The Light Within Her - Book Nine

Ch. 17- A Haunted House

"Her rebellion, her madness, her longing have grown in her to the level of a scream."

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As much as I wanted to escape my life in the French Riviera, it somehow found its way back to me. Five years ago when I ran away, I decided to create a new Soari without the Princess title, as a daughter of the most powerful family in the world. Here I was just Soari. A party girl that spends her days sunbathing and drinking margaritas. But being a Princess was in my blood and I knew sooner or later that it would come back at full force. And it did the moment these shadow creatures murdered my kind in the city I lived in and when two Vampire brothers entered my life. Thinking over what Bea said, I realize I've been a hypocrite to ever think this life I created could stay the same. That somehow, it eventually wouldn't matter who I was and that maybe the people I loved would treat me as a woman that wanted everything out of the life she was given. It's what I wanted more than anything.

I sat on top of the island counter in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal when Emmeline and Rosalind entered, their gaze focused on me. Meli was seconds away from leaving again before I stopped her, setting my cereal down beside me and hopping down from the island. "Wait, Meli," I said, stepping closer to now. Rosalind stood between us, not knowing what to do or say. My cousin didn't move as she waited for me to reply, her arms crossed over her chest. "I'm sorry for everything, Emmeline. This past week, I've tried to come up with the right words to say to you and I know I'm probably failing at this apology." I shook my head, staring into her blue eyes. "We aren't only family, but best friends since childhood. You helped me grow my first flower and taught me how to light a darkened room with my bare hands. What I'm saying is I'm sorry for being selfish and only thinking about myself all the time. I should've stayed at the house to help you create the shield instead of going on a run."

Emmeline nodded in understanding, then quickly pulled me towards her in an embrace. Her blonde hair swept over my face as she cried in my arms. "Tell me you're okay and doing better, Sor. I know you've tried your best to hide that part of yourself, but we've always loved you for you. No matter how many mistakes you've made, we will always love you and make sure you're okay."

I hugged her tighter, collapsing into my cousin's arms while Rosalind joined. "Don't ever lock yourself in your bedroom ever again, Sor. We were worried about you." Rose sniffed, blood-red tears glistening down her eyes. These weren't only my family, but my best friends. The ones that stood beside me through everything. The two people that saw the highs and lows of my life and decided to love me anyway. They were the ones that happily moved here with me when I couldn't be alone. They needed me just as I needed them. And maybe I was too blinded to see the love that was right in front of me–making sure my drunk self got home at the end of the night or keeping me from drowning in my own pain. "Bea knows about us," I confessed eventually. "She's known for months and didn't tell us." Rosalind and Emmeline pulled apart now, their mouths wide from shock. "She had to find out sooner than later because of what's coming. Bea needed to know for her sake."

"She knew for months?" Meli questioned.

I nodded. "Yes, though I'm not sure how she figured it out but she waited for me to tell her, acting as though she didn't know once I did." Rosalind combed her fingers through her hair, cursing under her breath. At least we're on the same page now. "This would all have been avoided if I just told her from the start."

Rose and Meli smiled softly. "You were just looking out for her, Sor. All of us were. It was better if she didn't know about our world, but now that we do, all we have to do is make sure she doesn't tell anyone else." Meli said. She was always the wise one out of all of us. Rose was cunning and well, me, I was clumsy. "And try our fucking hardest to keep her safe from Erebus and the shadows."