Darkness lurks beneath the surface of society, something that has been growing and devouring the innocent for decades. Luna Aurion stumbles on a human farm under the streets of a supposedly peaceful human city, but before she can report back, she is...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Light and dark magic carved their way through the floor and whisked Meredith back to her mate. All the while, Neil thought about his, nearly ready to give birth to their children. Luna Aurion would no doubt need help as well as want to socialize her child with other dhampirs, so Neil expected to see the Aurions more than he cared for.
With Silvia sleeping off most days under the watchful eyes of one of his allies, Neil knew he would have to accept his father's words alone. This was a long time coming, the consequence of turning on his own blood. Monster or not, Vincent had been his father and he'd stood by as Meredith ended him. If his father had one final atrocity to commit, Neil would accept it as punishment for abandoning the man who'd brought him into this world.
In his study, he settled onto one of the couches and tucked himself into a few cushions before he reached his magic inward and touched the warmth inside of him. Like a key in a lock, his dark magic opened the barrier holding the magic back, and the message stole his sight. Darkness surrounded him, and Neil awaited the message left to him by his father, nearly dying of shock when he turned to the man standing behind him.
It had been so long since he'd had those cruel red eyes looking down on him that he trembled as his father merely stood before him. In place of his black attire that he'd worn in life, a white, long-sleeved silk shirt covered all but his chest. The strings there hadn't been tied and showed off his pectoral muscles in what was almost a threat if Neil could tear his attention away from his father's eyes to see anything else. The malice he'd expected wasn't there. Instead, soft crimson peered down on him, and Neil was speechless.
"I am not really here," Vincent said, the slick cut of his voice familiar but calm. "This is just a recorded message, so you needn't fear me, my son."
Neil calmed and stood to face the image of his father as the message played out.
"I've been watching. I've seen you grow, fight, and fall in love in these last years, and I could be no happier than to know you now have children on the way. With your allies and friends, I know you will care for them in a way I was never able to for you. For that, I am sorry. In the void, all I can do is watch and see just how much pain and suffering I left behind for you to clean up."
Tears lined Neil's eyes as he realized this wasn't one last attempt of Vincent's to get back at him, but the regrets he'd had about his life. His father was happy?
"A weaker man would have folded, but you're strong, no matter how I said you weren't," Vincent continued, his lips curling into a gentle smile as he rested his hands as harmlessly as he could on his hips. "I was frightened of that strength, so much so that I crushed it at every turn, and what I did is unforgivable. I cannot give back the lives I took nor remove the scars I left on you. I just wanted you to know that I love you, regardless of how poorly I showed it. I can't say much more since the void will allow only a small portion of my magic to travel.
"So this is all I have to say. I'm watching, but not to torment or loathe you. I want to see you grow stronger, to step on the remnants of what I left behind, to be happy. Someday, we'll meet again, and if it is in the void, I would like to reconcile and be by your side in the end. Your mother and I love you and are proud of the man you've become. Juliana," Vincent called to the side, and another person appeared in the darkness.
Tears dripped down Neil's cheeks as a blond woman looked around and pressed her dress down as if she was preparing to be photographed. Blue lace and silk accentuated her pale features and slim form, but Neil's attention was frozen on her expression. Though his mother couldn't see him, she smiled and tears brimmed in her eyes.
"Neil," she said, and Neil trembled. It had been so long that he barely remembered her anymore, but the gentleness he remembered was all over her as she smiled and looked out into the shadows with her ice blue eyes. "Don't rush to us on my account. We'll be here waiting, your sad excuse for a father and I."
Vincent frowned and she wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him in until a smile lit up his father's features. It was something Neil hadn't seen since his father had been human, and he walked forward, reaching his hands up into what he knew he couldn't touch. His parents. They were happy and waiting for him in the afterlife. If his father had held any malice for his betrayal, it was nowhere to be found now, and Neil wanted so badly to embrace them.
"We love you," his mother said. "And I love your mate. She'd just a firecracker, isn't she?"
Neil laughed through his tears as his mother smiled so wide it reminded him of any of his mischievous generals. There was a strength in her that Vincent had loved, so it was no doubt she wasn't at all timid. Memories of her were few in his mind, so he was elated to learn as much as he could.
"It's an opinion we share," Vincent added, his smile showing off his fangs in the first kind expression Neil had ever seen of the man as a vampire. "You take care of her and your children or I'll come up from the void and drag you down into it."
"Vincent!" Juliana smacked the side of his head, but Vincent just smirked down to him, his crimson eyes glowing with mischief.
And then it all faded. So suddenly. As if they had used every last second and run out of time.
Alone in his study, Neil felt the last traces of his father's magic fade, and he looked to the ceiling from the couch. Meredith had been so tormented about his father and all he'd wanted was to say that he loved him and that he was waiting with his mother. It was a strange turn of events, yet closure for years of guilt and fear about what he'd done to his father. Had the man watched him from the other side and known that he'd needed those words?
Was he watching now?
Neil didn't know how, but his parents had been able to see him all these years, known what he'd suffered and fought for, and that meant they could likely see him now. Just as his father had sent a message but had been unable to see him, Neil could speak back to the open air and Vincent would hear.
"Thank you," Neil whispered, praying that his father was watching now. "I hated what you became after your change, but deep down, I still loved the man you were before. It eases my heart to know you've found peace beyond what life would give you.
"I plan to be in this world for a long time to come with Silvia and my children, but when we do close this life out and move onto the next, I would like to see you again. Silvia will definitely punch you straight in the throat, but after you pick yourself up, maybe we can be the family that I'd always wanted."
The air in the study didn't respond as much as he wished it would. All he could do was hope that his father had heard him as he picked himself up and went to Silvia. She had only three moods nowadays, hungry, angry, and tired, but Neil loved every single one of them. Regardless of where his life had started, it had settled on peace, and he couldn't wait for the moment his children came into this world and opened their eyes. With his last breath, he would keep them happy and safe. He'd give them the family that he'd craved and never had, the peace that they deserved, and he'd cherish them as they grew.
Word Count: 1422
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
