Chapter 235

I couldn’t believe what I’d seen. I knew that Ian and the rest of the vampires were against us, but to see the vampire king still alive…

To know that the man who had killed Candido’s family was still alive hurt. It wasn’t fair. I tried to get back inside, but there was no doorway. The stone didn’t yield to me. Cillian said nothing. He didn’t even seem to be paying attention to me.

Then, Ian and Raven came out.

“You—”

Raven rushed past me into Cillian’s arms, sobbing and shaking him.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” She cried. “Why didn’t you tell me? All this time! All this time, I—”

Cillian wrapped his arms around her, hushing her gently. I turned back to Ian whose entire expression seemed to be without feeling. There was blood smudge on his temple and at the corner of his mouth. Dust and dirt clung to him and stained his clothes, but his hair seemed perfect like white gold.

Then, there was the sound of footsteps rushing towards us. Through the trees, Candido and two Lunae werewolves came through. Candido lifted his gun and then lowered it, frowning as he looked over the scene.

I rushed to him. “Candido! You’ll never believe—I told you they were against us. They left him alive.”

Candido barely glanced at me before he looked over at Ian. I turned back and pointed at him.

“He said he would rise again! He’s his father.”

Ian didn’t even glance at us. He turned around to face the castle. The light that had covered him before reappeared. That fear I had felt when faced with Lucien returned. My blood seemed to run cold as he lifted his hand, and the staff reappeared in his hand. Light shot out from his hands, swirling around the tall, dark castle. The stone trembled. The earth shook. It seemed like the darkness just sprouted out of the ground and swarmed forward, taking the castle in and leaving nothing but a tall wall of shadow. Then, the shadows rippled like water in a pond and vanished.

Cillian gasped. “Your Majesty…”

The cold air of the night swirled around us. The light lessened, but it did not vanish. It was as if the sun and the moon had come down to swirl around him.

He turned around. His eyes were filled with moonlight, surrounded by darkness. The glow in his hair seemed unnatural. Candido said nothing. I looked up at him, looking for some sort of reaction, but he just stared at Ian. His eyes were wide with shock.

I looked back at Ian, who continued to say nothing. Raven’s sobbing had calmed down, but no one else said anything.

“Candido, the man who—”

“I killed your father,” Ian said. His voice shook the air the way the vampire king’s had. “Just as my father banished your ancestor and closed the gates between the worlds.”

He turned and walked toward Cillian.

“Marius is dead.”

Cillian’s eyes widened.

“I left his remains in the tomb… with his brother and his wife,” he said slowly. “It is… the final repose he wanted.”

He lifted his gaze and my heart started to race. His eyes had completely changed.

“Raven,” he said, his voice gentle. “You may never forgive me for keeping the truth from you, but know that I did it out of love.”

She turned on him. Her eyes glowed as she started to float.

“Do you think I care about that?” She yelled. “I already know why you didn’t tell me!”

She sniffled. “I just… all this time… I… Uncle Ian, if I had known…”

Her jaw set, and she glared at me. “If I had known…”

“I couldn’t let the truth change who you are,” Ian said. “Your dearest grandfather didn’t want that… It was… a calculated risk to keep it a secret.”

He took a deep breath. “But now it doesn’t matter. The fate that she’s set into motion is too far along the track.”

He looked over at Candido. “I hope you are prepared for your part to play in this.”

Candido lowered his gaze briefly and nodded. “I am… making my peace with it.”

Ian nodded. “That is all anyone can do.”

Ian turned to Cillian and Raven. “The final battle is going to start soon. Will you return to Lunae?”

Cillian’s lips twitched. “I have my own part to play in this.”

Raven sniffled. “If you think I’m letting you deal with all of this by yourself…”

He cupped her cheek. “I believe your lovers would rather have you in their bed.”

She scoffed. “They would rather me be in my bed with them. There’s plenty of time for that when this is all over.”

She chuckled and shuffled her feet. “I believe I’ll be adding another addition soon.”

Ian threw his head back and laugh. “So glad you are seeing the bright side of things.”

He took a deep breath. “By now, Marius’ sired will have realized he is dead. I am declaring war.”

He looked at Candido. “While we are not fighting for the same cause, we are aligned for now.”

“I am just as devoted to my service to the Goddess now as I was when this started,” Candido said. “Our causes align.”

His lips twitched. “You will have the peace you seek.”

He glanced at me. “Though I can not understand it, she would never deny he beloved anything that might ease your grief.”

Candido bobbed his head. “I will… take that with grace.”

I clenched my jaw. “Candido, what about the vampire king? If we don’t kill him now—”

In a flash, Raven was in my face. Her eyes were blood red. Her fangs were bared at me, but it wasn’t the threat of getting my throat ripped out that scared me the most. It was the vision in her eyes.

I saw Hedwig there, bound in some deep dark place, being torn to pieces over and over again.

“The same fate awaits you,” Raven hissed and turned. The fury vanished and she turned as Ian drifted into the air. The glow turned into a beacon and I heard his voice like a whisper on the wind.

“Prince Marius has defiled the resting place of our king and paid with his life… Stand against the throne, and you will follow.”

I shuddered, and I felt Candido swoon beside me.

“What was that?” I asked.

“A declaration of war.”

It was hours later that we returned to the camp. The remnants of Wolf Fang were all gathered and looking to me for an explanation, but I didn’t have any answers to give at the moment.

When we were all gathered, Candido called everyone’s attention. Ian stood with him. His eyes hadn’t turned back, and the glow still remained in his hair.

People murmured between themselves.

“The leader of the vampires that have been attacking us is dead,” Candido said. “Based on that, we have a chance to attack the remaining forces and take them out while they’re scrambling for power… The Prince Regent of Lunae has agreed to offer us aid to deal with the remaining threat, but there is a price.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“It has already been paid,” Candido said and looked at Ian. “For now, we need to prepare to attack. We’ll break into attack units and target the remaining vampire camps with as much firepower as we can. Non-combatants…”

I pushed through the crowd trying to get to Candido, but by the time he was done giving orders, he stepped down and disappeared into the crowd. I tried to follow, to find him and make sure I was going with him, but no one would tell me where he was going.

They wouldn’t even give me a weapon.

“Alpha Regent,” a member of Wolf Fang said.

“Luna,” I hissed at them.

I caught sight of Candido and headed towards him. I saw him standing with Ian talking.

“Candido, no one will give me—”

I stopped as a vampire walked towards me. She was from Estella’s unit, I knew. I braced myself for a fight as she stopped and looked at me. I got ready to jump, to dodge, to strike before she could strike me, as I knew she was going to attack me to get revenge. Her eyes narrowed. I felt the moment that she was going to attack and stepped aside, planning to dodge, but she didn’t move. She blinked at me.

She looked at me, dragging her gaze over me. Then, she turned as if she hadn’t even noticed my existence. I was more offended than I was threatened as she kept walking toward Ian.

“Hey!” I yelled after her. “You can’t—"

“Why would I waste my time killing you, fallen one?” she said in passing. “You’re a disgrace.”

“I—”

“Your continued existence is a black mark on creation,” she smiled coldly. “But I’ve already seen your final resting place… You’ll get what you deserve just like your mother did.”

My blood ran cold as I remembered the vision in Raven’s eyes.

She smirked. “You’d best focus on the stay of execution and try not to become more of a disgrace than you already are.”