Chapter 29 Vyslan
Suggested Listening: To the Moon by AXMO
Iwant to sit back and savor this moment. There’s something incredibly sweet about Luciu’s attraction. And Ezra is showing a new side of himself. He’s confident. But I can’t enjoy it because there are a dozen small moments that stick in my head.
Why did Darius have certain opinions?
Why did he say the things he did?
Why did he leave at that exact moment?
What is going on?
This family is on the brink of something beautiful. Perfect even. Which means it’s the moment when it could also come crashing down.
Ezra sighs and glances up at me. He’s exchanged his ruined pants for athletic shorts that might be mine.
“What’s up with you? What’s wrong?” he asks.
Luciu peers up at me. He’s wearing pajama pants and a clean shirt. Given that there’s a bathroom right here, Darius going for a towel was weird. Why did he do that?
“You’ve been on edge,” Luciu says.
Fuck.
I have to say something. They should know.
“Darius,” I blurt out. “He sounded off. And then he just got up and went. Why? What’s going on that he isn’t telling us about?”
I’ve been all over the property. I’ve also extended my own protections around it. Gracie’s wards are good, but there are gaps. Holes I plugged. But that’s the thing; my magic and Gracie’s are very different.
As if my thoughts tip the domino at the end of the line, I feel it. A presence infiltrating where it shouldn’t be.
My stomach feels as though it drops out of my body.
It’s happening all at once, and the pieces I couldn’t see before fall into a picture I don’t want to see.
I smell the familiar scent of brimstone and the warm, pungent aroma of my home. The world that birthed me.
I have a decision to make. I know what they’re going to do because it’s the move I would make in their shoes.
I’m not the only demon here. The others are weak, by my standards. But strong enough, I don’t doubt they will complete the job they are here to do.
This decision is going to make me sick.
At the same moment, Luciu throws his head back and screams. It’s the type of sound that makes cold fingers race up my spine. The dreadful sensation is compounded by the blood pouring from Luciu’s eyes, nose, and ears.
This is the bond.
Gracie is gone. She’s alive, but beyond this world. Still within my grasp. But Luciu is on the verge of being beyond us.
Darius saw this. He knew. He prepared us.
Ezra snaps out of his shock and goes to his knees, his hands hovering over Luciu’s body.
“What-what the fuck?” Ezra says, voice trembling.
They want Gracie for something. She has to be alive. But without her here, Luciu is dead. She would never forgive us if we let him die. This sweet man who joined forces with us after a glance.
I grab Ezra by the shoulder and give him a shake.
Time is not on our side, and it’s going to be up to me to pull us all together.
“Ezra, listen to me.” I put power into my voice. His spine goes straight, and he stares at me. “You have to turn Luciu.”
He jerks backward, face twisted in horror. “No!”
I grab him by the hair and drag him closer. “Listen to me!”
Luciu’s body twitches, and his scream ends in a gurgling, choking sound.
“Gracie has been taken. Taken to another world, if I’m right. And that means Luc is dying. He’s dying, Ezra. I can’t fix this. I can’t save him if I don’t know where they’ve taken her. He’s dying right now.”
“But…”
I want to cradle my vampire. My sweet, terrifying love. This experience, being what he is, has been a nightmare. But it can also be a salvation.
“Luc?” Ezra flattens his hand over the warlock's heart as it stutters to a stop.
“You have to do this,” I say.
Ezra stares at me with tortured blue eyes.
The love bite he gave Luciu earlier has begun the process. But it wasn’t enough. His soul will slip beyond the horizon before his body transitions, leaving it a soulless husk trying to fill the emptiness. To save Luciu, Ezra needs to drain him completely.
“Do it,” I say. “For Gracie, if not for yourself. You like him. That’s what Darius was telling us. Luc matters to your future. To all of us. You have to turn him.”
My vampire blinks at me. His skin is pale. Ashen. It’s the one thing he never wanted to do.
Ezra growls then lunges down, his teeth sinking into Luciu’s cooling flesh. He begins to drink, and I stroke my hand down his back.
“Help!” Darius shouts from somewhere in the house, but I can’t answer.
The one thing Darius can’t see is his own future. And here Puck thought the biggest risk to Gracie was the vampire. He never saw the blind spot his own brother provided. And the girls. They’ve been lulled into a false confidence behind their wards.
And me?
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t try to fix anything. I didn’t want to push too hard. I didn’t want to over-stay my welcome. I left the cracks because I didn’t want to meddle.
I could have done more.
This coven has fucked with the wrong demon. They have no idea the lengths to which I will go for my witch. My vampires. Or even my fae. There might not be a prophecy about me, but I will write my own with their blood for what they’ve done.