To Vanquish Darkness (Le Sombre #1)

Chapter 53

1836 COUNTRYSIDE BEYOND MORDELLES, FRANCE

A malie slung her satchel over her shoulder and tore the note from the dagger that held it in place, then yanked the blade from the wood. Words were scrawled on the paper, but she needed more light. She pushed into the house and strode down the hall to her uncle's study. He'd put out the candle, but she remembered where he kept his matches. Setting the note, her satchel, and the sword on the desk, she found them and struck a flame, then protected it with her hand while she crossed the room and lit the wick in the oil lamp.

She tamped out the match, leaving it to smolder, and strode back to the desk. Etienne helped Theo to a chair while Clémentine trailed her hand over the spines of books on her uncle’s shelves.

Wish I could have seen you in action. Helena says it's a sight to behold. I do hope you enjoyed yourself. -M

P.S. Your family is being cared for. Do join us when you have a moment.

Amalie read the words again, then retraced the letters a third time as if that would fill the pit opening up in her stomach. Theo was right. Marx had played her like a fiddle. She couldn’t tell if it stung more or less knowing she’d wanted to be played.

She wanted vengeance. He gave it to her. But she hadn’t recognized the cost.

"Well?" Etienne's voice was soft.

"She has them," Amalie snapped.

"Of course she does," Theo grunted.

Amalie whirled. "Don't, Theo. I don't need—" She crumpled the note in her hand. This is not a gift, Amalie. This is a flaxen cord. Amalie fell back against the desk, allowing it to hold her weight. Bethany, Matilde, and Ghislain. They were guardians, and they were now in the hands of vampires. Vampires that Theo hated, or worse, that he feared.

Theo hunched over his knees. "I didn't mean?—"

"I know what you meant." She struggled against the lump swelling in her throat. "I have to go," she whispered. She didn't give any of them a chance to speak before snatching her satchel and the sword from the desk and bolting into the hall.

She stormed into the kitchen, throwing whatever supplies she could find in with her extra clothes. A tin of sardines, the last bit of sausage and aged Comté, and a handful of dried figs.

She’d seen the sword at the river, and could still feel the pull south. That journey would take at least three days on foot. She’d have to find water on the way. Amalie strode to the front door, her arm still aching where the sword had cut.

“Wait.” Theo’s voice sounded behind her, but she didn’t turn.

She strode through the still-open door into the garden.

“Amalie, stop.” Theo gripped her elbow, and she yanked her arm away from him. This time he didn’t back down. He pressed forward until he was there in front of her, his hands pinning her arms to her side.

“I don’t want to hear what you have to say.” She struggled against him, turning her head and refusing to look at him.

Theo didn’t speak, his chest rising and falling against hers as she fought against his warmth, his scent.

Amalie began to shake, her grip on the sword faltering. “Theo?—”

“I’m not asking for your forgiveness.”

Her stomach dropped to her knees. “It’s true, then? What Ren said?” Her neck began to ache. She didn’t need to ask the question. She’d known it was true the second she’d looked in his eyes.

He did want to die, to be released from his curse. He’d just left out the part about taking her with him.

“If you’re not asking for forgiveness, what are you asking for?” Her voice trembled, and she flinched as Theo pressed a finger to her chin, tugging her face back to his.

“Will you look at me, please?” Theo’s voice rumbled through her, warmth flooding her veins.

No , rang out in her head, but her body refused to listen. Her chin tipped up, her eyes finding his.

Theo’s expression was soft. Pained. “I only want you to understand.”

“I understand plenty.”

His eyes shuttered, his thumb tracing along the edge of her jaw. “Indulge me, then.” Amalie’s breath caught as his fingers trailed beneath her ear lobe, feathering down the side of her neck. "I've watched this play out twice before. I’ve watched you fight. I’ve watched you be brave. You were born with strength Amalie, and you won’t be dissuaded. I’ve always admired that about you.” He exhaled, his tongue flicking over his lips. “The problem is, she won’t stop either.”

She. Helena. Amalie’s pulse quickened.

Theo paused, his jaw working. “I’ve tried to be honorable. I’ve tried to be brave. You asked me to protect your family, and I did—I have. But I don’t believe in the prophecy, Amalie. Not anymore. The relationship between vampires and guardians will never be healed, the light will never bond with shadow. It’s you and me. That’s all. And I don’t want to see you suffer—I can’t—” his voice caught, and he gritted his teeth.

His words floated around her, barely sinking in. The prophecy. Theo had never mentioned a prophecy, but as the word left his lips, her memory flared.

