Chapter 233

Ian shoved him back. Marius skidded and almost tripped, but he blocked Ian I lost their movements as they fought, around the pools of blood. The glow never left Ian, but it was clear that Marius was holding him off. Raven turned to me, glaring at me with burning red eyes.

Had it been her eyes looking at me from within the mosaic?

She came to me and aimed her staff at me. Her hands trembled for a moment before she scoffed and cast a bunch of light over me. The restraints vanished, and I collapsed to the ground. I felt dizzy and a bit ill from all the silver around the room. I felt so weak.

“Get up,” Raven hissed, grabbing my arm.

“Be gentle!”

“Shut up, or I’ll throw you in the trough, I’m not in a fucking mood to hear Uncle Ian’s lecture.”

She dragged me across the ground. The silver burned my skin. I knew I was bleeding, but she didn’t care. Finally, she threw me onto the hard rocky ground. I skidded and I was sure that I was bleeding even more, but at least I wasn’t so close to the silver anymore.

That force felt like it was dragging me back slowly, but I held my ground and tried to push away from it.

“The exit’s that way,” she said. “Get moving.”

I looked up as she rushed towards Ian and Marius. She cast a bolt of light at Marius, then another. I heard them fighting. I saw Marius pushing Ian back and fighting Raven, but I couldn’t focus on that. All three of them were distracted. The vampire king was still alive. If anyone knew where the Heart of the Moon was, it had to be him… And if I left him alive, he would always be a threat to Candido.

I had to get rid of him just like I had to get rid of the rest of Moon Shadow.

I licked my lips and searched for a weapon nearby. One of the vampires’ clothes from earlier was there. I pulled out the short sword and groaned at how heavy it was. My hands burned, and I realized that it was probably made out of silver. I shuddered. How had that vampire been able to wield it then? Had they all been royal family members?

I grabbed some cloth to wrap around my hands and wobbled to my feet. Even through the cloth, I felt the silver heating up my hands. Still, I turned and focused on where the casket was. If I could get the answer to my questions and kill him, my future with Candido would be secured.

A blast of heat shot past me. I felt it burning across my back and smelled blood boiling as it passed. I could smell it and saw just a flicker of fire leaping from one of the troughs onto the stone around it. I gagged and stumbled at the stench.

“You’ve inherited his weakness!” Marius snarled as Ian went flying back into another wall. “Attack me as if you mean to kill me if you mean to kill me!”

“I don’t need a fucking lecture!” Ian shrieked, shooting across the room at him. “You who couldn’t even cultivate the power you have now on your own? Drinking from that scum you so hate? What use is your advice to me?”

Marius laughed. “You know nothing about what it means to be willing to do anything for what you believe in. You know nothing about conviction!”

A burst of light shot out, pushing Marius back, then Marius thrust a beam of light out toward Ian. It turned sharp like a spear as it cut through the air.

“Uncle Ian!” Raven screamed and shoved Ian out of the way. The beam of light hit her in the shoulder and tumbled her over and into a trough of blood.

“Raven!” Ian yelled. His voice was stricken with terror. I dragged the sword with me down the nearest pathway. Marius kicked Ian over and out of the way.

“You’re much too young to wield the power you’ve inherited,” Marius said, laughing. “You—”

Ian shrieked. The staff transformed into a spear, and he thrust it into Marius’ chest from behind. Marius choked and stumbled. Blood dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. Ian pressed forward, running more of the blade through his chest.

“You know nothing about me,” Ian growled. His blonde hair was plastered to his face with blood and sweat. “You filthy traitor. You know nothing about what it means to be his heir.”

Marius chuckled and took hold of the spear. He pulled himself off the spear and turned.

“You should have used silver,” he said. “If you wanted to kill me.”

Ian narrowed his eyes. “Don’t ever think I’m so short-sighted.”

Marius remained quiet, then he chuckled and tilted his head, baring his neck.

“If you think yourself strong enough… I would welcome it. At least it would prove that you inherited a bit more bite.”

Ian lunged at him. “I don’t want to kill you! He doesn’t want your death!”

The staff and sword clinked and shrieked as they met, and the two men battled.

“We have seen where his desire for peace has gotten us all!” Marius yelled. “If you think that I will simply stop with the wolves of Solare you’re wrong! He’s wrong! Not a single of them deserves to live.”

I struggled down the path as I heard Raven gasp, pulling herself out of a trough of blood and onto the path.

“I really fucking liked this shirt,” she hissed. “Uncle Ian, why can’t I kill him?”

“Don’t be short-sighted,” Ian said evenly, eyeing Marius. He panted and held his staff out, pointing at Marius as Marius lifted his sword. “He’s more useful… mostly alive.”

I reached the right area, but the casket had been overturned. I hobbled around the side, searching for the body. But there wasn’t one. The vampire king was gone.

My heart lurched, and I looked around. All the liquid that had been in the casket was gone too. Raven staggered over to me, and her eyes widened as she looked in the casket.

“Uncle Ian, he’s—”

“Father, no!”

I turned sharply towards the sound of Ian’s voice and saw the vampire king, drenched in blood, with his crown still on his head behind Marius. A sharp crack filled the air, and Marius dropped to the ground. Ian looked up at the man and scrambled to his feet. The man stumbled into Ian’s arms. Ian wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close.

“Quickly,” a deep, raspy voice came. “Before he awakens…”

The man stumbled. Ian lowered him to the ground gently. “It’s okay, father. Just hold on.”

Raven ran over to him. “Grandpa!”

She got to him as Ian got him to the ground. Lucien wrapped his arm around Raven.

“Are you all right?” He asked softly. “Are you—”

“You can’t,” Raven said, sniffling. “You haven’t recovered enough. We have to get you back into the casket…”

“I will be fine for now,” he said. “Ian… you must hurry.”

I staggered closer, trying to see what happened and searching for a chance to drive the sword into the vampire king’s chest. If I could kill the vampire king, wouldn’t that avenge Candido’s family? Wouldn’t that make it so that Candido had to love me again, he had to forgive me and see how much I loved him.

Then, Lucien turned to me. His eyes were the color of the moon, surrounded by the dark night, glowing in the room. There was a darkness in his eyes, a weight that I couldn’t describe.

I froze. He was… beautiful, but there was something else radiating from him. He looked at me, and his eyes softened. The terror that was building in the pit of my gut didn’t fade. I had never felt so afraid before. It was like… It was like staring into the darkness and knowing that it would swallow me whole. I was shaking so much that I was barely holding on to the sword. He looked at me so gently. Terror filled me as if I knew that he could kill me with barely a thought. He probably could.

“Little Hedy,” he whispered, his voice was warm. He reached out to me. “You look just like my Hedwig… come here… let me look at you.”

My stomach turned at how warm his voice was. I drew back several steps, dropping the sword. His eyes widened as he glanced at the blade and then back up at my face. The warmth didn’t fade, but there was a bit of understanding in his eyes.

Did he know that I planned to kill him?

“It is… my honor to meet my youngest granddaughter at last…”

Before I could even think about it, I spoke.

“I’m not a part of your family.”