Fated Origins: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 4)

by May Freighter

  “I would rather die!” Hartwin yelled with heart-wrenching emotion filling his deep voice.

  Ealdraed shook his head. “That, my dearest brother, is not for me to decide.”

  9

  STONEHENGE

  LUCIOUS

  L ucious ran his fingers lovingly through Helena’s messy locks, untangling the unruly knots. The Royals permitted him to be with her as they travelled to Stonehenge. Even though it seemed like a kindness to others, to Lucious it was like a death sentence. It only highlighted that they had little time left together on this earth.

  Her body rocked on the backseat of the car driven by a Council hound. Ealdraed sat in the front passenger seat. And, with the inevitable drawing close, Lucious could only protect her from immediate harm. To do that, he needed to live, no matter what.

  She stirred and her heavy eyelids opened. Her different coloured eyes met his and a pained smile stretched her lips. “Are we there yet?”

  “Almost.”

  With a nod, she rested her head on his lap and took hold of his hand. “What do you think is the correct choice here?”

  “I do not believe awakening Arthemis is a good idea. Yet, it appears an opinion of a Councilman is worth nothing when Royals are involved,” he replied and glided his fingers through her hair in a soothing motion.

  She intertwined their fingers, giving him a squeeze that made his stomach sink. The thirst was there, scratching at the back of his throat and mind. He had overexerted himself earlier to get to her. His head hung low. He should have avoided his desire to see her. That way, she could have remained safe and away from the danger which loomed over them like an impending lightning storm.

  “It’s too bad we can no longer speak through the link,” she said, reaching up to cup his cheek. “I’ve missed hearing your voice in my head.”

  He did, too, but said nothing. Lucious merely felt curious about how calmly she was taking the whole situation.

  Her eyes met his, and she sat up. Her palms touched his cheeks, forcing him to look at her. “You need to feed, don’t you?”

  “How—”

  She smiled. “Your eyes are like two rubies right now. It can only mean two things, and you are behaving too calmly for it to be a descent.”

  “I would not dream of taking blood from you. It feels wrong.”

  “This may be the last few hours we share together. I want us to be as close as possible,” she whispered, her attention and voice never wavering.

  He seated her on his lap and wound his arms around her waistline. With great gentleness, he pushed her hair away from her neck and ran his chilled fingers along her skin.

  A faint moan escaped her, and he moved in, planting a kiss against her jugular vein. The longer he stayed there, the closer to him he pressed her body. His need to hold her in his arms spanned beyond the primitive hunger within him, so he rested his forehead against her shoulder.

  Her fingers combed his short hair—a tender touch that brought him to tears. After letting her go and abandoning his love for her for three months, how could he allow the elders to do this to them? Deep down, he knew that even if he did attempt to fight them, it would be fruitless. His anger would drive Helena to an early grave. He needed to be smart and lock his pain away.

  Pushing back his sorrow, he sank his fangs into her neck without warning. She pressed his head closer to her and sighed in contentment when he released his energy to wrap around her and to bring her pleasure. Her sweet scent blocked out the car they were in, the other people present, and the trouble ahead. In that single moment, they were alone and connected through blood, love, and fate.

  As he sucked in more of her sweet nectar, he came to understand that even if she was human, he could drink from her without restraint. He wasn’t spitting her blood out as if it was sewage waste. She was different. This only solidified the fact that Lilia, who rested within her, was truly the Mother of Vampires. Nothing compared to her blood, not even the blood of a Royal.

  With every crimson drop he took from her, the aches in his thighs and body began retreating. Her lips released her soft words near his ear. “I love you.”

  Although he wished to continue drinking from her, he knew she had to be strong for whatever awaited them tonight. He bit into his thumb and covered her bite marks with his blood.

  Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were parted when he looked at her again. If the circumstances permitted, he would have taken her right at the back of this car, but he wouldn’t allow other men to see her in any state of undress. She was his to claim and to keep.

  An inquiry that plagued him for a while surfaced. “I am surprised you are treating the death of your friend with such…indifference.”

