Chapter 92 From The Ashes

Chapter 92 From The Ashes
\[Vance’s POV\]

Shouts and snarls erupt around me as I burst into the mansion ahead and begin to look around. Why the fuck would Tabitha be stupid enough to go in alone when she knew that my father was most likely waiting for her?

As this thought hits, two of my father’s men rush toward me. Growling, I lift my hands and connect with them. Once I’ve got control, I lift and throw them into the next line of men that are making their way toward me.

Behind me, I can hear Atticus, and when icy bullets begin to erupt around me, I extend my senses until I feel Tabitha.

“I’m heading up!” I announce, taking in the scene around me. “Can you handle it here?”

“Yeah,” Atticus puffs, switching out the weapons on his arms for something stronger. “Just don’t forget; I need that heart.”

Nodding, I begin to move, only stopping long enough to dodge a sneak attack.

“Nice try,” I grin, kicking out and sending the man crashing into the wall and then moving forward so that I can grab his head and twist until I hear a crack and know that he will be out of commission for a minute. “But I don’t have time for you.”

Satisfied that he isn’t going to bother me, I begin to move again, but when I reach the bottom of the stairs, white, hot pain sears through me.

“Fuck!” I growl, reaching up and clutching my chest. “Tabitha!”

I didn’t have to question what I was feeling. I knew that I was feeling what she was through our bond, thanks to my marking her. Ignoring the pain that continues to grow, I take the stairs one at a time, and when I reach my father’s room, I kick the door open.

With wide eyes, I take in the cage that sits in my way and the woman in the middle of it, who is completely covered by sunlight. She’s curled in on herself, trying her best to get away from it, but with nowhere to hide, she is left to suffer.

“No!” I snarl, moving forward but stopping as the sun touches my skin. “STOP THIS!”

In front of the cage is my father, and he watches the scene with a look of satisfaction on his face. Of course he would enjoy watching the one that stands in his way perish, but why? Why was he so fucking hell bent on killing her?

“Why are you doing this?” I growl, reaching out while ignoring my skin, which is beginning to burn. “What did she ever do to you?” I continue, wrapping my hands around the bars and lifting.

“It isn’t what she did to me,” my father counters. “It is what she did to all of us. She is the reason we are trapped in darkness.”

Her fault? How the fuck was it possibly her fault?

Dammit! I didn’t have time to even consider this. With each passing minute, Tabitha was burning more and more. I needed to get this cage from around her, and then...

As the cage budges, hands wrap around my arms, and I find myself being pulled backwards, but when I reach out in an attempt to use my abilities, I find that they don’t work.

I realize that the ones holding me are my siblings, but something about them is off. Their eyes seem blank as they stare ahead, and they are almost like puppets.

“Son of a..."

Was my father using all of his children to achieve his goal? If that was the case, why did I manage to avoid it?

Honestly, I didn’t have time to think about it, not when Tabitha’s body was growing more and more still.

Letting out a growl, I twist, freeing my arm from my sister’s grasp and then attacking my brother, who doesn’t even attempt to stop me. I hate that I’m even having to do this, but right now the only thing on my mind is saving Tabitha before it's too late.

Once I’m free of them, I move, but am stopped as they attack, sending me crashing away from the room. Jumping up, I avoid another attack and rush back into the room just in time to see Tabitha’s head rise to take in my father before she turns to ash.

“NO!” I roar, beginning to see red.

Letting out a feral snarl, I move, rushing around the cage and slamming my body into my father’s while cackles of triumph escape him. Together, we crash to the floor and begin to struggle for dominance.

“It’s done!” My father says in glee. “I’ve saved us from the darkness!”

“Did you?” I growl, grabbing him and flinging him towards the sunlight that glows from above. As he hits, his skin begins to burn, and he quickly scurries out of the way. “You did nothing of the sort!” I continue, getting to my feet. “YOU FUCKING KILLED HER FOR NOTHING!”

Rushing forward, I attack again, connecting my foot with his stomach, so he crashes into the cage and the sunlight. I didn’t give two shits if he was my blood; what he did was wrong. Killing an innocent for your own selfish reasons.

Again and again, I attack as my anger and pain continue to rise until he lays on the ground, unmoving. Even then, I still want to attack, but am stopped by hands clasping me.

“DON’T FUCKING…” I begin, but stop as I find Atticus standing behind me.

“I think you’ve killed him,” he says once I start to relax. “Where’s Tabitha?”

As he speaks, he begins to look around the room, taking in the wreckage that I left behind, until his eyes come to rest on the human-shaped ashes that cover the floor. For a moment, he doesn’t speak as he examines them, but soon understanding and then rage forms on his face.

“That’s,” he growls, turning his gaze to the man he stopped me from attacking. “Please tell me it isn’t…”

“Tabitha,” I finish for him.

A hollow feeling begins to form in my chest and race through my entire body as I slowly come to accept that not only had I lost my twin, but also the woman that I was beginning to fall for.

“How?” Atticus demands, pressing his hands against the cage and turning it to ice so he can burst through. “HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?”

I wasn’t strong enough to protect her. I was too fucking caught up in my own head and my familial ties to fight harder.

“I’m useless,” I murmur, collapsing to my knees.

“That’s right!” Atticus snarls, turning and attacking me. “OR WERE YOU STUCK IN YOUR FUCKING HEAD BECAUSE IT WAS YOUR FATHER’S DOING?”

Anger drips from each and every one of Atticus’ words, and when his hand connects with my face, I don’t attempt to stop him.

“YOU FUCKING BASTARD!”

Not bothering to hide his pain, he hits me again and then another time until the taste of iron fills my mouth, but even then he isn’t satisfied, and I’m not either. I deserved this because I was the reason Tabitha was gone.

“Kill me,” I rasp, fixing my gaze with Atticus’.

“Like hell, I’ll do that,” he growls, punching me again. “That would be too easy.”

Jumping up, he spits at me before turning to my father, who continues to remain unmoving. It was clear that he wasn’t dead since he hadn’t turned to ash, but we didn’t know how much longer he would be alive.

“We need to lock him up,” Atticus mutters, slowly coming to his senses. “Before…”

He doesn’t finish his sentence as rustling sounds come from in front of us. At first, it sounds like the gentle pitter-patter of feet against the hardwood floors beneath us, but soon it turns into a roar before the room is filled with wind that causes Tabitha’s ashes to begin to swirl.

“What the hell?” Atticus hisses as they continue to move faster and faster until they’ve formed what looks almost like a tornado. Inside the tornado is what looks like a person, and when they finally settle, there standing in the sunlight with no issue is Tabitha.