Crumbling Control (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 3)
Page 32
Karl glided over and landed his fist in Lucious gut, summoning a grunt from him.
Lucious doubled over and his knees abandoned their ability to support him. The hounds caught him, binding his wrists with silver shackles behind his back. He tried shaking them off, but Karl knocked him out with another hit directly to the face.
“Let me go!” Lucious screamed. He could feel liquid silver in his veins burning, weakening him.
Hans sat in an armchair by the door with his arms folded. “Lucious, please, a few more minutes and you’re free to go.”
“What about Ghoul Master, did he say anything?”
“We’ve had no word from him since the collapse of the main building. We sent our hounds on a search.”
Full of anguish, Lucious glared at him. At the back of his mind, he knew this was logical. He knew he couldn’t reach her with the sun ruling over the city. Positive thought did nothing as the bad feeling didn’t go away. If the hunters kept her alive, he would save her. He would get to her and kill every last one of them as long as he could remain standing.
Hans checked the time again and undid the locks on the chains that bound Lucious’ limbs to the bedposts. “There, you’re free to go…”
Lucious didn’t wait any longer. He grabbed the vampire by the back of the head and sank his teeth into Hans’ neck. The Councilman struggled, but Lucious grasped his throat, digging his fingers into Hans’ windpipe.
“Move and I’ll kill you,” Lucious snarled into his ear.
Hans gave a slow nod and lowered his arms.
Taking enough blood to remove the effects of colloidal silver in his veins, Lucious grabbed the car keys and fleeted out of the building. He climbed into the car and sped to Croydon, possibly breaking every human speed limit restrictions. As the sun disappeared, painting the sky red, he tensed. Even though the car was going at maximum speed, it wasn’t enough.
By the time he arrived, he found two cars parked on the country road. One of them he knew belonged to Alexander and the other was Byron’s. He ran past the vehicles and down the road. There, he saw their silhouettes in the field. Alexander squatted in the middle of it, and Byron was headed towards the oak over two dozen metres ahead.
Lucious stopped next to Alexander and saw her. Pale, bloody, motionless. If his heart could still beat, it would tear its way out of his chest.
“Alexander,” Lucious growled his name full of venom. “Give me a reason not to kill you.”
His friend bowed his head low, saying nothing.
It hurt. Even in this situation, he couldn’t raise a hand on his friend. Lucious collapsed to his knees and gathered her in his arms. The warmth of her body was long gone. The hunters must have killed her hours ago. He pushed the stray locks of hair out of her face. It was as if she was asleep. After all, she couldn’t have left him. She promised to stay…
“I’m sorry, my friend,” Alexander whispered. “I will take a look at her parents.”
Lucious rocked her back and forth, willing her to stir or awaken. He wanted to see that same shy smile or the stubbornness on her face once more. When nothing happened, he called out her name, softly at first. His vision blurred with tears. His entire life crumbled around him with her existence fading from it. The sole light in his life was vanquished by those he had tortured for centuries. The irony was not lost on him. Would their fate be different if he had spared those hunters back then?
He pressed his lips to her cold forehead and his anguish turned to rage. When he saw people advancing, he glared at them.
Fire burst before their feet, and Byron backed them away a step. “Lucious, we need to get the parents checked out at the hospital. Her mother is unconscious.”
“Let me take her, son,” Richard offered.
“No one touches her!” Lucious shouted, and the flames shot higher.
They stepped back, circling the outline of the fire a safe distance away. Lucious listened as they headed towards the cars.
“Please, wake up,” Lucious whispered into Helena’s ear. His tears wet her tangled hair. “Please…”
“She’s gone,” Michael said.
Lucious lifted his head and found her guardian standing there in his dark coat and with grief evident on his face. “You should have stopped her!”
“I tried. When it came to you or her family, she was too stubborn.”
“You should have forced her to stay,” Lucious countered.
“It is the choice she made.”
Lucious buried his face in her neck, pressing her to him. Her scent surrounded him. He finally could distinguish the flowers in it—violets and lilies.
“You really did love her…”
“Of course, I did,” Lucious snapped at the impudent angel. “I would have given everything I have to have her. I would take my own life now if it would mean she could have another day to live!”
“Then you must behead her as the last grace,” Michael said.
“What?”
Michael looked at her pasty face. “Kallias’ blood is in her system. She will awaken as a ghoul, his ideal puppet in this war.”