  She settled back into his lap and folded her legs closer to her chest. “Maya isn’t dead. The only way to truly kill a demon is with an Arcanae Mortum. I’m sure she is looking for a way to come back as we speak.”

  Ealdraed turned in his seat and studied them. “You have stooped so low as to make a deal with a demon?”

  Helena tilted her head to one side. “You’re Ealdraed, aren’t you?”

  The elder nodded. “And you are not the same Lilia I remember…”

  “That’s because I’m not her.” Helena scooted to sit in a seat next to Lucious. She took hold of his hand which brought a tiny smile to his lips. She was clinging to him unconsciously.

  “But the scent of your blood…” the Royal began.

  “I know of your past, Ealdraed. Aren’t you tired of fighting? Are you not the one who always strove for peace and neutrality?” she asked.

  Taken aback, the Royal grasped her wrist and pulled her closer to him, making Lucious let out a low, possessive growl.

  “Let her go!” Lucious snarled.

  “I will not harm her,” Ealdraed assured him then focused on her. “Tell me, what is it you wish to achieve by killing Arthemis?”

  “Honestly? I wasn’t planning on doing that. Lilia is the one driving the operation. All I want to do is live in peace with the people I love.”

  Ealdraed let her go, pondering her words in prolonged silence.

  “We have arrived, sir,” a redheaded hound, who Lucious recognised as William, said pulling to a stop on the dirt track.

  Lucious tugged Helena back and took her hand in his, unwilling to let her go as the Royal climbed out of the car and opened the door for them.

  “Please, come along,” Ealdraed ordered. The warning was unmistakably there, in the elder’s eyes.

  Lucious got out and helped Helena as well. They headed for the hill on which ancient stones stood tall. The night’s air became charged with energy the second Helena started getting closer to the stones.

  She rubbed her arms, and Lucious noticed her discomfort. He drew to a halt and grasped her by the arms. “Are you feeling unwell?”

  “It’s a little cold here, and I don’t think it’s because of the wind.”

  He nodded and released his shields enough to see the world around him with his hidden sight. Black energy swarmed the rocks which were shaped to look like pillars that supported the heavy slabs on top. Most of the stones had broken the perfect circular structure over the years, yet their energy remained in the right places, leaving ghostly pillars in their wake. The grass had withered away next to the structure, the blades bending to odd angles as if trying to escape but were kept there against their will by the roots. Taking a peek at the sky, his mouth pressed into a firm line. There was a murder of crows circling the spot.

  “What do you see?” she asked, pulling on his sleeve.

  He closed his shields and the birds along with the darkness vanished. “Nothing. I saw nothing.”

  She didn’t respond and followed the Royal who was growing impatient up ahead. Ealdraed waved one last time, and Lucious sighed. He started after them as there was no other choice.

  HELENA

  Helena knew he was lying to her about not seeing anything. The grass beneath her sneakers, although appear
ed green to the naked eye, felt lifeless. This place was like a point in time and space where death gathered.

  At the back of her mind, she felt Lilia watching. The fate’s nerves ricocheted under Helena’s skin and created goose flesh that wouldn’t go away from a single rub of the hand. The fine hairs on the back of her neck started to rise. With every step towards the powerful stones, her legs grew heavier and her stomach became a wicker basket of nerves.

  “You cannot allow them to awaken my son,” Lilia said in her mind. “He will bring much death and destruction to this world as he had done long ago.”

  “If we want to stay alive”—Helena paused in front of an archway that led to the inner circle of Stonehenge—“we may need to cooperate.”

  “Being alive is a luxury, Helena!” Lilia shouted with panic slipping into her voice.

  Ealdraed’s hand landed on her shoulder, and she glanced at him. His black eyes and dark hair reminded her of the times she saw him in Lilia’s past. A poor man, she thought. He has suffered greatly and never stopped paying the price for the choices he was never given. Behind his overpowering strength was a wounded soul brimming with pain that wanted release. He would never admit it to others. To his blood-brothers and blood-sister, Ealdraed was a shield and a shepherd. He was the eldest and knew their creator the longest.

