Troubled (The Binding Chronicles #4)

17. Death has Been Here

Death has Been Here

H alf an hour later, Marius stood beside his sister in the hallway outside his room.

“Ready?” Luna asked.

She’d changed into fighting leathers, braided her hair, and donned boots that came up to her knees.

Marius was dressed similarly, although he also wore a heavy, fur-lined black cloak across his shoulders. He ran his fingers over the hilt of his dagger, grateful that Phyrra had retrieved their blades from the humans and returned them earlier in the week.

“I am.” Marius bounced from one foot to the other, eager to leave. “Did you have a chance to talk with Sebastian about Vivienne?”

Luna shook her head. “Not yet.”

Damn. Even with all his excitement about leaving the castle, he could never forget about Vivienne. “She can’t stay down there, Lulu. This wasn’t her fault.”

He refused to let his bodyguard rot in prison for his mistakes.

“I promise I’ll talk to him,” she said .

Talking wasn’t enough, but it was a start.

Before Marius could push his sister further, Sebastian finished giving orders to several soldiers and came to stand next to them. He smiled lovingly at his wife, slipping his hand into hers.

“You look beautiful, darling.”

Luna blushed, her lips tilting up as she pecked him on the cheek. “Oh, stop.”

The king shook his head, brushing his thumb over her knuckles, and whispered, “Never.”

They gazed at each other, as if they’d forgotten about Marius’s presence.

He groaned. “I’m right here,” he reminded them.

Sometimes, it felt like the two royals forgot the rest of the world existed.

The queen’s flush deepened as she turned towards him. “I know.” She smiled at him, her left hand still in her husband’s. “Are you ready?”

“Absolutely.” Marius flexed his fingers, took a deep breath, and put his hand in his sister’s right one.

A familiar jolt of power ran through him, a reminder of the old prophecy.

“Hold on,” Luna said.

The warning was unnecessary. Marius wasn’t a vampire, but he was used to traveling through the Void. There were only two rules: don’t let go and try not to be sick.

He nodded, and a moment later, Castle Sanguis disappeared as shadows swallowed them whole.

Marius shivered as they entered a realm of darkness. There was no life in the Void. No light. There was nothing at all. It was silent, save for his steady breaths. It didn’t matter how often he traveled through here; he never quite got used to the sensation of being in a place of nothingness .

Time didn’t really exist in the Void. Seconds or hours could’ve passed before the shadows lifted, depositing them in a snowy forest.

Marius removed his hand from his sister’s, taking in their surroundings. They hadn’t shadowed directly to the trading post but rather to a nearby forest where Sebastian had previously been.

At first, it looked like any other Eleytan forest. Towering pines wore white coats, snow was piled beneath their feet, and a bitter breeze blew past.

But the longer Marius stood there, the more he realized something was wrong. The forest was unnaturally silent. There were no hooting owls, no singing birds, no howling wolves. There was nothing at all.

The hairs on the back of Marius’s neck stood on end, and he shivered.

Luna and Sebastian glanced at each other, and the king clenched his fist.

Marius inhaled, and the full wrongness of the situation hit him as the scent of death slammed into him. He would never forget the First’s putrid aroma. The fact that the ancient creature’s scent was here, in the absolute middle of nowhere, meant nothing good.

A sense of unease settled upon him, and a whooshing of wind came from his left as both vampires released their wings. The dark appendages spread out behind the powerful duo.

Sebastian drew in a deep breath, his nostrils flaring as he turned in a slow circle. The royal vampire exuded strength every day, but a violent, predatory aura rippled off him right now. He was in his element, one with the night, a king of the land, and nothing would stand in his way.

“Death has been here.” Sebastian glanced at his wife, his brows furrowed. “I suppose it would be out of the question for me to ask you to stay as far back as possible and let me handle this on my own? ”

Luna snorted and shook her head. “You could always ask, but we both know how that would turn out.”

The king sighed as though he was upset, but there was no mistaking the look of affection in his eyes as he bent and kissed her cheek. “I had to ask.”

“You did.” The queen smiled up at him. “I appreciate your efforts to keep me safe, even though they’re futile.”

“It’s a good thing I love you,” Sebastian grumbled.

“A very good thing,” she agreed.

The king grumbled affectionately as he took the lead, plowing a path through the snow. Marius followed him, and Luna trailed them both.

Once, Marius would’ve been insulted by the way they kept him in the middle, clearly wanting to protect him from both sides, but he’d accepted long ago that his sister was far more powerful than he’d ever be.

Between her actions the night Queen Marguerite died and during the Battle of Balance, there was no doubt in Marius’s mind that his sister would go down in history as one of the strongest vampires to ever exist in the Four Kingdoms.

He was incredibly proud of her.

The scent of death intensified as they walked through the woods, and Marius’s mind trailed back to Vivienne. He wished she were here.

His bodyguard would’ve been angrily stomping beside him, glaring at him, and constantly reminding him that this was a bad idea. He would’ve laughed, she would’ve chided him, and hours would’ve felt like minutes.

Gods, he missed her. Was it possible to miss someone he’d only known for such a short time?

A few weeks ago, he would’ve said no. But now…

Now, there was a spot at his side for Vivienne, and her absence was a hole he needed to repair. And he would fix it—the moment they returned to Castle Sanguis.

