The Light Within Her - Book Nine

Ch. 20- A Vow for the Ages

"If there is a light then I am going to swallow it. If there is a God then I'm going to make him cry."

***

– Luc Guinevere –

The feeling of blood seeping out of my knuckles blazed my skin, but there was no wound. Nothing but a phantom injury. But the blood oath coursing through my veins told me differently. From the look of fear coming from the three other women in front of me–it was Soari. It had to be. "What's happening?" King Sebastian demanded from the phone. "Luc?"

I squeezed my knuckles, then stretched them out as I focused on the task at hand as the pain shimmered out quickly. But the other part of me worried for the Princess. Did he hurt her? "It's the blood oath," I explained. "Her knuckles spilled blood." Ever since I woke up, I knew something was wrong. Not only because I felt Soari miles away from the shield, but my brother was not answering me either. It has been two days and there was no lead for the both of them–nothing but the phantom blood on my knuckles and the agony deep in my chest screaming at me to find them. Everyone was up day and night looking for Soari and Amias, but there was nothing. Hell, not even the King and Queen could feel their daughter in this world. The whole goddamn Kingdom of Ambrosia feared that Erebus did something terrible to the both of them. But from the oath, I could feel her heart beating like it was my own. I could sense her fear, her anger and sadness, and the ultimate one–the bitter taste of sacrifice.

"What if she just punched him?" Rosalind questioned, as though it might give us a sliver of hope for everyone. Her arms were tightly placed on the table in front, staring at the cell phone in front of all of us. Emmeline paced back and forth and Bea stayed quiet but I could tell there was a war going on in her mind. So was mine. "It would explain why her hand was bleeding."

"Erebus would never allow her to do that," Meli snapped. "He has total control over her power. Can't you feel it, Rose? The darkness seeping in around us like a dark cloud?" I couldn't feel it at all, so it might be a Fae thing. They could always sense what was wrong better than any Vampire could. Rosalind shook her head slightly but kept quiet.

"How do you know he has control over her light?" I replied, squeezing my knuckles again. Erebus has my Princess. He has my brother. He has Lyssa de Blaire. What more could he possibly want? "As far as we're concerned, Soari has been kidnapped by the fucking God of Darkness and we have no clue where she is located."

Elora Breevort spoke now, her voice soft yet defiant. She was with Sebastian on the phone but she barely spoke a word until now. "Our family shares the power of telepathy in case of emergencies. There was one word she screamed in our minds before she went silent–before Erebus cut off her powers. Sor screamed the word help as loud as she could so that it made the whole Breevort line wake up in the middle of the night in a panic."

"I've announced a state of emergency for all Vampires across the world," Sebastian admitted, his voice rough and full of agony. So was mine. "If anyone spots her anywhere, then they will send a message to us. Elora will do the same for the Fae, as well as Vivienne and Kassandra for the Witches and Werewolves. There will be some of my best soldiers coming to your city to locate Soari and Amias' scent."

"Sebastian," I started to say. "You hold the same power she has, so can't you try to locate her using your own?" Gods, I hoped it would be easy like that. There was hope blooming in my chest–hoping that my brother was safe and sound. Ever since our parents were murdered, Amias was the one that raised me and Camille. Yes, he made some mistakes but he was still the only one I looked up to in this world. I knew the years after Camille died, he was hollow. He thought he failed at protecting her–but now I wish I could tell him that he did his best. That it was our sister's decision to join the war and it had casualties.

Through the phone, the King sighed. "Unfortunately, our powers may be the same but it is our own. I cannot feel it nor she can't feel mine. Trust me, I've tried."

Erebus, that fucking bastard God. It was what Soari called him way before she met him and thought it was catchy. There were so many questions about where he came from and how he managed to be stuck in Moros's prison. As I started thinking more about it, I wondered why the hell Moros and Verena never mentioned him. The duo confessed every God in existence–except for him. Why? Did Soari put two and two together subconsciously but never realized the full extent until now? "Holy fucking shit." I cried, glancing at the woman in the room now. "Our girl figured it out."

"Luc, what is it?" Sebastian demanded again.

"Bastard," I breathed, unable to process this information. Was the connection the blood oath gave me from Soari? Was this her way of telling me what she knows, even from afar? "Think about it, why did Moros not mention his brother, Erebus? They are similar in one way or another, so why did he hide Erebus in a prison for years? Why did no one think he ever existed until now?" Everyone was quiet, their own minds full of thoughts as I continued. "When the whole goddamn universe was created, Moros overpowered Erebus and sent him into his own prison for all eternity. Only pure, unbridled sunlight could ever unlock the doors to his prison."

"And every time Soari used her sunlight against his shadows, he was one step closer to gaining control over it." Elora finished.

"Saving Bea and I was the last straw," I replied. "She didn't know until it was too late. Until Erebus took her away." This was an enemy bigger than all of us combined. Sure, some of us fought demons and a different breed of Vampires called the Soltari, but we never fought the fucking God of Darkness and his shadows. Not when he has Moros and Verena, the Gods of Death in his clutches. When he has the most powerful being in the world enslaved to him right now.

Another thought popped into my head, making me want to punch something. Or worse, kill someone. My protectiveness over Soari was worse than ever now that she was missing and all I wanted was to kill everyone in my way in order to get to her. The young Princess was special in a lot of ways. More than I ever realized upon meeting her for the first time. I watched her dancing on top of the table as she laughed drunkenly, watched her complain about wanting human food and watched her fall in love with my brother. Yet, the thought of the first night when all I wanted was to die with Henri–she was one that made me strong again. Soari was the one that held me as I sobbed when nothing else mattered. For her–I would do anything to get her back. To get Amias back. I vowed mostly to myself but to the two of them that nothing will stop me. Not even death.

My feelings didn't matter now–her safety was the most important.

"What the fuck is he planning on doing with her?" I questioned out loud. Rosalind and Emmeline shuddered, shaking their heads to not think about what kind of torture he could inflict on Soari. Bea ran her fingers through her hair, tears sliding down her cheeks but I ignored her. Sebastian breathed deeply as though he was trying to control his rage but failing. Elora was silent but I knew she was blaming herself for what happened to her daughter. I could tell she was stricken with grief the second I met her so many years ago.

For the first time in a long time, the Kingdom of Ambrosia felt helpless.