  Lilia didn’t speak much with him in the past, yet Helena knew he had a good heart. So, if he believed that Arthemis had to be awakened for some reason, then perhaps things in their realm were worse than Lilia’s incessant need to wipe her mistakes from history.

  “Do you know the ritual?” Ealdraed asked, bringing her attention back to him.

  Helena shook her head. Those memories remained sealed, no matter how hard she tried to reconstruct them. “Only those who were present know about the ritual.”

  The Royal accepted her words and ordered the Council’s hound to keep an eye on her and Lucious. He sped downhill to the approaching set of cars.

  Lucious moved to stand by her side and snaked his arm around her waist. “We could leave here right now. I could take you away from all this and keep on running until my muscles tear and my life extinguishes.”

  Sadness filled her heart. He always wanted to protect her. Tonight, it was their destiny to be here. Just as it was her fate to go to the Angel Realm and link her soul to him a year ago. “Don’t you feel it, Lucious?”

  He frowned, taking in her blank expression. “Feel what?”

  “That this is where our journey led us to. We can’t fight against the current. It will forever bring us here, to this time, to this ritual.”

  “You are being foolish, Helena,” Lilia chided. “This ritual is not without sacrifice. People will die. Your friends will not be spared.”

  Helena’s blood ran cold when she saw Hartwin and Ben being forced out of the newly arrived cars. “What do you mean?”

  “Two people must die to unlock the gate. Why do you think I have kept it from Reaver and the others all this time?”

  Those gathered at Stonehenge seemed nervous even underneath their perfect masks of indifference. Helena looked to her right, seeing the Royals. All of them were standing except for Hartwin who was pushed down into a kneeling position next to Kallias.

  To her left, Reaver, Nora, and Niko were studying everyone in silence. She could see in Reaver’s eyes that he was plotting something she wasn’t going to like. That warlock had betrayed her trust more than once. He would certainly do something like that if given the chance. No doubt about it was in her heart.

  Lucious held her hand. He hadn’t let her go since they reunited. It was as if he needed to be tethered to her. At this time, she wanted his closeness, too. Without him here, her cool would vanish, especially since Ben was struggling in his restraints next to Hartwin.

  Kallias broke her train of thought by clasping his hands together. He smirked and pointed at another hill over a hundred feet east. “They finally came.”

  “So it would seem,” Ealdraed replied in a grim voice.

  Laclia stroked Ealdraed’s arm. “It would appear that Bion and Cenric couldn’t stay away.”

  Helena’s gaze travelled to the two strangers who were quickly approaching them. The larger one had to be close to being seven-feet tall. She could hardly distinguish where the night began and his skin tone ended. He wore camo trousers and a tight-fitting navy shirt. His rough, scarred face showed years of suffering. Long, knife-like lines marred the left side of his face, starting from under his eye and reaching his collarbone. Since his scars hadn’t healed, they must have been inflicted during his human life.

  The other man was slim and fragile-looking in his skinny jeans and a long purple frock coat. Short black fringe brushed against his forehead, almost reaching his moth-like brows that drew attention to his aquamarine eyes. Once they arrived at the centre of Stonehenge, pausing in front of Helena for a brief second, she noticed how the shorter man’s straight nose was a little crooked and his upper lip was much thinner than the other. Despite that, he still was a handsome man with his sharp chin and strong jawline.

  Laclia peeled away from Ealdraed and hugged the shorter man first. “Cenric, it has been a millennia since I last saw you!”

  He hugged her back with a charming smile and planted a kiss on his blood-sister’s cheek. “It has been a long time, oui.”

  She ran into the arms of the second man afterwards. “My beautiful Bion, you’re as stiff as a board.”

  Bion awkwardly patted her on the back and separated from her. He took a few steps towards Hartwin. “Did you betray us?”

  Hartwin lifted his eyes and assessed the others gathered around him. “I only did what I thought was right.”

