Page 41 of Elegy of Twilight
“You really are a moon goddess, aren’t you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t feel divine, just very human and prone to making mistakes.”
“Aren’t we all? Ironic how we can focus on doing something wrong in order to make something right happen when that’s no way to exist. We should focus on truth and purity and love. I lost sight of it.”
“I did too.”
“Ah, but you were meant to be a sacrifice, to give your life in exchange for others.”
“Instead, I fell prey to lust, then love.”
“I will not judge you because I did the same.”
I glanced back at the towering walls of the abbey. “It makes me wonder how many of us walk aroundwith secrets, who think we are doing right when we are causing harm to ourselves and perhaps to others.”
Edith traced her fingers over my runes, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “It’s the light within us that empowers us to make better choices. We always have to remember to reach for it instead of giving into the grayness, to the darkness brought on by twilight.”
“You’re right, and I like the way you put it. It’s the light that broke his curse.”
“If you love him, you should take a chance on him,” Edith encouraged.
“I have to make a choice, but I’m not sure what it will be yet.”
The back door swung open, and the High Priestess stepped out. “It’s time.”
21
LUCIA
Titus led the way into the tunnels, my hand firmly in his. The caverns were cold, damp, and even darker in the daylight. Despite the armed knights behind us, the darkness was even more unnerving. The flicker of every shadow felt like the breath of a monster, rising out of the rock walls to strike down the knights.
Even as we led the way, I sensed the hesitation, the tenseness in their muscles as they spoiled for a fight. With that knowledge came the fear that Titus and I were vastly outnumbered. Once the vampires were dead, nothing I could do would stop the knights from running Titus through on the edge of their blades.
“I need my lute,” Titus announced, pausing in front of a doorway. “I’ll be right back.”
“No!” Captain Elroy’s raised voice echoed down the pathway. “We will not fall prey to your music again.”
Titus released my hand and sidestepped into the entrance anyway. “The music is not for you. This time, it will not harm you. All the same, close your ears if you must. This is how I fight the vampires, and when the time comes, you’ll be glad of my help.”
A minute stretched, and then he was back again. Cradling the lute in one arm, he took my hand and led us deeper. The torches the knights carried lit up the place, showing carvings on the walls, some murals, and great paintings of man and monster alike.
My runes tingled as we weaved further in until, at last, we stepped into a cavernous hall, a circular orb like a moon set in stone. Deep grooves covered the ground. As the knights walked around the cavern, I saw that it was a sort of design. Four deep grooves ran toward the middle of the cavern where a section of the floor was raised. The hairs on my arms stood up straight as I realized what it was—a place of arcane sacrifice. A place where the blood ran to be lapped up by the beasts who fed. This placehadn’t been designed by mindless bloodsuckers, and again, I thought of the giants of old who used to live in the mountains. They’d given in to evil and darkness. Because of their sins, they’d become the undying.
“This is where we will fight,” Titus announced. “Pick your battle stations, and I will lure them out with my song.”
His fingertips touched the strings of the lute. A melodic sound echoed through the chamber.
A bead of sweat dripped down my brow because I had come to the place of battle. I wasn’t ready, but this would be my sacrifice, the true demonstration of what I’d do to save the village, to lay down my life to save others and to help Titus.
Captain Elroy called out orders, and his knights spread around the chamber, swords and shields in hand. Occasionally, Captain Elroy fired a question at Titus, who responded with further guidance. My heart throbbed, my breath coming short and fast while they assembled. The enormity of the place overwhelmed me, and every shadow looked like an enemy. I recalled the way the vampires morphed and shifted as they climbed the hill, the pale orbs of their eyes shining in the darkness, wicked sharp teeth ready to sink into warm skin and drain all life away.
“Look at me,” Titus said, his voice a gentle command.
I ripped my gaze from the activity surrounding us and met his sky-blue gaze. His eyes shimmered like the deep pools the waterfalls created. Mesmerized, my fear faded.
His fingers tightened around my wrist. “Look only at me. Not at them, not at the chaos and carnage soon to come. You are pure, full of beauty and light and love. Don’t let the madness that is about to take place taint you. No matter what you hear, keep your eyes closed. Listen to the music and shine. Shine for me.”
“I will.” The promise easily left my lips.
