To Vanquish Darkness (Le Sombre #1)

Chapter 50

50

1836 COUNTRYSIDE TO MORDELLES, FRANCE

A malie rushed down the dark stairs, her satchel bouncing against her hip. The chilled autumn air bit at her skin as she stepped into the garden, clutching the sword. Theo stood next to the wall and Oren paced, his head bowed. Maurielle whispered to Bethany, Matilde, and Ghislaine who stood with their backs to the stone wall.

Theo came to life when he spotted her, and she ran to him, resting the blade of the sword against her palm to make it easier to carry.

"Is that what I think it is?" His voice was low, the shadows around him already moving toward him like waves in the sea. Amalie nodded. "How?" Theo reached out a hand, and Amalie's heart skipped a beat. She imagined him gripping the hilt, holding it up in the moonlight, then burying it in his own chest. You can vanquish me yourself.

Her head began to throb as she pulled it closer to her body. "We need to find Ren. Now."

“How did you get this?”

Amalie set her jaw. “Does it matter?”

“Yes.” Theo’s voice was sharp.

Amalie opened her mouth, then closed it again. It was a simple answer, but she struggled to give it. “Don’t make me say it.”

Theo’s placid expression cracked, tension coiling beneath his skin. The veins along his throat pulsed, and the darkness of the night seemed to pour into him. The shadows around them flickered.

“She was here?”

Amalie shook her head. “No. She sent a messenger.” She wanted to tell him about Marx. About how he’d been at the castle, how he’d found her in the stairwell and on the roof.

Theo held out a hand, and Amalie took a step back. She shook her head. “I have to find him, Theo.”

He took a step toward her. “Give me the sword. Please.”

Her eyes flashed. “I’m going to find?—”

“We should stay together.” Theo moved, and she instinctively thrust out her knee, but he pushed back, taking her arm with him and launching her off balance. “Not as simple when my hands aren’t bound.”

Her blood boiled as she regained her footing, her eyes shooting daggers at him. “Why would you defend him? He killed my mother.”

Theo’s jaw tensed. “We don’t have proof, but he did betray my trust. I promise he’ll pay?—”

She struggled against him. “Pay how, Theo? He took a life?—”

“Amalie, stop.” Theo’s arm trembled as he held her back. “I’m not defending him. I’m trying to protect you.”

She laughed. “You think you’re protecting me? You think you know what’s best for me?”

Theo’s eyes locked onto hers. “I know?—”

“You call yourself a protector, but you still think like them .” The words came unbidden, her hurt coating every thought in her head, making it impossible to think clearly. She wasn’t angry at Theo. It wasn’t his fault, and yet she couldn’t stop the onslaught.

Theo sucked in a breath. “I have no choice but to survive.”

“Neither do I.” She twisted, throwing out her free arm, and Theo seemed to evaporate and condense as he avoided contact.

“This isn’t survival, Amalie. You’re hunting. You’re becoming the very thing you hate.”

Amalie’s chest heaved, his words like a slap. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“I wouldn’t understand?” Theo’s breath came in quick bursts. “I’ve watched you die—watched you murdered twice . I held you in my arms. I saw the faces of those who sought to control you. Sought to own you.”

He forced her arm up, the sword glinting in the light of the moon. “This is not a gift, Amalie. This is a flaxen cord.”

Amalie’s arm dropped a fraction, and then he was there. Pressed up against her. “I know where this leads.” His eyes searched hers. “I’ve seen it. I won’t let you do this.”

Amalie’s chest tightened, her lungs refusing to fill. He was too close. Heat radiated from his body, and she shivered at the brush of his clothing against her skin. “I’m not asking for your permission.”

His nose brushed her cheek. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

His scent enveloped her, sending her head spinning. “I want justice.”

“It’s a cheap reward,” he snapped. “Trust me.”

Amalie held his gaze until she saw something retreat, a door closing behind his eyes. Theo cleared his throat and turned back to Oren, Maurielle, and the girls.

Bethany gaped at them, and Amalie dropped her eyes.

"We need to leave." Oren ushered his girls toward the gate.

"Yes, keep them safe." Amalie’s voice shook. "Theo can?—”

“I’m going with you.”

She paused, her eyes lifting. Before she could protest, Theo turned to Oren.

“I’ll meet you there. After.”

Amalie swallowed hard. "Ren is with the Pourfendeurs. I can speak to them.” Her cheeks flushed, hearing how feeble the words sounded in her own ears. She had no desire to speak to the Pourfendeurs. She wanted the truth. She wanted Ren dead.

