Chapter 26 Ambrose
Ambrose
Lumi runs.
She runs like she can save him. Like she can stop Isolde from using her magic to take him from her. For a second, I think she’s going to defy all odds and be fast enough. Somehow grab onto him before Isolde takes him.
But then they’re gone. Vanished in the blink of an eye. And instead of grabbing Nyx, she grabs onto thin air. Even then, she doesn’t give up. It’s like she can’t.
“He’s gone,” I whisper, like I think she needs to hear the words to accept it.
“No. We go after him. Isolde and her coven don’t get to take him from me that easily.”
“She won’t kill him. She knows how much he means to her. He’ll use her to ensure that you complete the marking ceremony for the witches next full moon. You have plenty of time to save him,” I say.
“And in the meantime, they’ll torture him. I don’t know what he’s been through in the past, but I know that he’s been tortured before. I’m not going to let him endure that again.”
“You don’t have a choice. The only way to save him now is to figure out how to break the curses.”
“It’s my fault,” Amora says, staring at the empty space like she can’t believe he’s gone either.
Lumi snaps her head in her direction. “It is,” she growls, and any love between them vanishes in a second.
“Lumi,” I caution.
“It is her fault. If she hadn’t been stupid enough to wander the woods by herself, then she would have never gotten captured, and Nyx wouldn’t have had to rescue her,” Lumi says.
Amora looks back at her. “I know. I’m sorry. You aren’t the only one who’s scared for him. You’re not the only one who loves him!” She points to the others who have shown up too late.
Vampires, pack members, Bloodmoon, Moonlight. All here, watching this spectacle.
Lumi and Amora stare at each other eye to eye.
I’m not sure who will back down first, just that I have to keep Lumi safe.
I know she still loves Nyx despite Amora.
She’ll always love him. She may have said it to me first, but Nyx was her true first love.
The one who showed her what being in love really felt like. She’ll never stop loving him.
But I’ll be her true love. Her forever love. I just have to get her to fall in love with me. And hate her. Then we can have our happily ever after.
I look at Amora—at the rest of the vampires and Bloodmoon pack.
“I’m going to get him back,” Lumi says.
I grab Lumi’s arm. “You’re not.”
“I am—and if you try to stop me, I’ll never have a chance to fall in love with you. I don’t care if you’re my mate or not.”
“I’m not saying you can’t help with the planning of a rescue plan.
We should rescue Nyx despite his stubborn ass not wanting that.
But you should let his mate, his pack, his vampire coven be the ones to rescue him.
You are the key to everyone’s salvation.
You can’t be captured. You can’t die. If you do, all of this will be for nothing,” I remind her.
“He’s right. I’m his mate. I should go,” Amora says.
“You’ll just end up getting captured again,” Lumi says.
Amora scoffs. “You just had a magical knife held against your throat by an invisible force that I had to save you from. So yes, I’m fully capable of rescuing others.”
Lumi growls and for a second, I think she’s going to shift, but she pulls back at the last second.
“Fine, what’s your plan?” Lumi asks.
I let out a small sigh of relief that Lumi relented so easily. I don’t want her trying to rescue Nyx. And even if I thought she could go, my blood deal with Nyx would ensure that it doesn’t happen.
Amora looks from Lumi to the vampires and Bloodmoon coven. “Who is willing to participate in Nyx’s rescue?”
One by one, everyone’s hands go up. Even the Moonlight pack members and Kael’s hand go up.
Lumi’s features relax at the sight. She doesn’t have to go. She has others who can help her.
“Can you communicate with Nyx?” she asks Amora.
Amora blushes. “No, I’m pretty sure that’s only a wolf shifter mate thing.”
Lumi looks to me.
I sigh. “I’ll try.”
Lumi smiles.
Amora smirks.
“Nyx and I aren’t mates. It’s just leftover from the weird connection that Lumi used to share with both of us.”
“They love each other, that’s why they’re able to still communicate,” Lumi says.
