Page 99 of Into The Light

He walked to the door of our bungalow, stopping and turning to me. “I love you and I will fight for you... for us.”

I stood trembling on the deck, a fear I didn’t recognize gripping me tight. Aiden reappeared in the doorway his phone pressed to his ear. He held my eyes, and we stood frozen in a locked stare.

“Lothaire? It’s Aiden. I need your help.”

With those words I closed my eyes and for the first time in a lot of years I prayed.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Aiden

Staring out the helicopter window I felt a sense of nostalgia watching the lush, green rolling hills of my homeland passing beneath us. A green blanket woven by nature and unspoiled by development spread out in every direction, with small creeks cutting across the rugged terrain. Even after the sun had set as we got closer to our destination, to my family home, you could still see the colors and the beauty beneath the bright moon.

“It’s beautiful,” Emilia whispered, leaning closer to the window. She pressed her hand on my thigh and I stifled a groan from the pain her touch caused. Everything ached. Every bone. Every muscle. Even my skin hurt.

“This is my homeland. Welcome to Dùthaich Mhic Aoidh... Mackay Country,” I answered, pushing the pain back into the box I had been forcing it into. I wouldn’t miss a second of her touch, not even if it brought me agony. Deteriorating at lightning speed, my body might not be able to savor her touch much longer.

“You were so lucky to grow up out here. I can’t imagine having that much freedom.”

“It was a different time back then... a very different time. But things still look the same. It’s remarkable.”

“When was the last time you were here?”

“It’s been fifteen years at least. Our clan doesn’t spend a lot of time here anymore. They are mostly in London, Edinburgh and Norway.”

“Norway?”

“They have polar nights there... months of pure darkness. Norway is basically vampire Disneyland several months a year.”

“Yikes.” She cringed. “And no one knows?”

“We’re pretty good at keeping our nature to ourselves... and compelling away the memories to any who discover us so yes... no one knows.”

“The things you learn.”

I recognized the mountain near our family estate in Mackay Country. My stomach clenched into a ball realizing we’d reached our destination when the helicopter began its descent. Lothaire would be waiting, and from the tongue lashing I’d received on the phone, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Even though I had been his enforcer and saturated these lands in blood, he remained my big brother who could make me feel like a small child beneath his disapproving stare.

The stone estate perched atop the tallest hill came into view as the helicopter turned. More of a castle than a mansion, the estate had been in our family now for several hundred years. We’d spent little time here in the past century, but something about it always felt like home.

“We’re here,” I said with a deep breath when the helicopter settled to the ground. “Are you ready?”

Emilia nodded, but the worry lines creased into her skin gave her fear away. Well placed fear. She was walking into a clan of vampires... pissed off vampires. And I had little doubt in my mind that the fault for my decision would land squarely on her shoulders... though nothing could be further from the truth. Turning human had been my decision but getting them to understand that would be difficult. At least I trusted that they wouldn’t hurt her, no matter how angry they were.

The co-pilot stepped out and opened the door. The wind from the blades blew back my hair when we ducked out beneath them. Pulling her out of their whirlwind, I squeezed her hand when I stood up straight. My family stood in a line under the lights illuminating the helicopter pad. A row of fixed eyes bore through me before all turning to the woman clinging to my side. Emilia shrunk a little and pushed in closer. I cringed at the pressure she put on my side but fought through and put a protective arm around her shoulders.

We stood while the helicopter lifted off, the deafening sound of the blades finally thumping away into the distance. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, a flash of color exploded and my sister, Annella, appeared in front of me. Before I could breathe, she threw her arms around my neck, a pull so tight I thought my newly fragile bones might break. Her dark hair, the same color as my own, smothered my mouth when she pressed into me.

“Dammit, Aiden! I missed you, you stupid arse!”

Her excitement at my arrival surprised me. I’d expected anger. It took a moment for my free hand to respond and wrap around her tiny figure.

“I missed you, too,” I said, and I meant it. She was my little sister, and we shared a special connection. Tearing myself from the family was hard, but not seeing Annella had been excruciating.

She pulled back out of my grip and looked up at me with those soft brown eyes that looked just like my mother’s. The two could have been twins. The same delicate features, the same small nose peppered with freckles and wide-set eyes. But though she appeared sweet and fragile, Annella could easily tear apart a man twice her size. Even the strongest vampire foes had proved little challenge for her... and their underestimation of her strength had been the last mistake they’d ever made.

“Ugh,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “You even smell human. Yuck.”

“Thanks, Nella.” I laughed, and she softened her face and joined me.