Page 114 of Heir of Darkness

The car ride was silent.There wasn’t a single conversation that would have been appropriate for the moment they were in. Silence was the best option for the overbearing tension.

Overnight, the sky had dumped almost a foot of snow on the streets, leaving it difficult to drive. Most of the snow was untouched, pure and white. Come later in the day, it would be black and gray from the dirt of cars as they drove by. Cold, dry air accompanied the snow, leaving the dreary sky to feel like an omen of sorts.

She took in long, deep breaths, trying to keep herself grounded. By the time they were pulling into the driveway of their childhood home, her breathing was frantic once again.

Finn drove slowly, surveying the area around them. “Where the hell is everyone?”

Luna gave him a confused look, trying to figure out what he meant. That was when she realized it too. There was no security guard at the gate; in fact, the gate was wide open, allowing anyone to pass through. No guards walked around outside patrolling the area. No one even stood by the front door, waiting to greet people.

Her father was always the type of man to be fully armed at all times, his paranoia forcing him to believe he was never safe. There was no way in hell that he would leave his home completely unattended if he was there too.

“Are you sure you were supposed to meet with him today?” Luna asked. Her unease was growing by the second.

“Yes. He wouldn’t bail on me like this,” Finn said, his brows furrowed.

He parked the car, getting out and leaving Luna to follow after him. She didn’t have a gun of her own, so she trailed closely behind him. He kicked at the front door, smashing it open with brute strength. It was silent in the house.

Finn held up the gun, holding it in front of him in defense. Luna’s eyes were wide, taking in every inch of the home. It looked like her house; everything was still where it was her entire life. The only difference was that the house felt void of life. It was never a comforting home that exuded warmth and happiness, and Luna frequently referred to it as her cage. This feeling, however, was unusually still for their house.

Finn walked into the living room, while Luna decided to take the other side where the dining room was. The nice china was laid out, four plates with the accompanying silverware sitting on a piece of white linen tablecloth. It was completely dark inside the dining room with the blinds pulled down, but a small patch of light from the gray skies outside seeped in from one of the windows where the blinds hung haphazardly. Luna looked to the side, noticing little droplets of some sort of liquid leading into the kitchen.

Luna followed the trail, her blood running cold at the bloody handprints stamped on the walls of the kitchen. Blood was smeared on the floors and on the cabinets. The metallic smell brought bile up her throat.

“Finn,” Luna called out, fear in her voice.

He didn’t answer back. Immediately, panic set in her, forcing her to run back toward the living room.

He stood there in silence.

Her mother sat on the couch with blood covering her hands and most of her nightdress. Her hands shook as she lifted her head to look at Luna.

On the floor lay her father’s dead body. His eyes wide and lifeless, his white button-up completely soaked in the crimson liquid.

“What did you do?” Luna whispered, her eyes wide. “What happened?”

“I did what I had to do,” Eleanora said, her voice shaky. “I did it for all of us.”

“You killed him,” Luna said, clutching her stomach. “He’s dead.”

“You needed him out of our lives, and now he is,” her mother said, standing. “Now, I can see you.”

Luna couldn’t stop herself from turning around, throwing up everything in her stomach. The smell, God, the smell was worse than anything she had ever smelled in her life.

The image of him lying in his own blood, not a single breath escaping his lips anymore, was forcefully engraved in her brain. Her father was dead. Her mother killed him.

“You need to get out of here,” Finn said, snapping out of his daze. “If anyone finds out what you did, they will kill you.”

“You’re in charge now,” Eleanora said. “You make the rules.”

He shook his head. “You need to leave now. Where is your passport?”

“They’ll find me. It’s no use,” Eleanora said, walking closer to them.

Luna wiped her mouth, turning back around now. “You can’t stay here. Not now at least.”

“We’ll send you somewhere, to one of the properties,” Finn said, running a hand through his hair. “There must be a place he kept secret from his men.”

“I don’t want to go anywhere,” Eleanora insisted.

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