"Show me the rings." Amalie motioned to Theo's right pocket, the deep well of anger and grief beginning to simmer within her. If Ren had been the one to kill her mother, if he'd lied to her and then tried to cover it up?

A cold, dark calm settled over her like a veil as she ran a finger over the crossguard. Theo did as she asked, pulling out the ring she'd found in her mother's box, then showing her the ring he wore on his own finger.

Amalie's blood began to hum. "Check the back. The signature." Theo frowned and twisted the ring, holding them up to the light. "It should be a small number pressed into the back of the metal."

Theo drew a breath. "Thirteen."

"On both of them?"

He nodded.

"You had them made by the same silversmith." She spoke faster, already striding toward the far gate.

"Years ago, yes. The old man’s probably gone by now."

Amalie glanced over her shoulder. "Which is exactly my point." Actually, it had been Marx’s point. She shivered, thinking of him lounging in her bedroom chair. How did he always know where she was? How did he always know exactly what to say? She will find you, Amalie. Her bond is slower to form, but when our mark appears, hers is quick to follow.

She felt as if her head was underwater by the time they reached the gate. Bonded. Theo could feel her. Helena could feel her. Why had one of their friends wanted her blood? Had she chosen this bond, or was the blood-red swirl on her arm proof that she’d rejected it?

Amalie stumbled once, and Theo lifted her into his arms. She dropped her satchel inside the wall, then clung to him as he pushed out onto the street. Theo didn’t say a word.

“You know where they are?” She asked before thinking. Of course he did. He’d watched her go to Marcel and Olivie the first time he bit her.

Theo began to move, and the world blurred around her. She held the blade of the sword pressed between her knees, safe from jostling against Theo’s body, then buried her face against his shoulder as they moved. With the wind against her cheeks, she could pretend they were flying.

In minutes, they stood at the end of the street. Theo set her feet on the cobblestones, and Amalie stared at the house ahead of them. Light filtered through the glass. It was the only house on the street without darkened windows.

“You believe he killed her.” Theo’s voice was low, his hand still resting on her elbow.

Amalie nodded. “Don’t you?”

Theo’s fingers tensed. “Ren is complicated. He was with us then. In the beginning. He was betrayed by Helena just as you were.”

Maybe that was why Theo couldn’t see it. Amalie didn’t remember Ren then. She only saw him for what he was now.

She drew a deep breath. “You know why I hunted you.”

“I do.” Theo’s voice was clipped.

“Then you understand what I have to do.” She ignored the pang in her gut as she walked up the street, struck by how different it was this time. She wasn’t hiding marks on her neck or working to cover her sobs as she climbed the front steps.

The house was silent. Calm. If Ren was planning a distraction?—

“I told you to get them out.” Ren dropped onto the porch from the roof of the house, his boots barely making a sound. He looked between the two of them.

“Show me your ring.” Theo’s voice was low and calm. Deadly.

Ren scoffed and pulled the chain from his shirt. “I already showed you?—”

Theo ripped it from his neck, and Ren growled. Theo ignored him, pulling the ring from his pocket and comparing the two. Amalie knew what he’d seen the second his eyes lifted.

“They don’t match.” Theo hurled the ring at him, and Ren stumbled back on the porch.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Theo lunged forward, and lights suddenly exploded in front of him, so bright Amalie stumbled back. The whistles and bells came next, and her heart jammed in her throat. No. This was an attack. The Pourfenders— “Marcel!” she screamed, willing her body up. She blinked, trying to make her eyes focus through the white spots in her vision.

But when the smoke cleared, she saw she was too late. Her hands. They were empty. Ren held the sword to Theo’s throat.

“Ren.” Theo spat the name, and Ren clenched his jaw.

“Don’t pretend to be angry, Theo. I haven’t betrayed you.”

“Let him go!” Amalie screamed, stumbling back to the porch steps. “Marcel! Olivie!” She was going to kill them—both of them—for going along with this. Her thoughts spun back to Servon. How Marcel had dismissed her, then taken her to breakfast in the morning. Ren. Of course, it had been Ren.

He hadn’t followed her. He’d known exactly where she was going. Had it been a coincidence that Marcel had been in the town square?

Ren’s face twisted. “Don’t take another step, or I’ll finish what you started.”

Amalie froze on the step, her ears ringing. “I know you’re out there,” she hissed, scanning for any sign of Marcel, but there was nothing.

Theo’s eyes were fixed on the sword hovering beneath his chin. “How long were you with her?”

“It was only the summer.” Ren’s expression darkened, and Amalie felt like she had suddenly fallen through a ceiling made of glass. Only the summer.