I roll my eyes and concentrate, sending my thoughts to the dark, shadowy spot that is always in my mind. “Are you okay? Where did Isolde take you?”
“I’m fine. And I told you, no rescue plans,” he practically growls back.
“Lumi isn’t coming. But you have to be rescued. Otherwise, Isolde can use you as leverage against Lumi. You know this.”
“No. One. Is. Risking. Their. Life. For. Mine.” The words are staccato and grounded out, like each word is impossible to speak.
I prod, just the tiniest bit, and I feel the overwhelming pain, the raw need for blood, the madness swirling in his head. It’s like his curse has been sent into overdrive since he was captured.
“Get out of my head, asshole.”
I pull back. He’s already being tortured.
Already suffering. As much as I’d love for Isolde to kill him and be done with it, that would just make him a martyr.
One that could do no wrong in Lumi’s eyes.
She’d never get over that loss. She needs to see him living his happily-ever-after with Amora to fully let him go.
“Nyx is fine, but doesn’t want anyone to rescue him.”
“Well, we are, so tell him to get over himself,” Sylara says, the rest of the Bloodmoon pack surrounding her.
One of the vampires speaks from the shadows. “Nyx is our lord. We will protect him no matter the cost. He is the only way the vampire curse is broken.”
“Where is he?” Lumi asks.
“He won’t tell me, but he appears to be in a dungeon. It seems specially built for him. My guess is Moonfire’s territory. They wouldn’t take him somewhere else. That’s where they have most of their power and feel strongest.”
“Then, let’s go,” Lumi says.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” I remind her.
She glares at me. “Fine, when are you going? What’s the plan?”
“I’m staying to keep you safe, along with Emeric. Sylara, you should lead the charge as Nyx’s beta. When do you want to go?”
“Now—as soon as possible. I don’t want him to suffer or risk being killed any longer than possible,” Sylara says.
Everyone nods around her. She starts discussing plans for how they will travel and what they will find when they get there.
“You have to go,” Lumi says.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“You have to go, you’re the only one who can communicate with Nyx. It could be vital information to help save him.”
I know she’s right. But I can’t leave her. I don’t trust anyone else with her safety. And I don’t trust that this isn’t some ploy by the Moonfire witches to have everyone trying to rescue Nyx, leaving Lumi practically unprotected and easy to kidnap.
“I can’t leave you.”
“Then, we’re both going.”
I shake my head.
“If the Moonfire witches are going to kidnap me, they’ll expect me to be here with little protection. We should all stick together. I promise I won’t go into danger. I’ll stay on the outskirts. Hide once we are near their territory. But I can’t remain here while everyone else goes.”
I grind my teeth together, hating my options. I wrap my hands around her neck and tilt her head to look up at me. “You can come, but you promise not to step one foot onto Moonfire land. You stay hidden. And if we all die, you run. You live. Promise me?”
“No blood deal?”
“I don’t need a blood deal from you, your word is enough, my mate.”
She looks into my eyes deeply for once as I call her my mate.
And for once, I see the word settle around her, like she’s finally accepting it, even though we are on a rescue mission to save her lover.
But I can see that my saying yes is winning her over; her heart is gradually beating more and more for me. She’s starting to trust me again.
Even still, I can see how hard this is for her to promise me.
“Please,” I say.
Her eyes darken and her heart speeds. “I don’t want to lie to you. I don’t want to promise you something and not keep my promise.”
“Then don’t. But you have to live. You can’t risk your life. You can’t risk getting captured. Everyone is counting on you. I promise, I won’t stop until I get Nyx back, alive. Trust my promise and I can trust yours.”
“But you are just as important as I am to breaking the curses.”
“The Moonfire witches can’t touch me. The deal I made with them long ago ensures my survival. I won’t let them capture me again. I’ve been practicing with my powers. Trust me. I promise I’ll come back to you with Nyx.”
She sucks in a sharp breath. “Then I promise you I won’t run into danger. I’ll keep myself safe.”