Book 2: Chapter 23 - God’s Angriest Flower

Violet Asher was a very kind girl.
One of the sweetest people anyone could have in their lives.

And if, occasionally, she lost her temper, well.
Doesn’t everyone?

And if you managed to piss a girl like her off…
you probably deserved it, right?

She wouldn’t fly off the handle unprompted.

Really, the question was never
“Is Violet as kind as she seems?”
so much as
“What did you do to earn her ire?”
—Daisy Whitaker, “Cruelty in Color”

Aubrey paced back and forth in Violet’s dorm. Violet followed her friend with her eyes. She was incredibly angry, and she couldn’t understand why. It was like listening to a song that got cut off just before the resolution of a slow crescendo. Like something had been snatched from her hands for no reason. It had only been irritating when it first happened. Then, it was confusing. She should have been relieved when the cuffs went on Kiera’s wrists instead of her own. But she was angry instead.

Briefly, she wondered if some part of her wanted to be caught. Maybe it was that tiny whisper of guilt she’d managed to silence everywhere but in her daily nightmares. It could even have been pride. She’d killed multiple people—terrible people—who’d outclassed her by two categories. At least, at the time. It was an impressive feat. She could admit that she wanted to be admired for that. If only a little.

But the more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed. She didn’t feel enough guilt to let herself be caught. While she was awake, she never thought about it at all. Not anymore. And nightmares were just nightmares. They couldn’t hurt her. Every lancer got them eventually. At least she was in control of the cause. 

Which left the burning question. Why was she so fucking pissed off? She’d been ready to kill Kiera if it meant escaping arrest. But watching her be arrested instead was a bridge too far? It didn’t make sense, but it was undeniably real. Violet was livid, and the longer it took to determine why, the angrier she got.

“What do we do?” Aubrey finally asked.

“I’m not sure. Do you think we can get her out on bail, maybe? Or even ask Chromatic to try?” Violet suggested. There was only a slightly harsh edge to her voice as she did, and Aubrey seemed too stressed to notice it.

“That’s… that’s not what I meant. Violet, Kiera tried to kill someone. She’s on our fireteam. No matter what happens, there are a thousand things we have to worry about, aren’t there?” Aubrey responded.

“Kiera was arrested for trying to kill somebody. That doesn’t mean she actually did. Are you seriously ready to convict her just because of an accusation? There hasn’t even been a trial yet,” Violet replied.

Aubrey stopped pacing and slumped onto Kiera’s bed. “I know. I know you’re right, I just… we were starting to get along. We never knew each other well back home. But after we fought that hedron together… things changed. And I had a lot of fun tonight, even if Zach covered his ears whenever it was my turn. I like Kiera. I’m starting to like her a lot. And I’m just tired of liking people only to have the rug pulled out from under me. I don’t want to get invested in another abuser, Violet. Especially not one who tried to kill someone. And I know. I know we don’t know that she’s guilty. But I did know her dad, Sam. He’s a good man. One of the best back home. He saved my life when I was a kid. And I trust him, too. He deserves my faith just as much as Kiera does. If he accused her of this, well. It’s hard to believe he would lie,” she explained.

“What? Not up to your standards? You’d only have her back if she finished the job like you fucking did? Should I trust the girl who left a corpse bleeding from the ears, but not the one who left her victim alive? Is that it?” Violet snapped.

Aubrey’s eyes widened, and her jaw opened slightly. She looked at Violet like the other girl had punched her in the gut. “No, Violet, that’s… You know that was an accident. I was trying to save everyone! I was trying to save Stephanie! I wasn’t trying to kill anyone! And I’m not accusing Kiera of anything, I’m just anxious! That’s all I’m saying! Not because I think she’s guilty, but because I don’t know either way!” Aubrey said. Her voice quivered a bit, and tears built up in her eyes.

Violet stood up in a single motion and pulled her shirt off before throwing it in Aubrey’s face. Aubrey was more than a little surprised—until she saw the deep lightning scars. They ran all across Violet’s torso. They reached further than that, as indicated by the way they disappeared under both her skirt and sports bra. 

“Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Trusting a possible killer can get you hurt, can’t it? I mean, look at me? Look at what happened when I cleaned up your mistakes for you. Getting these hurt, too, you know. More than anything you’ve ever felt. And they couldn’t heal it all the way. They tried. But it was too expensive. I’ll be wearing the scars of your body count for the rest of my fucking life, Aubrey. But I still want to be your friend. I still defend you when people say the same shit about you behind your back. I look at my own marred skin every fucking morning and remember what trusting you got me. So does Kiera, actually. But we were both happy to have you in our fireteam. We were both happy to invite you out with us tonight.

“Kiera was excited, even. She was talking about it as we got ready. She was so happy she was finally getting to know you. And here you are. Already ready to fucking abandon her for maybe being responsible for trying to hurt someone. And you don’t even fucking know why! After she didn’t judge you for actual negligent homicide? The academy may be choosing not to press charges because of the circumstances, but make no mistake. If anyone in our fireteam is a killer, it is Aubrey Goddamn Clarke. And if you—of all people—are going to go for Kiera’s throat with almost no information, well. You can get out of my room, actually. Because I want to help my friend. The girl I thought was our friend. And I don’t need the distraction of a real murderer who is too worried about herself to care.”

