Chapter 259 259

Chapter 259 259
He sets me down again, and it’s the presence of his brother that reminds me there is another pain in my heart that cannot be soothed. As if he could read my thoughts, Caelum offers me his arm. I link my elbow with his, and we begin walking through this battlefield that has seen so much slaughter it will bloom from the blood spilled. We walk for minutes, neither of us breaking the silence at first.

“I think I’m cursed,” he finally says.

“Why do you think that?”

I don’t take my eyes from the path ahead, losing myself in my thoughts. Or maybe I’m just too much of a coward to face his gaze, knowing the pain I’ll find there. It’s hard to breathe every time I remember what I’ve lost, what I can’t recover, what no gift will ever give back to me.

“What were the chances that my soulmate would be your daughter?” He smiles with a love that has died before it could bloom. “Maybe my fate is to live without ever knowing what it feels like to be loved.”

“Caelum, I…”

“Let’s keep this a secret.”

“What?”
“I don’t want anyone to know what Bryelle was destined to be for me.” He looks me in the eyes. “It’s better this way. Cassian wouldn’t have approved anyway, let’s spare ourselves the bitter drink. I’m sure it’s the last thing you need right now.”

“Are you sure?”

He nods.

“What would it have been like?” I ask, full of curiosity and pain at once. “She was only a baby, and you…”

“I hope you know I would never have gone near her until she was an adult. I never would have tried anything, even if, when the time came, she had decided it wasn’t what she wanted. I would have accepted that slow death if it was her choice.”

“It’s still hard for me to believe something like this is possible.”

“Vampire bonds are sometimes seen as a curse. From the moment two souls destined to meet are born, they will spend their lives searching for each other. Maybe it’s your greatest enemy, or your lifelong friend. You can fight against it if you want, though your fate will be nothing but death. Or you can accept it.”

“How do you accept something like that?”

“There isn’t a right way. Some say it’s through the exchange of blood. I suppose now I’ll never know.”

“I’m so sorry, Caelum.”

“Maybe it seems selfish and a little surreal. But it hurts to talk about her, you know? I didn’t even see her more than twice; however, the moment I heard her first cry, my insides twisted. Is that how you feel with Cassian? Because if that’s the case, it’s the most fucking terrifying thing I’ve ever faced. At first, I felt dirty—it was a baby… By Mother Lilith, how did all this happen?”

“These bonds don’t follow any logic.” I place a hand on his arm. “I believe you when you say you never would have gone near her, I know it, I know you well enough. You would have waited until she grew up and chose you. Because that’s who you are, Caelum—you want to be loved, but you don’t want it to be a lie.”

“I suppose we’ll never know now.”

“She would have loved you,” I say, tears stinging my eyes. “You’re very easy to love, Caelum Amery, and I’m sure Bryelle would have been one of those people for whom it is impossible not to love.”

“I’m sorry for everything that happened, sorry for being a stone in the road for you and Cassian, and most of all, sorry that you lost her, Elara.”

“We both lost her.”

“I don’t take back a single word I told you the night you left the villa.” He pats my hand affectionately. “You’re the friend I’ve spent my entire existence waiting to find. You’ll always have me by your side, whether to talk or to remind that arrogant vampire of his place. You’ll always have a place in Amery Villa and a chair at my table.”

“I agree with what my brother says,” adds Azrakiel, slinging an arm over my shoulders.

I smile at them both with sadness, but also with a touch of joy dancing among my tears. A male voice clears his throat behind me and I don’t need to turn around to know who it is. When I face those blue eyes I thought I’d never see again, a smile pulls at my lips.

“Shall we go back?”

He extends his free hand to me while keeping the other linked with Azeroth. I slide my palm over his and do the same, offering my hand to Caelum. One by one we grasp each other’s hands, forming a chain. I meet Zerion’s eyes, his face streaked with the blood and sweat of battle. He nods in acknowledgment and I respond with a crooked smile. I cast one last glance at this battlefield where I thought I would completely lose myself and close my eyes when a tingling spreads through my body. When I open them again, I’m face to face with Virelya, who holds in her hands a small bundle wrapped in blankets where I know lies the reason I cannot let grief consume me. There will be very difficult days, I know that when the adrenaline fades after what I’ve just done—bringing Cassian back—the bitter reality will drag me into the dark corners of my mind. That is why I must keep remembering that Evren is here, alive, and deserves for me to celebrate her heartbeat every day, even though in the depths of my mind I am crying for the loss of another daughter.

I hold her in my arms, and just like the first time, I find myself counting the fingers on her hand. She opens her eyes and smiles at me. Does she know I’m her mother? Does she know she is the main reason behind everything I do? Does she know how special she is to me?

Cassian wraps his arms around us both, as if ready to be a shield if necessary. I turn to face him and together we lower our gaze to those plump cheeks that cannot hide her joy, as if she had been waiting for our return. Cassian strokes the arch of her eyebrows with utmost care.

“I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know.”

Evren lets out a sneeze that makes us smile.

“A bath?”

“I’ll follow you in a moment.”