Jakob's POV
Miller came out of the bedroom he shared with Kalysta's mother with a frown and an empty lock box in his hands. The scowl written across his face was enough to suggest he was in an even more fowl mood than he was previously. He looked at his wife and revealed, "All of the money I had brought with me when I came here is now gone. There is no one else who can be guilty of this except for Kyrhen. He has robbed us blind. There were thousands and thousands of dollars in this lockbox!" His voice hitched up as he spoke, "Now we have no funds to send with Kalysta on her journey. Without that money she and Jakob are almost certainly doomed out there in that broken world!"
He was right too. Without money anyone traveling in the old world couldn't survive without picking out scraps from other's garbage. You have to fight tooth and nail for survival. It's a cruel reality out there and every person I encountered on my way here was always hungry for one thing. Money! Money to buy themselves into a better existence.
Thinking about it all I had told no one about Voight or the funds I stole from him. No one knew about the fortune I held, plus it would be foolish to try to steal anything from my room with Onyx guarding my possessions.
With the rare exception of us hunting together, Onyx's most important job has been to protect my bag. He had done his job very well. Even now he looked up at me with a sense of pride in himself for securing the bag that held the green paper needed to buy our way into the city.
No doubt Kyrhen will be able to avoid working through the slums and factories with the cash he took from Miller. I have a feeling that since he was seen with Saline in Kalysta's vision, that he is going to end up acquainted with Jasin very quickly. He more than likely stole enough to make himself a fresh blooded Elite in the CEOs world.
Onyx was still eyeing me. He had reservations about what he knew I was about to reveal but I felt it in my heart to put Miller's mind at ease. Dropping my bag from my shoulder I unzipped it and grabbed a stack of cash secured by a ring of paper that marked the value of the bundle. Then I grabbed another, and another, and another.
"Don't worry," I said confidently, "I have the means to make sure your daughter is taken care of." The man's eyes widened. The surprise he felt was mirrored by Kalysta as well. I had stolen enough money from my grandfather to keep myself alive in this lifetime and the next.
I knew Miller had traveled across most of the country before settling here. He cleared his throat readying himself to impart some wisdom on us before we could leave to go track down Kyrhen.
"Do not let a soul know you have that much money. Do not let Kalysta carry it. As a female it will only paint a target on her back. The dark lands are way less regulated by laws as compared to Maine where you came from." He looked at me sternly, "Make sure you never leave her side. Rogue citizens and shifter's alike may try to take her from you. She is beautiful and that will be a curse for her. Men out there do not value human life, nor do they respect boundaries."
He placed a small golden ring with a tiny diamond in my palm, and then a plain black circle in Kalysta's hand. He looked at Kalysta and explained, "It is important you two mark each other as man and wife. With Jakob having a tiger, you belongings to him will be a shield. I'm sorry it has to be this way. I've seen too many abused women while I was traveling. I refuse to think it could be you beaten down out there too." Looking at his now bare hand I knew these were his and her mother's rings that they were gifting to us. It made my heart stung to see how much he cared about not just her but myself as well.
"Jakob watch yourself out there son. Never turn your back on anyone and trust no one." I nodded my head in understandment. Miller's eyes relaxed.
We put on our rings. Kalysta was doing her best to hold back tears. She never desired leaving home and now she was about to go into the belly of the beast in attempt to rescue her twin. The twin who she had a very toxic relationship with. Each day that passed since David's attack she had grown to resent Kyrhen even more. Now that she was forced to go get him from the city that resentment was on the cusp of becoming a full on hatred.
"Thanks Dad. I'll get Ky and drag his ass back here for you and mom to deal with. After that I want nothing more to do with Kyrhen. He has done too much for me to forgive." Her words were delivered bitterly.
Miller and I understood her words but her mother scoffed and walked away. She was too worried about Kyrhen to even think about how he needed to be held accountable for all of his misdoings.
Kalysta hugged Miller and then we both turned and started walking down the path away from her home. Hand in hand we walked silently until we reached the road that I had come from not too long ago. Onyx was ready for this.
"Finally! I cannot wait to rip into our enemies. I have been restless with anticipation of our departure."
My big cat let out a low growl. "I know Onyx, I will be happy to get back to our mission too."
Kalysta looked at me, "You two already planning on how to get close to Saline?"
"Yes, Onyx and I have a thirst for his blood." My response was crude but true. She thought over those words and recalled how I spoke of Saline. When she spoke again she caught me off guard.
This woman is the kindest soul I have ever met, but I guess the situation with Kyrhen and David broke a part of her where she stored all of that loveliness. "I want to make sure Saline AND Kyrhen both get what they deserve. I don't want to bring my brother back home. I want for him to be banished with nothing and no one to support him. He never supported me so I'm returning the favor."
"But your mother, Kalysta, she will be devastated."
"No more than I was when I was kidnapped, nearly raped, and beaten. Then Kyrhen told me he was in love with David." She looked at me intently before continuing, "He always took that man's side because Kyrhen is gay. He was in love with David and was, or is still jealous of me. Had he not been clouded by his own lust for David the whole situation could have been prevented. While admitting his guilt and apologizing to me he even said that his heart was heavy. Kyrhen is sick over what David did but he also mourns his death."
Onyx's voice sounded in my brain, "I can eat her brother for her."
My link beast has grown increasingly protective over Kalysta. Feeling my love and concern for the woman he would gladly maul anyone for her. To feel my heart break would cause his own to hurt. He would prefer to not feel that, so he vowed himself to her as well as I did.
The rings Miller gave us meant nothing without us having a legitimate union. In less than five minutes we had became engaged and then married.
Walking beside Kalysta we covered a lot of ground until we hit the paved road. Rain was falling on the dark pavement. It seemed like a black void in the ground except for the bit of steam rising off of the surface. We kept our flashlights pointed ahead of us so that we could somewhat see. Even then it felt like we were stepping into a massive black sinkhole.
Kalysta shuddered as if she felt like the road was swallowing us up into its depths. In the night, with the rain beating us down, there was an ominous feeling to be had while traveling this route. After a few hours of walking we could see a purple haze over the horizon. We were still so so far from the edge of the city, but we felt like we were too close all at once.
Kalysta gasped. The size of Violet City finally hitting her. A territory the size of an entire U.S. state, Kansas to be exact, was lit up with UV light so bright it dyed the sky purple. "I know this is something we have to do but the enormity of this all is extremely overwhelming."
I took her hand in mine, "I agree. We will do it all together. I promise."
She blew out a lungful of air and muttered one single word.
"Fuck!"