Page 172 of Dark Souls

Ronnie’s phone started ringing, and he showed me the screen as my mum’s name flashed across it. He answered it, putting it on loudspeaker.

“Queen Ruby.”

“Ronnie. Am I on loudspeaker?”

“Yes. Hi mum, what is it?” I blurted as I swerved just in time to avoid a head-on collision with an oncoming car while I overtook.

“Hector Polken is unknown to us. Which means he must not be part of a vampire clan. He’s rogue or at least pretends to be. But we will keep digging. See if we can find any relatives. Also, I didn’t want to say anything earlier because I didn’t want you being distracted but Leif and Grandpapi think they might have figured out a way to find Luka.”

“How?” I asked, my voice rising with hope.

“It was Leif’s wacky idea, but it is the only one we have right now. Grandpapi’s blood is tied to Luka’s. Because of the blood oath, they are connected via an unbreakable bond only by death. If you were to ever be harmed, the oath would take effect and Grandpapi could find Luka no matter where he was. Luka wouldn’t be able to hide from him because the oath would reveal his location.”

“But would that mean Grandpapi would be bound by fate to kill him?” I shouted frantically.

“Yes, but… if he killed Luka in vampire form, he’d come back to life, right? Demonski Upirs can’t be killed permanently in vampire form.”

“Will that work?” Ronnie asked, doubt sparking in his red eyes. “Won’t the oath stay in effect when Luka comes back to life?”

“We aren’t sure,” Mum answered with a sigh. “It is a risk. We don’t know if the oath is only connected to Luka or to Heathen as well. It is a last resort, of course. We don’t want Ilaria to have to put herself in harm’s way either, but even Leif can’t find him with locator spells. He’s being blocked. This is your call, Ilaria.”

I ground my jaw together tightly, not knowing what to do for the best. That was a risk I really didn’t want to take. I could feel Ronnie’s gaze locked on my face. “Give me an hour to see what I can get out of Wesley. He may know where they are keeping Luka.”

“Okay. You are doing amazing, darling. Quite the little actress. Your dad and Lorcan couldn’t watch. They had to leave the room when you straddled that wolf’s lap. And don’t think I didn’t see what you did there. Getting Wesley to kill the Alpha so you didn’t have to.”

“See.” I smirked. “There are ways of serving justice that don’t always involve a trial.”

“Hm,” she murmured, but I could imagine her smiling through the phone. “We are still watching. Send us the location of his house so we can be there if we need to.”

“I’ve just texted you,” Ronnie said, as his fingers glided across his phone.

“Thanks, Ronnie. Stay safe, you two.” She hung up and Wesley groaned in the backseat, his eyelids flickering. Ron and I exchanged a glance before he twisted in his chair and knocked the asshole out with a single punch again.

“You are really enjoying that, huh?” I said as I took the route away from the city and to a quieter suburb full of massive houses with acres of land.

“Let’s hope he keeps waking,” Ronnie smirked, licking the blood off his knuckles. “Urgh, vamp blood isn’t as nice as human blood, is it?”

“Not unless they are your soulmate,” I mumbled, my heart lurching in my chest at the thought of mine.

“Will I get one? Being a turned vamp?”

I shrugged my shoulders, no longer in the mood for talking. The talk of soulmates just heightened my desperation, and it became hard to concentrate on the roads as the pain in my chest intensified to an unbearable ache once more. I had no idea what they were doing to him, but I knew he was in pain.

“I hope I do,” Ronnie whispered next to me, moving his gaze out of the window. “I feel empty without her and I’ve never even met her. It’s like the moment I took my first breath as a vampire, I knew she was out there. Waiting for me to find her. I need her so much, it physically hurts.” He placed his hand over his chest and turned to look at me. “Right here.”

I swallowed thickly as tears brimmed at the edges of my eyes, but I blinked them away.Push the emotions down.“Imagine finding her. Loving her. Then having her taken away. Knowing there is a chance you may never see her again. That you may have to live every day for the rest of your life with that pain but times a million.”

“I’d rather die,” Ronnie muttered under his breath.

A tear escaped my eyes and I rubbed it away.

Yeah. So would I.

Fancy Ribs?

Whenwefinallyreachedthe location of a huge, gated driveway, I stopped the car and stared up at the strong steel entrance.

Ronnie cursed, leaning forward to get a better look and searching for another way into the premises. “What now?”