Chapter Ten
Anton
J ulius said, “Can you tell me more about this Legion of Light? How do you know them?”
I stood, still holding the patch, and faced the young vampire. “You need to put out an alert. No vampires should be going anywhere alone. All dens need to go to ground. They need to stay in safehouses, if feasible. The Legion of Light will stop at nothing to get rid of every single vampire. Every. One. Do you understand what I’m saying, Julius? They want to make our species extinct.”
He stared at me for a beat before giving a nod. “The dens are already on high alert, but I’ll make some calls and ask them to go to ground. We might be able to provide some safehouses for them. Let me call Alec, my boss, first.” He pulled out his phone and headed to the other side of the room for the illusion of privacy. If I wanted, I could listen in to both sides of the conversation easily.
Instead, I focused on my children, who were standing in a half-circle around me.
Phaeron asked, “Do you really think they’re back?”
I held up the patch, then waved at the destruction around us. “Yes. I’d say so.”
Beshiro said, “But we killed them all a thousand years ago, and there’s been no sign of them since. Do you really think they went into hiding for that long?”
Katja said, “Doubtful. But perhaps some of their teachings were left behind, and a new group has taken over and claimed their name.”
Phaeron nodded. “We destroyed everything we could find, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have books and things in other places.”
I nodded. “That makes the most sense to me. I—”
My phone rang, cutting me off, and my brow furrowed when I glanced at the name on the screen. Tan. Why was he calling me?
“Hello?”
“Anton, I… shit, I’m really sorry to do this over the phone, but I have some bad news.”
All four of my children froze, staring at me and clearly listening in.
“What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Um… okay, so Garrick and I both think you two are… so I thought I should call you because…”
“Tan, you’re worrying me. Please tell me what’s wrong.”
“It’s… it’s Keryth.”
My heart froze in my chest, my lungs constricting painfully. Jed put his hand on my shoulder as I choked out, “Wh-what happened? Is he…”
There was a brief hesitation that made me more terrified to hear his next words. “He’s been kidnapped.”
“What?” I gasped out.
“His car’s at his apartment, so we know he drove home after work, but he never made it inside. The girls… the girls called Bel, freaking out when he didn’t come home. We have everyone at Remi and Bel’s right now, with about twenty guards surrounding the property, so they’re all safe. But we… we don’t know where Ker is or who has him.”
My entire world crashed down around me, pain so deep in my chest that I had to glance down to see if there was a literal hole there. I couldn’t hear anything but the fast beat of my heart. Terror like nothing I’d ever experienced gripped my entire body, my heart, my soul, making me feel dizzy.
Tan was still speaking, but I couldn’t make out his words. My children were staring at me with stricken faces, and Phaeron was trying to get my attention, but I couldn’t hear him either.
I murmured, “I’ll be right there.” Or at least, I tried to say it before I hung up, dropped my phone into my pocket, and took off.
My kids yelled for me, and I heard Jed yell, “We’re right behind you!” But I couldn’t acknowledge him. All I could do was run.
I had to save Keryth. I had to save my viramore.
I rushed out of the building, and as soon as I was through the door, I used an ability I didn’t call on often. Calling on the death magic that kept me alive, I shifted my mass, clothes and all, into a sort of mist-like substance. Then I took off in the direction of the Ellwood coven.
I needed to get to that portal. Now.
I pushed through the Ellwood’s wards only a few seconds later, even though it’d taken us a good twenty-five minutes to drive there. My mist form was faster than any other form of travel.
I didn’t stop to talk to anyone.
I didn’t ask for permission.
I simply flew into the shed that housed the portal, shifted back, and stepped through it.
The portal in Brinnswick went straight to Remi and Bel’s backyard shed in Gauhala. One second, I was in Brinnswick, the next, I was in Gauhala, bursting out of the shed.
Both Remi and Bel rushed out of their house as I stormed across the yard, and Remi said, “Wait, Anton. We need to make a plan, and you don’t even know where you’re going.”
“I don’t need to. I’m going to follow our bond.”
That made them both stop and give me a look before Bel said, “You’re Ker’s viramore?”
“Yes.” I hissed, although the anger of it wasn’t aimed at him. “Now, get out of my way so I can concentrate.”
Remi shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “You need backup.”
I hissed again. “I need to find him. Now move.”
He shook his head again. “Anton, you have no idea what you’re walking into. You need to have backup with you in case you need help. You could be walking into a bad situation with a lot of people willing to fight you, or it could be just one guy. You don’t know. And if you want Ker to make it through this, if you want him to be uninjured during a scuffle, you’re going to let us take backup.”
“Fine,” I hissed out in frustration before closing my eyes and concentrating on the very faint, barely-there golden thread that connected Keryth to me.
If I could follow it, I knew I could find him.
It was just so… frail.
Because we hadn’t spent any time together since that first night.
