Chapter Eight
Anton
I was practically giddy as Julius drove my children and me to the latest crime scene, which was utterly inappropriate, but I couldn’t help it. Keryth had not only read my letter, but he’d reached out to me, agreed to meet when I got back to Gauhala, and he said I could text him.
Speaking of which, I pulled out my phone and sent a text. Maybe texting him tonight when he’d only given me permission a handful of hours ago was a terrible idea, but I couldn’t help it.
Keryth, my sweet fae, was finally allowing me to talk to him. And I planned to take full advantage.
Me: I know it’s late there, but I hope you have a great night. Sweet dreams, beloved.
I hit send, then frowned when I realized that may’ve been laying it on a bit thick with the endearment. I wasn’t sure he even tolerated being called darling, let alone beloved. But I didn’t fully regret it because that was exactly what Keryth was. Or at least, what he would be… eventually. Because there was no doubt in my mind that Keryth was my viramore. My soul only sang when he was near, and I knew it in my bones.
We hadn’t spoken about it, obviously, but I had a feeling he knew it as well.
When we arrived at the slaughtered vampire den, I frowned at my phone since he hadn’t messaged back. But the lack of messages didn’t mean anything. It was late there—since we’d waited for the sun to set here, and Brinnswick was behind Gauhala time-wise—so perhaps he was already asleep.
Or maybe he was busy taking care of his girls or still watching a movie with them.
Either way, I didn’t let it dash the hope blossoming in my chest.
This was going to work out.
I’d finally be able to fully explain myself, apologize, and hopefully, take Keryth out on a proper date.
“Why do you look so happy when we’re about to walk inside a murder house?” Phaeron asked me with a raised brow.
I did my best to tamp my grin down. “No reason.”
“You look insane, Dad,” Jedediah said. “Like literally bonkers, smiling like that when we’re walking into a major crime scene.”
I schooled my features as best as I could.
For some reason, that made Jed and Beshiro laugh at me.
Great.
Jed slapped my shoulder. “I know what this is.”
“I highly doubt that you do,” I said.
He shot me a quick grin. “You talked to Keryth.”
I paused mid-step, and all four of my children stopped walking as well.
Katja took one look at me and said, “Holy shit, you really did. Jed’s right, isn’t he?” She punched her brother’s shoulder. “Good guess, little bro.”
He shot her a grin.
Since I knew there was no point in hiding it, I shrugged. “Maybe.”
I got a couple of back slaps, and Jed happily said, “He’s your viramore, isn’t he?”
Holy hell. How in all the hells had he figured that out?
“Hell, yes. I’m right. Look at his face.”
All four of them stood in a semi-circle around me, scrutinizing me while Julius waited—likely impatiently—near the front door, and Beshiro finally nodded. “Yep. Jed’s right.” The others all nodded in agreement. “Wow. Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
I looked at Jed. “How in the hell did you figure that out?”
He poked his own head. “I’ve got mad skills.”
Katja snickered, and Phaeron rolled his eyes. “Please never say that again.”
Jed tried to flick Phaeron’s cheek, but my eldest easily smacked his hand away with another roll of his eyes.
Beshiro ignored them entirely. “Dad?”
Well, I supposed the cat was out of the bag now. “Things didn’t end well when we met, and I guess, I just… couldn’t talk about it.”
“But things are better?”
“I’m hopeful for the first time since that night.” Before they could question any of that, I gestured to Julius. “We need to get going before Julius loses his patience with us.”
They all nodded, and Jed said, “Fine. But we’re having a talk later.”
“Why did that sound like a threat?” I couldn’t help but be amused.
“Because it was. You either talk to us, or we’ll annoy the hell out of you till you do.”
I snorted and waved them off, then reluctantly agreed because they knew exactly how to push my buttons, and I didn’t need that annoyance in my life. That was the pain of having people in your life for so long—they knew you way too well. “Fine.”
Jed smiled, then shoulder-bumped me and whispered, “We’re all happy for you, Fang-Daddy.”
“Do you have to call me that?”
“Yep.”
I sighed.
He laughed. “Fine. But we really are happy for you, Daddio.”
“Thanks.”
We caught up to Julius. He didn’t say a word about our little byplay, only passed out gloves and booties that people wore at crime scenes before continuing on. Normally, Julius’s partner and fellow vampire, Emrys, would be with him, but he was finishing up some paperwork about this very case. So Julius had offered to bring us tonight. No one wanted to waste a single second in finding these vampire hunters, so I was glad we were already being put to work.