Violet clenched her fists in genuine rage as she lectured Aubrey, and the banshee shrank with every word. Violet was breathing heavily, and Aubrey had started to shake. No further words were exchanged between the two. Aubrey simply stood and walked toward the door. She paused before opening it, then looked back at Violet. The glare that cut her as she did discouraged her from apologizing, and she decided to leave in silence.

Violet watched the door close, then sat back down on her bed and rested her face in her palms.

That had been stupid. She’d have to do something for Aubrey later. Something to prove she cared. Otherwise, she’d have already burnt the bridge she’d worked so hard to build. But it would be fine. Enough thoughtful acts of kindness, and enough apologizing, and she’d have Aubrey on her side again. If the other girl was anything like Alex, she’d even have Aubrey convinced that she could mention Violet losing her temper. That would just be ungrateful and unforgiving, after all. If she said just the right thing, she could have Kiera’s supposed crime included in that, actually.

It was a problem for another day. She needed to address the cause. The rage. She still didn’t understand why she was so angry. But she did know one thing. Kiera was her first real friend. And she wasn’t going to let go of the fox that easily. She was going to do something.

Of course, if she could simply take someone from the police and pardon them of any accused crimes, her life would be a lot easier. She needed another approach. She needed more information. Kiera hadn’t been assigned therapy, and there were no associated notes. She considered asking Bouvier for a favor, but she thought she’d already reached the limits on that resource. He wasn’t exactly on her side, and she hadn’t even done anything for him yet. 

But that thought gave her another idea.

She pulled out her tablet and started flipping through files. It didn’t take long. The names she was looking for would be at the top of the list. That was to say, the Ashers.

She wasn’t the only student from her extended family at this school. She definitely wasn't the only one meeting with Mr. Shepard regularly. Based on what Bouvier said, he worked for her family as much as he worked for the school. Or more, rather. She wouldn’t have been surprised if every Asher at the school met with him, and not exclusively for therapy.

There were over a dozen on the list. This didn’t particularly surprise her. Her own parents had sent her older siblings away as fast as they could. To wherever they could gain the most power and influence. Considering nearly every city had at least some small and insignificant branch of Ashers, it made sense that Chromatic Academy would be a popular choice. Lancers often became more powerful than anyone else. There was just no faster way for combat-oriented callings to grow.

In any case, she found the name she was looking for and opened the file. 

Name: Hazel Asher
Origin: Roseville
Calling: Marksman
Category: Orange

Violet hadn’t seen her older brother for a couple of years. She’d never been close with him. Much like she’d never been close with any of her siblings, truth be told. He certainly never wrote home, as far as she was aware. He’d still been red when he’d left, actually. She was almost surprised he was only orange after so much time. Surprise which quickly faded when she thought about it. That was a more standard rate of advancement than hers, after all.

It wasn’t ideal. If he hadn’t excelled, he was less likely to be contacted by the main branch. Then again, the city was divided into strict districts. There were advantages to having contacts and pawns in every category. But if she was wrong, and they’d ignored him, well. She’d go to someone else on the list. He was simply someone she already knew. Every advantage mattered. 

She briefly scanned his therapy notes, but found little of note. Or rather, there were certainly aspects to take a look at when she had time. He was clearly speaking in some kind of code. He even mentioned worry for his youngest sister, at one point, which was extremely far from the Hazel she knew. Violet wasn’t sure he even knew her name, despite the fairly clear tell that was her hair. He definitely didn’t spend a lot of actual time thinking about her. That was encouraging, though. If he was talking in code, that meant he was definitely communicating with the main family somehow. Aside from that, it was mundane. He also didn’t like their parents. He didn’t know his siblings. He was stressed about school. Nothing she could spot looked like hidden code.

They were the ones she really wanted to meet. She hadn’t actually been interested in their help when Chase asked about it. And when Bouvier wanted her to spy on them, she’d figured the longer it took to meet them, the better. She needed the files she’d stolen, but she had absolutely no interest in helping the asshole headmaster. 

Then, Kiera had been arrested. And Violet had no information.

She needed the Asher name now. And if they weren’t going to approach her yet, she’d go to them. She picked her shirt up and pulled it back over her head, then walked to her nightstand. She fished a pen out of the drawer, then made a note of Hazel’s room number in the orange dorms. It was late, and he was probably sleeping. But that was his problem. If Violet didn’t get to sleep, she certainly wasn’t going to wait for anyone else. She turned to leave, then paused.

Nothing had been out of place when she’d made it back. Not as far as she could tell. But if her roommate had been arrested, well. It was only a matter of time before her room was searched. She could only hope it hadn’t already been. In fact, there was only one reason she could think of that she’d be safe. Bouvier didn’t want them finding the files in her room any more than she did. But that wouldn’t last forever. So before leaving, she pulled the flash drive out of her tablet. Then, she went through her dresser to retrieve her wig and spare city clothes.

An hour later and she was walking through the orange dorm with none of these things. She’d have to find a better hiding spot later, but she felt safe enough for the moment. 

Finally, she arrived at her older brother’s room. She didn’t have high expectations for him. He hadn’t exactly rushed to find her when she’d arrived. But she would work with whatever she needed to. She knocked three times, then waited. She couldn’t hear through these walls. Not yet, at least. So she simply stood with her arms crossed and examined the orange walls around her.

Finally, the door opened, and her tired brother stood on the other side. There was a long moment of silence before he finally spoke.

“Oh, thank Christ, Violet! You’re okay,” he whispered. Then, he stepped forward and wrapped her in a hug.