After two and a half years, it still looked as if we’d only just met. Seeing the poor excuse for a bond made me regret taking so long to write that letter. I should’ve been more insistent. I should’ve apologized a thousand times over so he’d know I meant it. I should’ve tried harder. Not only since we found one another again, but that night, when he’d disappeared, I should’ve looked harder.
Part of me knew that was only guilt speaking. I’d spent months searching for the fae I’d known as Rydel. I’d gone back to that alleyway night after night after night, but he’d never returned.
My heart ached, my fist rubbing my chest as I did my best to keep my emotions at bay.
Keryth was the most precious thing in the entire world, and I’d done next to nothing to make sure he knew that. I swallowed around the lump in my throat, never regretting my actions—or lack of actions—more.
And you know what?
After I found him tonight, I was going to change that. I’d make sure we spent time together.
I couldn’t… I couldn’t stay away any longer.
I needed him.
But first, I needed to fucking find him.
With my eyes closed, I could see the frayed thread drifting off to the right, so I began heading in that direction. Remi and Bel both called after me, but I ignored them. They could catch up if they really wanted to. I wasn’t worried about whoever had taken what’s mine because I planned on ripping their throat out as soon as I found them.
“Anton, please, let me come with you,” Remi called.
I grunted in response, no longer capable of words. My body was straining too much as it was with the effort of keeping my anger in check. I didn’t want to hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it, but I wasn’t about to stop moving for them either.
“Dad,” a voice called from somewhere behind me, but I ignored that too.
“Fuck, he’s so fucking fast when he’s determined,” another voice said a moment before Jedediah used his vampire speed to catch up to me. “We’re here, okay?”
I grunted again, even though I appreciated them coming to help. My children were strong, and I’d make sure to keep them safe when we stormed whatever hellhole we were about to find. They had powers of their own that made them… difficult to maim or kill and made them formidable opponents.
They were the perfect backup.
The wolf shifter was still following behind me, but he wouldn’t be able to keep up for long. Wolves had nothing on vampire speed.
At every cross street, I stopped for a second, closed my eyes, and focused on which direction the thread was trying to reach. It was almost like it was broken with how thin it was, but I couldn’t believe that. I didn’t want to.
As far as I knew, there was nothing that could ever break a viramore bond.
So no, it wasn’t broken. Not completely.
But it definitely wasn’t whole either.
That was something we’d work on when I found my little fae.
And I would find him, and I’d kill whoever had taken him from me.
I turned to the left at the next street, and I knew there were even more people behind me now. Garrick, Tan, Roman, and Oakley had shown up at some point, and I thought I felt a few guards back there. They had fallen behind, but I knew they were still following my trail. My children were right behind me, though.
I couldn’t turn around to look—I didn’t have the time; every second counted when it came to my beloved being gone—but I knew they were there.
When I reached yet another cross street, I closed my eyes, and the gold thread looked a little bit… thicker.
Did that mean I was close? Or was I making it stronger simply by going after him?
I turned to the right this time, and when I heard a muffled scream, my heart leapt in my throat.
“That came from that house over there,” Beshiro said, pointing to a house on the corner up the street. I hadn’t even realized we’d entered a residential area.
“Is that where Keryth is?” Phaeron asked me. He had his phone up to his ear, so I imagined he was speaking with someone from the slower backup party, likely letting them know where we were.
I closed my eyes again, took a breath, and willed myself to see the end of the thread.
It only took a few seconds before I felt a tug on the bond, almost as if… as if Keryth was calling to me.
I sucked in a breath. “Yes. He’s there.” Then I turned into mist and rushed for the building, leaving my children behind, calling after me.
As if I’d wait for them to surround the building when my viramore could be injured. Someone could be hurting him at this very moment. I couldn’t, wouldn’t, wait any longer to reach him.
Keryth needed me, and he needed me now.
My children rushed behind me, but I was a lot older than them, so no one could match my speed in this form.
It was harder to follow the thread in this form, but I could feel Keryth as if he was invading my mind. So I let his call pull me to him.
I seeped through a crack under the door, and once I was inside, I could feel the fear permeating the building. I could smell it too. And not just Keryth’s fear, but the fear of multiple people. It was as if the house was steeped in it.
I rushed to the basement door, found a space to move through where the door met the frame on the right side, and rushed down the steps before changing back to my human form.
It only took me a second to take in the room.
There were ten cages lined up and piled on top of each other against the left wall, a table with a dead fae on it, a chair with a bleeding and half-dead fae strapped to it, and a werewolf standing over that fae, wielding a knife.
The werewolf startled at my sudden appearance, and he sneered. “You don’t want to mess with me, vampire.” His fangs elongated as his fingers turned into claws. He dropped the knife to the floor, choosing his claws and fangs as his weapons.
Did this werewolf truly think he could take on a vampire? Let alone one as old as me?
