Page 1 of Light Up the Night

Chapter One

My Voice

Chalice

It’d been a week since Messiah chained Keifer in the Krypt. The first three days had been a nightmare. The way he bellowed and begged almost broke me. Several times, I crept down to reassure myself that Atticus wasn’t with him. It was so hard to believe that he and Isabella were really gone.

Who knew for how long?

I scoffed and sat back a bit in my chair, giving up on the many maps and ledgers strewn about the desk. I had hardly thought of Keif during my time in the Iron Inlet, but now, now that he was a mere floor or two beneath me, it took everything in me not to go to him. His cries and detoxing had torn at my heart and conscience. Making him dependent on the root had been a necessity for House Krypt, so why the fuck did I feel so bad about it?

Because you’re not Atticus, that’s why.

I closed my eyes and reflected on the psychopathic ways that had gotten our father everything he ever wanted. The cold calculated doses of betrayal were something that had always disgusted me. They deemed it weakness. Perhaps they didn’t realize just how much strength it took to hold onto my fucking humanity with creatures like them about.

I stood, sending the chair noisily back a few inches as I did so and started for the door. I’d had enough. Several eyes trailed my way only to jerk back to the task at hand when I caught them staring. Maids, cooks—they all seemed bewildered and extremely uncomfortable when I moved through the house in riding pants.

It was easier to move around, and I’d left strict orders for those entering House Krypt not to be allowed past the foyer, so there really wasn’t anything to fuss about. Old money, old habits, I supposed. I noticed Ender standing at the foot of the stairs with a scroll in hand. His shaggy bangs draped down one side of his face. Every now and then he jerked his head like a horse and threw the dark mess away from his eyes.

“Secret admirer?” I teased. He narrowed his gaze playfully and held the parchment out for my examination. It was a long list of goods and supplies.

“The Iron Inlet is not self-sustaining. It can hold, but only for a time. They would starve to death in the winter months without trade.” He spoke with passion as he went on about the grain and the livestock. Diplomacy suited him; such a shame Atticus never realized it. He was worth so much more than the babysitting of our narcotic trade.

I shook my head, still haunted from hearing Keifer the past few days. Nirvana Root was the last thing I wanted to think about. If someone asked me in that moment, I likely would have bowed out of the damn Root trade then and there.

“Sounds good,” I mumbled, trying to recall what in the world he had been going on about.

I had to stop zoning out.

I flashed him a brilliant smile and lifted to my tiptoes, planting a kiss on his jaw. “You’re really good at this… you should head over there and see what you can do to straighten them out for winter, before this all kicks off.”

I wasn’t even sure what kicking off meant… War? War abroad against a woman who had made even Messiah hesitant. This had to be planned out well.

He wrapped his arm around me and held me inches from his face, allowing his nose to graze with mine. “I’ll pack now,” he whispered, before nipping my lower lip. I watched his tall form slip away down the hall and fought the urge to follow and send him off with a Nirvana induced farewell fuck session.

Keif!

The torture of it all… I sighed and hurried through the Villa. I was determined and really didn’t feel like arguing with Messiah over what was best. Luckily, he didn’t appear to be home. I laid my hand on the rocky stone surface of the stairwell wall and began the long descent. Somewhere near the middle point, I detected a quick trickle of water, followed by a subtle splash. The noise paused and started several times before I reached the bottom.

The moment I found the floor, that Krypt chill hit. It froze me where I stood, and I closed my eyes tightly against a coldness I could feel in my fucking bones. I hated the Krypt and hadn’t been down to visit it since the night I poisoned Ender.

My thoughts travelled as they had a lot over the past few days. Was I any better than Atticus? I’d given Ender snake venom at Isabella’s behest. I even manipulated Keifer into doing my bidding and made him dependent. I clenched my teeth and only relaxed my jaw when the trickle, splash came again. This time, however, I recognized the sound. It wasn’t a splash at all. That was the wringing and dunking of a washcloth.

Who the fuck bathed in the Krypt?

Flashbacks of my forced blood bath nearly caused me to fall back up the steps. I placed my hand over my mouth as if I needed to fear someone finding me. That someone, of course, being Isabella, but when morbid curiosity pushed me back to the entrance, all I saw was Messiah bent near a tub.

There was no pooling blood or crimson splashes on the beams nearby. I followed the shadows around the circular room until I could see what my brain already knew. Messiah’s arm was draped over Keif’s scarred back. He affectionately rubbed the opposite side of Keif’s neck while bathing the man’s chest.

Concern rippled through me. I started to step toward them, certain Keifer was too weak to even wash himself. Before I made it to the light, however, Keif’s hand came up and lay over Messiah’s. Their faces gravitated toward each other.

I wanted to stay and watch, but something else told me to run. My pulse sped, and guilt burned my cheeks. I bit my lip and hurried back toward the stairs, suddenly intent on getting out of there before either of them noticed me.

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