Chapter 57
Fifty-Seven
VIVIENNE
Ican’t believe my eyes. My father is standing in the middle of Lucca’s entryway looking regal and imposing.
“Hello, Vryenn.” His eyes drop to my pregnant belly, and he smiles. “You look well.”
“How are you here?” I ask. “And why?”
Before he can answer, Lucca grits out, “Where’s my sister?”
My father’s lips flatten. “Your sister and her mate have been captured by my wife.”
My stomach drops, and I feel faint. “No.”
Lucca holds my arm, helping me stay upright. “And you didn’t help them?”
He glowers. “Why do you think I’m here? I can’t go toe-to-toe with Maewe. She’s too powerful.”
“Are you saying you can’t do anything against your wife with all your Nightingale powers, but you want our help?” Saxon butts in. “The last time we were in Ellnesari, she almost killed us.”
“And you have the shadowbeasts at your command now, or has Castiel betrayed you already?” Rikkon watches our father through slits.
“It’s not that simple. There’s a war brewing with Cygnus and their allies, and if I kill your mother, Vryenn will not inherit the powers of the land. Aquila will be defenseless.”
“Is anyone following this?” Vaughn asks.
“None of what you said means anything to me. But Vivi can’t return to Ellnesari when you’re in the middle of a war,” Lucca retorts.
As much as I want to see my mother dethroned and save Manu and Karl, returning to Aquila before the baby is born would be too risky. Plus, my mother would probably kill me on sight if she saw me in this condition.
“If Vryenn doesn’t come with me, then your sister and her mate are as good as dead.”
My heart feels heavy, like it’s about to cave in. I’m being pulled in two different directions, and it’s tearing me apart. How can I choose between my unborn child and Manu and Karl?
“Lay on the guilt trip thick, why don’t you, Dad?” Rikkon glowers at our father. “Vryenn going to Ellnesari won’t change anything. Our mother has to transfer the powers of the land to her, and she’ll never do that.”
“I’ve found a solution to that particular problem.”
“Wait, you only mentioned Manu and Karl were captured. Where are Ronan and Cheryl?” Vaughn interrupts.
“I do not know where they are. All I know is that Maewe doesn’t have them.”
“That doesn’t bring me comfort,” Lucca grits out. “There is a myriad of dangers in Ellnesari.”
“But none worse than our mother,” Rikkon replies. “If she didn’t capture them, then they have a much higher chance of survival.”
“If Vryenn can’t come with me, then I’m afraid what needs to be done will be impossible.”
“What exactly are you planning to do?” I ask.
“Use the Magna Vis to take your mother’s powers and transfer them to you.”
My brows shoot up. “But… that relic is just a myth.”
He shakes his head. “It’s not, my dear.”
“I hate to interrupt this impromptu family reunion, but we have to be somewhere,” Solomon reminds us.
“I’m sure it isn’t more pressing than saving your friends from Maewe,” my father rebuffs.
Dad hates when things don’t go his way. He probably expected me to drop everything and follow him, but I can’t do that, even though my heart is torn in two.
“As a matter of fact, it is just as important,” Lucca replies in a cold voice, squaring his shoulders. “Thanks to the whims of your people, my uncle is dying.”
Not many things surprise my father, but when he winces and widens his eyes, it’s a rare sight. He schools his expression into a neutral mask quickly, though. “He should be dead already.”
“What the fuck!” Saxon blurts out.
“How can you say that?” I echo Saxon’s sentiment.
I’m surprised Lucca doesn’t blow a fuse, but when I glance at him and see the dejected look on his face, I understand why he didn’t punch my father in the throat. He’s breaking right in front of my eyes.
“Vivi and I have been feeding him our blood,” Rikkon explains. “It hasn’t cured his disease, but it bought him time.”
My father’s eyes narrow, and I can almost see the gears in his head working furiously. Then his blue eyes go blank, almost as if his mind is no longer here with us. His brow furrows, and the muscles around his mouth tense.
“What’s happening?” Lucca places a hand on my back.
“I don’t know.”
“He’s having a vision,” Rikkon answers in awe.
He would know since he’s been blessed—or cursed—with the sight.
After a moment, my father’s eyes clear, becoming sharp again as he stares at Lucca. “Take me to your uncle. I know now what must be done.”
LUCCA
Do I trust Vivi’s father? No. But perhaps whatever he saw in his vision will help my uncle. I’ll do anything to prevent him from dying.
King Ruel didn’t explain exactly what must be done, and Vivi and Rikkon didn’t have a clue either. To get to my uncle as quickly as possible, I traveled the wind with Vivi. Rikkon brought Miranda, and King Ruel followed us. Everyone else stayed behind, and I didn’t linger to hear their complaints.
The wards that protect my uncle’s mansion are already keyed to Vivi’s and Rikkon’s energies, so they can materialize inside the house. Mauricio joins us in the entry foyer and does a double take upon noticing the company.
“Who are you?” he asks, none too friendly.
“This is my father, King Ruel,” Vivi replies.
Mauricio’s eyes widen. “Have the portals been reopened, then?”
“Not yet. I’m working on it,” King Ruel answers. “I’m here to see your king.”
“He’s not himself right now. It’s not safe.”