  Kallias grasped Hartwin’s shoulder and squeezed until strained lines appeared on the Royal’s face. “You locked our father away. There is no excuse for you.”

  “Enough,” Ealdraed barked. He shook hands with the newly arrived men and strode to Helena. “We must begin the ritual. I do hope you will comply.”

  She swallowed the ball of nerves forming in her throat. Without realising it, her hand was gripping Lucious’. She should have taken him up on that offer to get away from here and never look back. Even if she did, her conscience wouldn’t let her escape in entirety. Such selfish actions would mean abandoning Ben and the others, something she wouldn’t able to do no matter how hard her heart battered against her chest.

  “Is she the one?” Cenric pushed past Ealdraed and reached for her, but Lucious stepped in his way.

  “Do not touch her,” Lucious growled.

  The Royal tilted his head to one side, curiosity filling his blue eyes. “We are your créateurs. You dare to defy us?”

  “Lucious, it’s fine,” Helena murmured, pulling him back. Against his protests, she moved to stand with her head held high in front of the Royals.

  “It has been très long temps, Lilia.” Cenric brushed her cheek, sending a sudden shiver through her system with his unpleasantly cold touch. “Non, not Lilia… Helena.”

  Her eyes widened. “How do you know my name?”

  Ealdraed indicated to Cenric’s hand. “Cenric is the fourth son of Arthemis. He is known as the Seer of the Mind. He is a mind-reader.”

  Cenric groaned and withdrew. “Mon frère, you ruin all the fun.”

  “You may have your fun later, brother. Right now, we must awaken our father,” Ealdraed said, and the others nodded. He offered Helena his hand. “Come with me and begin the ritual with the warlock.”

  “You don’t need to listen to them, Helena,” Lilia said at the back of Helena’s mind. “It will endanger humanity if you agree. You must stand your ground. Don’t give in.”

  “What if you’re wrong?” Helena shot back.

  “The reason you have peace is because I have put my son to sleep. He would have enslaved mortals otherwise. He is not someone you should bring back.”

  “What’s taking so long?” Kallias grumbled.

  “Helena?” Ealdraed a
rched a brow, assessing her immobile state.

  Kallias fleeted to stand behind Lucious. The Royal grasped Lucious’ hair and pulled on his head. Lucious fell backwards and landed on the ground. “Do the ritual or your lover dies here!”

  “You can’t do this!” Helena shouted. Strong arms captured her shoulders. When she turned her head, she found Ealdraed restraining her, keeping her back pressed to his steel-like body.

  Lucious groaned and tried to fight the Royal off until Kallias pressed a silver knife to his neck, stilling him.

  “Don’t make this worse for yourself, Lucious. It may appear unsightly for a Royal to kill a Councilman, but you’ve abandoned your duty to seek out a woman,” Kallias warned.

  “Helena,” Lucious whispered, meeting her worried stare. “Do what you think is right. Don’t give in to their demands.”

  “H-how can—” Her words failed her. She was unable to think when Kallias pressed the knife so close to Lucious’ neck that it began to bleed. The heavy weight in her stomach made her chest and throat feel constricted. It was becoming hard to breathe.

  Lilia’s warnings battled against her panicked thoughts. She needed to convince the fate to do the ritual. Yet, without a doubt, Lilia would sooner sacrifice everyone here than release her son into their realm. She faced Ealdraed again with watering eyes. “I don’t know what to do. Only Lilia does.”

  “Then bring her out, and we will deal with her.”

  “I will not be an instrument in their game,” Lilia hissed at the back of Helena’s psyche. “I would rather we all perish.”

  Torn, Helena was at a loss as to what she should do. She noticed Laclia edging closer to Ben. Most likely, she was going to use him as leverage. Closing her eyes, she dug deep into the memories of Lilia’s past. The unfairness and pain the fate had suffered were embedded in her soul, but Helena had to move away from those days and try to sift through the times she was with Arthemis and his children.

  “Helena, you’re making a mistake!” Lilia screeched.

  “There is no other way.” She forced further protests to fade into the endless replay of memories filled with pain and regret.