They hiked for nearly an hour before the wooden walls of a small, one-story log cabin came into view. A chimney protruded from the roof, but there wasn’t any smoke. Blinds were drawn over the windows, and the front door was shut.

A deep sense of wrongness thickened the air. The scent of death was stronger than ever, and each step felt heavier than the last.

Sebastian halted at the edge of the clearing, his shoulders tense. He held up a hand, the signal clear.

Marius and Luna immediately stopped. She pulled shadows from her hands, and he drew his dagger, his magic thrumming a steady beat in his veins. A warning.

Death lay ahead of them.

Dark wisps streamed from the king’s hands like snakes. They slithered across the snow and slipped inside the building. They weren’t gone for long before they returned to the king.

“Something is wrong,” Sebastian declared, rolling his shoulders. “I’m entering first.”

The king’s tone made it clear this was an order, which was fine with Marius. This wasn’t a safe place. The feeling of unease that had been plaguing him since they first arrived in the forest multiplied tenfold when they reached the front door.

Sebastian twisted the knob, and the door opened without any resistance.

A wall of decay slammed into them. Every one of Marius’s senses revolted, and he stumbled back a step. His nose wrinkled, and bile rose in his throat.

He’d seen death before, but this was far worse than that.

Both vampires turned sickly shades of green, and for once, Marius was happy his olfactory senses were less developed than the creatures of the night.

Sebastian made a retching sound, covering his nose with his arm as he entered the cabin. Marius grimaced, exchanging a look with Luna before following his brother-in-law.

“Oh, gods,” Marius’s eyes widened, and his stomach twisted at the awful sight before him.

This was far worse than anything he’d imagined.

Four bodies were piled in the middle of the room in a macabre display of death: three humans, and a headless vampire.

Clothes were shredded, bites covered every inch of skin, and the blood…

Gods above, there was so much blood.

Crimson painted the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. It was a macabre display of death and destruction. Wooden crates were stacked in piles of five against the walls, and blood coated their sides as well.

Scarlet pooled beneath the bodies, and a set of bare footprints led from the corpses to the door.

Luna whispered, “This is...”

Her voice trailed off, and she shuddered.

The king snarled, the dark sound echoing through this place of death.

Marius turned to the royals. “This was the First.” His voice was steady despite the bloody scene, and he clenched his fists. “I recognize the bites. ”

They were eerily similar to the ones the human woman had suffered.

“It’s a vile creature.” Darkness echoed in Sebastian’s words, and shadows swept out from him. “We must return to Castle Sanguis immediately and regroup.”

He didn’t give them any time to argue. They joined hands, and once again, they traveled through the Void. The journey back felt much quicker, and soon, the cold stone of the throne room was beneath Marius’s feet.

The moment the darkness dissipated, Marius pulled his hand from his sister’s and turned to face the royals.

“The First. It’s not… normal.” Visions of grey flesh and black blood flashed through his mind, and he shuddered.

He expected them to be shocked. Maybe to scream or shout or at least ask questions. After all, the creature was the oldest of their kind. Instead, Luna pursed her lips and exchanged a look with her husband before sighing.

“We know.” She frowned and rubbed her temples. “I’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this, that we would find another way, but now with the situation in Pern… I think we need to have a conversation.”

Marius narrowed his eyes and studied his sister. Had they hidden something from him? He didn’t exactly have a leg to stand on since he’d essentially run away the night of the ball, but he couldn’t help but feel slightly miffed.

“A conversation about what, exactly?” he asked.

“I did some research while you were healing.” Luna took his arm and led him up the dais, gesturing for him to take Sebastian’s seat. “It’s time I tell you about what I learned.”

Intrigued, Marius sat on the king’s throne. It didn’t surprise him that his sister had been doing research. Everyone knew she loved to read. People who wanted to gain favor with the royals bought the queen books, treats for her cats, or both.

Instead of joining them, Sebastian strode to the side door closest to the dais and called for guards. Several vampires entered the space, circling the king and listening as he gave orders. He sent several soldiers back to Pern to collect the bodies, while another team would try to track the First.

Luna sat on her throne and fanned her wings behind her. A Light Elf orb cast a violet sheen over her, giving her an ethereal look as she crossed one knee over the other.

Resting his elbows on his thighs, Marius leaned forward and met his sister’s gaze. “So you were researching the First.”

“I was.” Shadows slipped from her palms, darkening the space around them. “Tell me, Marius, what do you know about where the Firsts came from?”

He furrowed his brows, sifting through the many lessons he’d received from his various tutors.

“I know as much as the next person.” He lifted a shoulder. Academics had never been his strong suit. “The Firsts were original vampires who lost their minds, went feral, and were magically entombed for Eleyta’s safety.”

“Yes, that’s true.” Luna nibbled on her bottom lip and twisted her hands in her lap.

“Why do I sense there’s a ‘but’ coming?”

She grimaced, and more shadows flitted from her hands.

“Because there is.” Her voice lowered. “The thing is, the Firsts aren’t… common vampires.”

He’d figured as much since the creature didn’t die when he stabbed it in the heart, but something in his sister’s tone had a pit yawning in his stomach. “What did you learn? ”

“It seems there were some things left out of the history books. I had to dig deep to find out the truth about what happened. The Firsts weren’t just entombed.” She took a deep breath. “Let me tell you a story…”