He growled at me, standing in a threatening position as if he was about to attack.
My nostrils flared as I took the man in, and it only took me a few seconds to recognize him.
“Ralodove,” I said a moment before I rushed him, grabbed his shoulder with one hand, his hair with the other, and yanked his head to the side. I moved so fast he didn’t even have time to retaliate.
The werewolf yelped and clawed at my hands and arms, but I paid the injuries little mind. All I cared about was vengeance.
Without hesitation, I struck, biting down with my fangs on the most vital and vulnerable part of his throat. Once I had a good hold of everything, I yanked my head back. Blood filled my mouth as I ripped the fucker’s throat out.
I let his limp body drop to the floor, not giving the bastard even a moment more of thought, and then I rushed over to the cage Keryth was locked in. There was a padlock on the door, but I tore it in half with ease and yanked the door so hard, it came off, and I had to throw it to the side.
Keryth, my Keryth , was curled up in a ball, tears streaming down his face and dried blood on his forehead and shirt.
His terrified eyes moved to mine, and he gasped, looking horrified. “Anton? Mother of All, no. You can’t be here. You can’t… he can’t hurt you. Please. I don’t want him to hurt you. You can’t—”
“Shh, shh, shh.” I shushed him, pushing all my anger down as far as I could so I could gentle my voice. “It’s alright, my darling. I’m here to take you home. You’re safe now.” I reached into the cage and gently picked him up, cradling him to my chest.
He stared at me for a long moment before blinking and taking in his surroundings. His gaze landed on the very dead and very bloody Ralodove and lingered there for a long moment. When his eyes met mine again, he burst into tears, then wrapped his arms around me and buried his face against my neck.
“I’ve got you. Shh. It’s okay, my darling. You’re okay now.”
“You came for me,” he whispered.
“I always will.”
He cried a little harder, and I held him tight.
He whispered into my chest, “Are my kids okay?”
“Yes. They’re with Bel. They’re perfectly safe.” Thank all the stars that I’d actually heard Tan tell me that so I could relay it. If I’d been thinking clearly, I would’ve known Keryth would ask me about his girls right away.
I looked up to see my children coming down the stairs. They all looked disgusted and horrified, and they didn’t hesitate to start tearing open the other cages.
Keryth suddenly stiffened and leaned back. “Trayben. Mother of All, you have to save Trayben.”
“My children are getting all the fae out of their cages.”
He shook his head. “No. Trayben.” He pointed at the fae in the chair. He was slumped over, and there was a large puddle of blood under him.
I knew a lot about blood and how much a person could stand to lose, and that poor fae was… too far gone. I tuned in to him, focusing on his heart and his breathing. His heart rate was so slow he likely only had a few beats left.
I shook my head. “I can’t save him.”
Anger overtook my beloved in a flash, and he pushed out of my arms, staggering to his feet. “We have to save him.”
My entire body rejected the idea of not touching Keryth, so I grabbed his arm and walked over to the other fae with him.
Keryth bent down, cupped the fae’s face, and tilted it up. I sucked in a breath when I saw how young he truly was. A teenager. A youngling. That fae looked familiar. My eyes widened when I realized it was the same fae Keryth had brought to Tan’s party. He was friends with his girls. Gods above and below, Keryth knew this poor boy.
“Trayben, wake up,” Keryth said. “Trayben, I need you to wake up.”
The boy didn’t respond, and Keryth turned glassy eyes to me. “Please, Anton. Please, save him.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know how.”
That anger came back again, and he stomped his foot. “Change him, you asshole. Right now.”
“Keryth… he hasn’t been ingesting my blood for weeks. You know that has to happen before I can change someone.”
“I don’t care. You need to try. You need to save him. Please. Please, Anton.” He started crying again. “He’s only a kid. We need to save him.” Then quieter, to himself, he whispered, “I was supposed to keep him safe.”
And my heart broke.
I looked over to Phaeron, who’d come to stand behind the boy. He nodded at me, saying, “Try. Your blood’s old enough. It might work.”
I wasn’t sure that was true, but I didn’t think Keryth would ever forgive me if I didn’t try. I wouldn’t forgive myself either, for that matter.
“Please, Anton.”
“I’ll try, my darling, but it might not work.”
“Do it anyway.”
I swallowed thickly, then bit into my wrist, tilted the boy’s head back, and dripped my blood into his mouth.
“Keryth, this might not work,” I tried again.
He clenched his jaw. “We’re gonna make it work.”
Then Keryth grabbed my hand, and I felt his magic explode out of him in a burst of jasmine, earth, and cedarwood. The scent and the feel of it called to something deep within me. Something I couldn’t ignore. My vampire side, the magic that’d kept me alive for so long, burst out of me to meet his.
My soul reached for Keryth’s as our magics combined and rushed into the dying boy in front of us.