We headed into the rather large apartment complex turned vampire compound where the Borges den had resided until they were brutally murdered.
It made all the happy feelings I’d had filter into the background as a deep sadness overtook me. So much death and suffering had happened here. I could feel it in the air, and from the look on my children’s faces, they could feel it as well. I couldn’t tell if Julius had the same feelings because of the stoic expression on his face, and I wasn’t sure if he’d developed that emotional skill yet since he was rather young. He wasn’t even two hundred, although he was getting close, I believed.
Grief made it difficult to breathe as we toured the entire building, taking in how brutal the attack must’ve been. There were no bodies, but there was blood splattered… everywhere. It was a harrowing experience.
Julius ended the tour by taking us to the community space where the vampire den had shared meals and spent time together. This had been where the majority of the vampires were killed, according to him, and from how destroyed the place was, I wasn’t surprised.
Everyone was in a somber mood as we examined everything that was left behind. A tech crew had already been through, and Julius had asked them not to send a cleaning crew yet. So everything was left the way it was found, minus the bodies and a few things they took as evidence.
We were going back to the precinct after this to look at all of that evidence and the bodies in the morgue. These vampire hunters even killed the human blood donors. Although I’d seen more dead bodies than I could count, going there wasn’t something I was looking forward to, and I knew my children weren’t either.
Part of me wanted to ask my children to stay away from the morgue so I could take on that burden alone, but I knew them well enough to know they’d never allow that. Even though I was their sire and it was my responsibility to keep them safe—and happy, loved, and cared for as well—my children acted as if it was the other way around. They always wanted to take care of me, which warmed me but made my job more difficult.
My eyes scanned the room, and disgust made my lips curl in a silent snarl.
Why in the world would someone do this to an entire den? An entire family?
“How many people were killed here?” Phaeron asked.
“Thirty-two total. Nineteen of them in this room.”
I winced at that. Thirty-two? That was… a monstrosity. How in the world had hunters killed that many when vampires, by their nature, were born-again predators? We had speed, enhanced hearing, eyesight, and scent, and yet, these hunters had been able to sneak up on an entire den. It made no sense.
Clearly of the same mind, Beshiro asked, “Are we assuming the hunters are using magic to mask their scents?”
Julius nodded. “That’s one of our theories. With so many vampires being killed all over the country, they’re likely using other magics as well. Probably to hide their sounds, enhance their speeds, etcetera. It’s the only thing that makes sense. I realize that not all vampires are fighters, but many have fought in battles and wars in the last century alone, so we can only assume they’re being snuck up on with magic.”
I nodded. “That would be my assumption as well. In a den this large, at least a few of them would’ve been fighters. And so far, between the photos you’ve shared with us and the way the blood’s splattered everywhere, I’d say there was barely a fight at all.” I glanced around again. “Was this den known for bad deeds?”
Julius stared at me with a furrowed brow.
Katja snorted. “He’s trying to ask if this den had vamps that broke or pushed the boundaries of the law? Were they hurting people? Is there a reason they were targeted?”
Julius shook his head. “No. This was a peaceful group. In fact, at the vamp bars, these were the guys humans sought out the most because they knew they were safe.”
“Really?” Katja’s eyes were wide.
Julius nodded. “Yes. We haven’t uncovered any known enemies.”
I blew out a breath and wiped my hand across my forehead. A peaceful den was slaughtered. What kind of people did this to others?
“Sire,” Phaeron said in a breathless voice that made him sound… scared.
I rushed to his side. “What is it?”
He swallowed thickly and pointed, so I followed the gesture to what looked like some kind of patch. Kneeling down, I squinted at it. Huh. It was a ripped piece of fabric.
Jedediah said, “Oh no. No. No, it… it can’t be them, right? Phae, it can’t be. Dad…”
With my gloved hand, I reached out and picked up the piece of fabric, my gut churning as I stared at it in horror.
There was a patch sewn on the fabric that had a half-sun outlined with a triangle inside that had small dashes moving out toward the sun’s outline.
It was a symbol I knew well, and one that knocked the wind out of me for a few seconds.
“The Legion of Light,” I said quietly.
Katja shook her head. “It can’t be. They’ve been dead for centuries. You know they’ve been dead. We… we made sure of it.”
My chest tightened in fear. I glanced around at the slaughterhouse, then met her eyes. “It… it looks like they’ve returned.”