Lapping streams. Plucked bluebells.

It had been the best summer of her life. Until it wasn’t.

“How did you find her?”

Ren’s throat worked. “It wasn’t hard. Once I tracked?—”

“Paul. He told you.” Theo’s hands shook. “You were watching her.”

“I thought you knew—that you’d found her again.” Ren chuckled. “You’re always watching, and you’re meticulous. Always spending time in strange places, trying to make sure nobody sees your true focus. You left for years, never visiting the Clermonts. Never visiting anywhere close to the river.”

Theo growled low in his throat, but Ren pressed the sword closer to his neck. “I was curious,” Ren continued. “That’s all. I was curious if she was what I suspected. And when I found out she was a guardian, I knew it must be the same bloodline.”

Amalie’s breath came in shallow gasps. I was curious.

Ren exhaled. “I did care for her, you know. She was lovely. So selfless. But then I tried the ceremony, and it didn’t work?—”

“What ceremony?” Amalie’s throat grew so tight she could barely draw breath.

Ren ignored her. “I didn’t know for sure. ”

“You were wrong.” Theo struggled against his grip, but Amalie’s heart skipped a beat. No. One flick of Ren’s hand and Theo would be taken from her. He’d never wait for her. He’d never watch.

“I was wrong then. But I’m not now.” Ren lifted his eyes and looked directly at Amalie.

Theo’s face twisted. “Even I don’t know that for sure.”

Ren’s eyes gleamed, and he gave her a wicked smile. “He knows.” He dropped his gaze back to Theo. “I’ve known you for over two thousand years, and I was there the first time you got that look in your eyes. At the castle. The way you looked at her before she sliced through your spine. That’s when I knew she was the one.”

Amalie’s mind spiraled. They’d been hunting her. Theo, Ren, Marx, whoever this Helena was. But why had her mother died? If she was the one they wanted, why had Ren targeted her?

None of it added up. Theo needed her to find the sword which now sat in front of them, its hilt grasped in Ren’s right hand.

Helena had the sword. She held the power to vanquish any vampire she wished, so why hadn’t she come for them? Why had she offered it as a gift?

“Why kill her? If she was meant to find this for you, why take her life?” Amalie’s voice shook. She needed to end this. She needed answers and she needed to get Theo to safety.

Ren’s eyes darted between her and Theo. “You haven’t told her?”

Amalie stepped forward. “I know who you think I am. I know I was meant to find the relic?—”

Ren laughed out loud, his voice caustic in the still night air. “Oh, Amalie. Is that what you believe? Theo, I’m impressed. You’ve truly outdone yourself this time.”

“I told her what was necessary.” Theo’s jaw worked.

“Necessary to keep her pliant.” Ren took a step closer. “I understand why you’re upset. I should’ve told you about Rachel, but you of all people should have compassion for my circumstances.” He lowered his head. “ I told her what was necessary .”

“You broke the bonds of our coven. You killed a guardian.” Theo gasped as the blade bit into his skin, beads of blood forming against the side of his neck.

“You wanted this!” Ren hissed.

Amalie clenched her jaw to keep from screaming. Ren’s words made a pit open up in her stomach. She’d wanted Theo dead. She’d tried to take his life.

But then she’d seen too much.

Ren dropped his voice, his breathing ragged. “I did this for both of us, Theo. I swear to you. I was only trying to get us what we wanted. There is a way for neither of us to suffer, you only have to allow me to complete this.”

I did this for both of us. Amalie couldn’t keep silent a moment longer. “Theo, what is he talking about?” She needed to get the sword out of Ren’s hands, but how? He was faster than her. Theo was stronger than both of them combined, but with the blade tight at his throat, he could barely draw air into his lungs.

“What am I talking about? Isn’t it obvious?”

She glared at him. “That Theo wants to die?”

Ren’s eyes glinted. “No, Amalie. That Theo doesn’t want to live in a world without you. And he’s willing to take both your lives to make it so.”

Movement caught her eye, and she held her breath. Marcel stalked around the corner with Olivie trailing him. He didn’t look the least bit surprised to see Ren standing on his porch in the middle of the night holding another vampire against his will.

“Marcel. Olivie—” Amalie started, but neither of them looked at her. A sob choked her as Marcel lifted his hand. A small glass vial glinted in the moonlight. It looked like the one that fell from her mother’s box.

Theo’s eyes dragged to hers, and he looked more creature than human. “Amalie, I didn’t—” he rasped, as Marcel plunged the needle into Theo’s flesh.