Theo’s downcast eyes. Your blood gave power to those who drank it. We had a friend who wanted it for herself.

Oren looking between her and Theo in the dining room. You believe it is her?

I know it.

The smirk on Ren’s lips. I was wrong. Then. But I’m not now . . .That’s how I knew she was the one.

The scrawled text in her mother’s book. Until the Day of Light, guardians will wait. They will serve. They will protect. And when she who is sent to bind appears, they will follow.

Power.

She was the one.

I know it.

“When was I born, Theo?” Amalie worked to clear the lump in her throat.

Theo stilled. “Which time?”

Her lip trembled. “You know what I’m asking.”

Theo cupped his hand over her cheek. “Amalie?—”

“Answer me. Please.” Tears spilled over onto her cheeks, and he searched her eyes.

He opened his mouth, then closed it, his fingers trembling against her skin. “Don’t make me say it.”

“Please, Theo.”

“I love you,” he whispered, kissing her temple. “I have to save you.”

She exhaled in a rush. “I don’t think you can save me from this.” The truth of it settled over her in layers. She who was sent to bind. What did any of it mean?

“I want to. I can.” Theo pulled back and dropped to the ground, picking up the sword. “All of this can be over.”

She shook her head. “Theo?—”

“This isn’t a game, Amalie!” His face twisted in anguish. Amalie’s ribs seemed to pierce her lungs. Theo gritted his teeth. “You were born on the Day of Light. You hold power never before seen, and still, she took you from me. It’s been over two thousand years, and the rift has never been repaired. We have fought together, and we have failed.”

Theo stepped closer, his eyes insistent. “Helena is a snake. She has one goal, Amalie. Kill anyone who could challenge her. You’re a guardian with power she’s desperate for, it’s why she bonded you in the first place. As soon as she has what she wants?—”

“What does she want?”

He dragged a hand through his hair and gave an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know. Ever since—” He hissed air through his teeth. “I don’t know what she’s after this time, but I do know this. As soon as you’re not useful, she will make you suffer. You’d be a fool to go to her.”

“Then I guess I’m a fool,” Amalie snapped. Her head throbbed as her mind scurried to gather the thousand threads whirling inside her and somehow weave them into a picture she could understand.

She glanced down at the sword in Theo’s hand.

The muscles in his arm flexed. “The prophecy was written thousands of years ago. It isn’t true—it can’t be true.”

Her chest felt as if it were cleaving in two. She could give him what he wanted. She could go to him, wrap her arms around his waist, and kiss him. Then close her eyes and ask him to take her with him.

She could pretend it didn’t matter. That her family would be reborn, that their lives would continue whether she chased after them or not. Theo had lived for thousands of years, and he didn’t believe she could make a difference. Who was she to say differently?

You were not made merely to fight the darkness, but to bring forth the light within it. Help them see beyond the shadow.

Amalie met his eyes. “Give me the sword.”

Theo’s shoulders tensed, his hands beginning to shake. “Amalie, please.”

She blinked back tears and held out a hand. She loved him. Not only in past lives, but in this one, as well. She knew it, could feel the truth of it pulsing in every cell of her body.

But there was another truth beginning to swell within her. One she couldn’t ignore, even if Theo had decided he would.

“I won’t watch this happen. Not again.” He threw the sword to the ground, his eyes burning as she stooped to pick it up.

She stood, and Theo moved toward her, a feral growl in his throat. Amalie raised the sword on instinct and Theo froze, his eyes locked onto hers.

“Do it then,” he said. Amalie’s skin flushed as she sucked in a breath. Theo didn’t blink as he dropped to his knees in front of her. “I made you a promise. I swore you could vanquish me if we found the sword, and now you have it.”

Amalie stared into his eyes, reading his pain and fear, letting it wash over her like rain. She reached out a hand, threading her fingers in his hair, then dropped to her knees in front of him. She reached for his hand and placed the hilt of the sword back into his palm, then held her arm next to his, pulling up her sleeve and forcing him to stare at the mark they shared. A piece of him etched into her skin.

“Who did you make a promise to, Theo?”

He gritted his teeth. “I told you?—”

“Not that one.” She shook her head. Theo’s breath came in ragged gasps. “I love you. Whatever you decide, I understand .” She brushed her lips over his cheek as her heart shredded to pieces. She pushed up from the ground, allowing her sleeve to fall back to her trembling wrist. “This promise is yours, Theo. Only you can decide to break it.”

Amalie gave him one last look, then turned and strode to the gate, leaving the sword at his feet.