked thoughtfully at the stone form of the man she once knew. Dragon’s Rest was much different than the version Sedgwick had last seen. Still, she wondered aloud, “Is that a road we want to travel?”

“What happened with the rock goblins tells me it’s going to happen anyway,” said Nathaniel with a shrug. “We might as well be able to control it. But you’re right. He could be dangerous.”

Violet considered the stone alchemist. He was one of Shadowfade’s best, just as she had been. But in the end, he had faltered. Even if it had flickered out before it could truly burn, a flame of hope had sparked in him briefly that day in the castle. She’d seen it.

“I was dangerous too once,” she mused. “And even if he didn’t mean it as a kindness, Sedgwick was the one who woke me up. I could try to return the favor…”

Nathaniel squeezed her hand. “Think there’s room for one more in the Thursday support group?”

“I’ll tell Quinn to bake extra honey cakes.”

Nathaniel pretended to gag, and Violet burst into laughter.

They began the walk down the mountainside, back to town. Back home.

Daisy yipped cheerfully as she and Peri followed, rolling in the grass and wrestling like no time had passed. The dying light of the fading sun glinted off the peridot in the rock goblin’s chest. The Eye of the Serpent. Or one of them anyway—they still had no idea what had happened to the second one. Violet wondered if perhaps that was where the rest of the rock goblins had gone, to find it.

Nathaniel followed her gaze. “The Tempest warned us what could happen if that stone ends up in the wrong hands.”

“Do these look like the wrong hands?” Violet held up theirs, still conjoined. “Need I remind you, Mr. Marsh, I am no villain.” She leaned up to kiss him but stopped, her mouth a breath from his, to reconsider her words. “At least, not anymore.”