Page 80 of Dark Souls

Anhourearlier…

Feeling battered and bruised but thankful to be alive, I gave my Grandma Maddy a rare hug before she helped haul me up to an upright position on my bed, plumping the pillows behind me. Most of my family were still in Heroux, dealing with the aftermath of the war that just so happened to start during my brief visit. My brothers had come out victorious, but I’d barely made it out alive.

“How’s your head?”

“In a world of pain. Being tossed into a tree trunk and knocked unconscious by a brutal magical force will do that, though, I guess.”

Grandma gave me a sympathetic smile as she untied the bandage around my shoulder. “Let’s check on this wound.”

I braced myself for the pain as she pulled back the last of the cloth to reveal where my brother sent a branch soaring through my shoulder. I couldn’t be angry with him, though. It was quick thinking on his part to find out if I was really being held captive by the evil he was up against or if I was just an illusion conjured up by the witch he was fighting. If the branch had sailed right through me, he would have known he was being tricked, but unfortunately, he didn’t, and I had been captured. I couldn’t even remember how it happened. One moment, Valina (the witch who was shagging my brother) and I were searching the woods for Leif when the war broke out. We didn’t want him to be alone. The next thing I knew, I was caught in a magical bind, floating in the air, about to be sacrificed by a vengeful evil. I may have come away with a concussion and a deep, burning wound through my shoulder that would leave a scar, but he had saved my life with that act. He had made a harrowing decision to save me, forcing him to sacrifice someone else he cared deeply for, and the guilt was eating away at me. I shouldn’t have gone. If I’d stayed here, that might never have happened.

“There is no use beating yourself up about it,” Grandma said softly when she noticed my pained expression. “What happened was not your fault just as much as it wasn’t Leif’s. In fact, what happened in that realm, to those people, is heart-breaking and tragic, but I firmly stand by my belief that everything happens for a reason. Without darkness, you could never truly appreciate the light.”

“Hardly seems fair though, does it? How can one life be more important than another?” I asked, forcing back the tears that threatened to surface. That realm had damn near destroyed the people I loved most in this world. Lorcan was hanging on by a thread, the emotional journey he’d been through nearly killing him. Neve seemed okay now, but the way she’d been treated when she’d arrived in that realm made my blood boil. And Leif…I could only imagine the pain and guilt he’d be feeling.

“It isn’t fair. But life isn’t always fair, sweetheart. Especially when it comes to war. But we are so grateful that you and your brothers are okay. That you made it through the last few days still breathing. Let’s focus on that, yeah?”

I nodded as she peered down at the wound on my shoulder, surprise taking hold of her features. Confused, I glanced down to see what she was staring at and my eyes widened. The wound was practically healed. The gaping wound, red and raw with scorched flesh from the wood that had ripped through me only a few hours ago, had completely disappeared, leaving only a small scar in its place. “What the…”

Yes, my vampire healing was better than a human’s, but real wood inflictions always took a while to heal.

“How strange,” Grandma said, brushing her finger delicately over the small scar as I stared at it in bewilderment. “That must be because they brought you back here as soon as you were hurt. Maybe the time difference helped you to heal quicker.”

’Or the powerful ancient demon blood that is still in our system?’ Rue interjected.

Or that.

I sighed, slouching back onto the cushions and closed my eyes. There was nothing quite like a near-death experience to make you realise how much you still hadn’t experienced in your life. If I had died, would I have died with regrets? Absolutely. So, I was going to stop pissing around and start taking action. Do all the things I want to do without letting outside influences get in the way. I was going to live every day like I might die tomorrow. Because who knows, I might. Everyone says your life flashes before your eyes when faced with death, but when I was in that binding spell, completely helpless, seconds away from my life being snatched from me, there were only two faces that appeared in my mind. Heathen’s and Red’s. Clearly, I had unfinished business with both.

I felt my grandma perch on the side of the bed, placing her hands on either side of my hips and I opened my eyes to meet her sparkling grey eyes. My gaze narrowed at the serious look on her face.

“What?”

“He came, you know. The day after you left. In fact, I’ve spotted him in the treeline of the village every night since.”

“Who came?” I asked, but somehow my heart already knew.

“Your broody bad boy.” She smirked, raising her eyebrows at me with a mischievous smirk. “You’re right. He is sexy.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t let Grandpapi hear you say that. Wait,” I panicked, sitting up a little straighter. “He came here? To the castle? Did Grandpapi—”

“No.” She shook her head quickly. “I found him snooping around the village, staring longingly up at your bedroom window like a love-sick Romeo. All very romantic.”

“Must have been someone else. Pretty sure Red doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body and there is no way in hell he’d be staring longingly up at my window.” I huffed, picking at the thread of my duvet.

“Roguish good looks, tattoos everywhere, piercing in his eyebrow and nose, scar down one side of his face, blood-red eyes that matched that rather charming tousled red hair… yeah, pretty sure there are plenty of men like that around.”

“He has piercings elsewhere, too.” I groaned, lifting my good arm to cover my face as a memory of all that metal in my mouth sprang to mind. I was going to hell. She chuckled. “And you spoke to him?”

“Yep.”

“I bet that was a riveting conversation.”

“Interesting for sure.” She smiled, patting my hand. “He’s… unique. I’ll give you that. Not a big talker, but there is one thing I’m certain of from my little interaction with him. He’s into you. Big time.”

“Now I know you have the wrong man.” I shook my head. “He told me he wanted nothing to do with me, Grandma.”

“Isn’t it you that always tells me that actions speak louder than words? He’s struggling with something, there is no doubt about that, but it’s certainly not his feelings for you.”

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