Fuck. We took too long.
King Ruel’s lips curl into an arrogant smile. “I’ll take my chances.”
Mauricio looks at me with a question in his gaze. It’s up to me to decide.
“We’ll go see my uncle now.”
“We? Lucca… you can’t go.” Vivi’s eyes shine with worry.
I touch her face. “I’ll be all right, my love. Besides, your father won’t let anything happen to me.” I glance at the male, daring him to contradict me.
In any other circumstance, I wouldn’t dare enter my uncle’s room when he’s in berserk mode. He recognizes no one, and all he cares about is destroying and killing. It’s worse than being overwhelmed by bloodlust. It’s like being possessed by a demon.
“If you’re going, then so will I,” Rikkon says.
“Oh my God. Is this a testosterone contest thing?” Miranda puts her hands on her hips.
Rikkon’s frowns. “Of course not, Mir. But you haven’t seen the king when he’s not himself. He’s strong and lethal. The more protection, the better.”
“That sounds good to me.” I turn and kiss Vivi’s cheek. “All will be fine, my love. I promise.”
She nods, but I know she’s not convinced by my assurances.
Miranda stands next to her with a matching expression on her face. “Be careful, Rik,”
He grins. “Always.”
We follow Mauricio in silence, and I let King Ruel walk ahead of me because I don’t trust the male at my back. Rikkon is by my side. Only when we’re down in the basement and out of earshot does he speak. “What did you see in your vision, Father?”
“A way to buy us more time and save your friends. Lucca is right. Vryenn can’t travel to Ellnesari before her child is born.”
Mauricio stops in front of my uncle’s door and watches the feed from the security camera.
The image on the screen makes my stomach turn over and my chest tighten.
All the furniture has been removed from the room after my uncle destroyed most of it.
We padded the walls, but now the padding has been torn to shreds, and he’s moving like a rabid beast, snarling on all fours.
I look away from the camera before I get nauseated and study King Ruel’s face. He doesn’t show any emotion, and I wonder how Vivi and Rikkon are so different than him and his odious wife.
“Unlock the door,” King Ruel commands.
It’s like the word please doesn’t exist in his vocabulary.
Mauricio types the code into the pad, and the lock releases with a click that sounds ominous as fuck.
“Stay back,” King Ruel tells us before he opens the door using his gift.
Dread licks the back of my neck. What if my uncle kills Vivi’s father? That would condemn Manu and Karl to certain death at the hands of Queen Maewe.
I pull the dagger laced with vampire’s bane and prepare to use it in case the need arises. Rikkon and Mauricio do the same.
There’s a snarl as soon as King Ruel enters the room, and my uncle pounces. To my horror, Vivi’s father does nothing to defend himself. Uncle Raphael sends him to the floor, tearing his neck in a vicious bite.
At once, we rush into the room. Mauricio tries to pry my uncle away from King Ruel to no avail.
Rikkon and I have no choice but to stab him with our daggers, but that only makes him more furious.
And yet, he doesn’t release King Ruel to attack us.
He keeps drinking from the Nightingale. If he doesn’t stop, he’ll kill him.
“You need to use your powers, Rik,” I tell him.
“No. Let him drink,” King Ruel rasps.
“He’ll kill you!” Rikkon argues.
“He won’t.”
The certainty in the male’s voice gives me pause. Whatever he saw in his vision, he already knows the outcome. I hold Rikkon back. “Let things unfold as they may.”
I don’t know for how long my uncle drinks from King Ruel, but it’s long enough to kill a person or even a vampire.
Eventually, he stops of his own accord and pulls back, sliding off King Ruel, whose face is much paler than before.
His throat is in shreds, but he still breathes.
Rikkon crouches next to his father and heals the wound.
“Thank you, son.” He sits up and stares at my uncle, who has his back to us.
I can see a couple of glaring differences about him. His hair is black like it was before he was cursed by Queen Maewe, and his clothes are tighter, as though he gained a few pounds of muscle.
“My king?” Mauricio approaches carefully.
Uncle Raphael holds his head in his hand. “Where am I?”
“You’re in your bedroom.”
He finally turns, and I can’t help the gasp that escapes my mouth. “Uncle?”
His eyes widen, recognition shining in them. “Lucca.”
I run to him, then drop to my knees to hug him tight. “You’re back. You’re truly back.”
“It seems so. It’s like I’ve been living inside a fog for years, and it has finally cleared completely.”
“Yes. You’re free from the curse my wife put on you,” King Ruel chimes in.
“Losing his mind was a curse, not a disease?” Rikkon asks.
“It was both. The degenerative disease exists, but King Raphael’s condition was worse thanks to the curse.
“But he’s cured too, right?” I ask.
“Yes.”
Rikkon frowns. “How can your blood accomplish that when mine and Vivi’s didn’t?”
“You’ve been away from Ellnesari for far too long. Your powers are diminished because of it.”
“Are you going to share your plan with us now?” I ask.
He nods. “Certainly. I’m going to save your friends, and King Raphael will help me do it.”
“I don’t understand. How?”
Uncle Raphael rises from the floor and stares at King Ruel, a wicked smile toying on his lips as though he already knows the answer to the question. “When can we leave?”