“But, she would return…”
“As a slave,” Michael corrected him, shattering the illusion Lucious was desperate to build. “Since you are incapable of letting her go, you must do this one last task to let her soul rest.”
Lucious scowled at him. “What did you mean by those words?”
“I have watched you two. Even if it meant her death, you wouldn’t be able to let go of her, so there is no way for me to help.”
The angel’s rhetoric brought back the fate’s words. He was her protector because he couldn’t give Helena up. No matter the cost or the lives he would need to sacrifice, he selfishly wanted to keep her by his side.
“And if I give her up?”
“Then I will help you bring her back. Helena’s soul had suffered enough in this cycle. To seal Lilia’s conscience, she must stay away from the supernatural beings. Always.”
“Could I see her?”
“No. If you wish for her soul to live out its full life, banish the thought of having her. Do something I could not all those millennia ago.” Michael swallowed and added, “It was my selfishness that brought this girl so much pain. It is also your greed that continues to make her suffer. So, when I am gone, to keep Lilia contained and Helena alive, erase her memory.”
“I thought I couldn’t influence her.”
“Only when the soul-bond is formed. Do we have an agreement, vampire?”
Lucious settled her on the soft grass and pressed his forehead to hers. “I love you…” he whispered. Meeting the angel’s eyes, he said, “I accept.”
Michael knelt on the ground opposite him, with Helena lying in the middle. He raised his hand to her chest and the golden light irradiated his palm. Shimmering particles of energy seeped into her body, and Michael groaned in pain.
When Lucious looked up, the angel’s leg was disappearing and, soon after, his face began to vanish, too. “What is happening to you?”
“I am interfering with Helena’s fate. In three days, before she would awaken as a ghoul, her soul would have returned to the Well of Souls to be recycled. I am severing that tie.” He gritted his teeth and, as the last part of him faded, said, “Goodbye, my Lilia.”
The demon’s bracelet fell away from Helena’s wrist, plopping softly onto the glass. She gasped and shot up into a sitting position. Her eyes, one hazel and the other sapphire-blue told Lucious how close Lilia was to taking over her body. He hugged her close, feeling the warmth slowly returning to her. And, there it was—a human heart pumping strong in her chest.
“Lucious?” Helena asked in a hoarse voice. “Where are my parents?”
Pulling away, he kissed her on the lips, silencing her queries. He longed to hold her, one last time. As he claimed her mouth, he wished for one more minute with her before he had to take away her memories.
“I will always love you, Helena. You are my heart,” he
murmured. More tears escaped him. “You are my eternity, even if you will not know me after tonight.”
“What are you saying? Why?”
He focused on her wild eyes, letting his energy coil around her as she succumbed to his influence. Lucious cupped her cheeks, running his thumbs over the smoothness of her skin for the last time. “You, Helena Hawthorn, will forget me. You will forget every supernatural creature you have encountered in the past.” His voice cracked, and he desperately wished to take his words back. “My love, you are a normal girl, with a normal family, and have moved to the US to study. And now, you will sleep.”
The blue in her left eye faded and her eyelids closed. Lucious caught her and carried her out of the field.
Tomorrow, you will be gone, my dear. Tomorrow, you will be alive…
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Find out what happens next in:
Fated Origins (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 4)
About the Author
“Lover of cake, life, and writing.”
May was born in the little Eastern country called Ukraine where winters are harsh and summers are too sunny. Having moved to Ireland at the age of twelve, she learned to appreciate the temperate climate and became addicted to tea, too.
In her spare time, aside from writing, she likes to daydream of character murder (hopefully, it is the bad guys), plotting the next mystery, watching TV series, or simply diving into books.
May is a fan of fantastical, horror, and a sucker for romance.
You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, or her website for more information!
Dedication
To my mother, Elena.
You are the light, the smiles, the only person who calls me and asks if I’m still alive.
Love you, Mum!
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank everyone who helped put this book together, especially A. Santos, M. Soriero, L. Andrews, and Dominica. You guys are awesome and thank you so much for all the effort you put in to make this book shape into something readable!
About the Author
“Lover of cake, life, and writing.”
May was born in the little Eastern country called Ukraine where winters are harsh and summers are too sunny. Having moved to Ireland at the age of twelve, she learned to appreciate the temperate climate and became addicted to tea, too.
In her spare time, aside from writing, she likes to daydream of character murder (hopefully, it is the bad guys), plotting the next mystery, watching TV series, or simply diving into books.
May is a fan of fantastical, horror, and a sucker for romance.
You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, or her website for more information!