From Shadow to Light - Book Ten

Bonus: The Brother

There was a moment, once upon a time, when Luc Guinevere was decent. Kind. The sun in his life changed him for the better but now that she is gone—having her adventures—he was lost. Wandering the cities as though he had no one. In Luc's long life, he only ever loved two people other than his family; his brother's girl and Henri, and both ended in heartbreak. His feet dangled off the edge of the highest building in Seattle as he peered down at the humans walking by without a care. There was nothing he could do but wait. Wait for a call from Soari Breevort or Amias saying he needed help to find a lost supernatural child. He did not care much for it as long as he spent time with the people he loved the most, no matter how short-lived. They would eventually help the child back into society and then go home while he finds a way not to feel the ache in his chest.

A terrible routine for him, but a routine nevertheless.

Did he care that Soari and Amias found happiness in each other while Luc was stranded in his own pain? Not at all. They deserved everything in the world. He was never the type of man to think he deserved anything. Still, he wished. Hoped that someone was out there...waiting patiently for him. Maybe it was foolish to ever think he could—

"Hey!" a feminine voice said from behind him. "What are you doing?" Luc turned around in a swift movement which made the woman wince at the small action. Her slender arms were in the air as she tried not to let him do what? Fall from this tall building? If he wanted to, he could survive without fail. The idea alone would traumatize this moral woman deeply so he decided to opt out of it for now. As he glanced at her, amusement seemed to spark within him. Sleek black hair cut short above her shoulders with bangs as she wore a baggy jacket that covered some of her body. She wore leggings and boots that were not made for running but she was out of breath, her cheeks flushed through the rain that fell on them. "I have no idea what you're doing, but you need to get off that ledge."

"Oh, I do? Are you the police?" he asked sarcastically. Luc couldn't help it. "Better yet...are you here to talk me down from the edge?"

"I saw you from the street," she confessed. "So I ran all the way up here to stop you. Or try to convince you not to fall to your death. But I'm failing, aren't I?" As Luc gazed closer into her eyes, he saw fear in between her gray eyes as her eyelashes were soaked from the rain. Or was she crying? Interesting.

"Maybe I'll tell you I wasn't trying to die tonight," he said quietly but enough for her to hear. "My life has been filled with death already and I frankly do not need another to grieve for." It was true. Not only did his parents die when he was a young boy but his older sister, Camille a couple of centuries later. Then to top it all off, he watched Soari Breevort get killed by Erebus. To fulfill her plan to destroy him but seeing her dead still frightened him. He still awoke with sweat falling down his back as he dreamed about that day again. Everyone seemed to be moving on from that day but not him. Never Luc. It attached to him like a plague, reminding him he was helpless and could not save her that day. No one could—though that was always part of her plan. Part of theirs.

With quiet movement, she sat beside him as her legs dangled from the edge. The woman stared closely at the arrangement of lights throughout the city which made him do the same. Beautiful in a sense. "So you normally seek out danger because you feel miserable about yourself? Interesting."

"I have a lot to be miserable about so leave me alone to do that," he replied sharply.

"Nope, can't do that. I'm morally responsible to keep you from falling off this edge tonight. So you are stuck with me," she said, turning to glance at him with a smirk. "I'm Alex."

She held out her hand and for a second, he hesitated. Then without thinking, he shook hers. "Luc Guinevere." He had no idea why this woman insisted on staying with him tonight but he did not ask any more questions. It was amusing and curious to see what she might do. When he pulled his hand back, he could hear her sharp intake of breath. "You probably think I'm here because of a girl. But I'm not. Not entirely."