Eric Linnaeus | Book 3 | Epilogue - I Wish He Would Have Told Me (Patreon)

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𝕀 𝕎𝕚𝕤𝕙 ℍ𝕖 𝕎𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕋𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕄𝕖ɴᴀᴛʜᴀɴɪᴇʟ ᴋʟᴇɪɴ: ᴊᴜɴᴇ, 𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟶.

─── .✦········· ───

When I awoke next it was in a private room in the infirmary. My muscles ached and I inhaled reluctantly as I willed myself to wake. An IV drip ran into my arm, and a heart monitor was connected to my finger. I pulled them both off with a scowl; it was completely unnecessary.

I felt oddly fine, considering. The soreness was only from overuse, and my magics were quite level. As the machinery began to scream, a worried-looking nurse entered; and when he saw me sitting up, he paused.

“How long have I been here?”

“Days, My Lord,” he answered, glancing back at the door anxiously, “Lord Markos, Lord Nathaniel is awake!”

There was a small delay before Markos arrived. He entered with both my mother and brother, and I knew immediately something was wrong. Markos looked grave, like he hadn’t slept in days, with unkempt hair and deep hollows under his eyes.

Achaicus looked equally as tired, if not like he had been crying, while my mother was not supposed to be here at all, and was visibly injured. Bruises decorated her skin; she had stitches holding together deep cuts on her arm and thigh, and smaller abrasions on her face.

“What is going on?” I demanded irritably. I wanted to know everything right away; I didn’t want to deal with any more problems. I needed to go find Eric.

The group looked among one another as if they didn’t know where to begin. “Are you sure you’re well enough?” Achaicus mumbled softly.

“I’m fine. Tell me, now.”

“…Leúchtend is captured…”

“…Pardon?”

“The same night the Vanir attacked Dunkel, Leúchtend was attacked.”

“By whom?”

“Our aunt and nephew…”

That information settled with me as I considered all that it meant, “Elora? and Radomir? How?” I snapped, and Achaicus’s eyes immediately welled with tears, he was rather drunk, I realized with distain.

“She defeated both Avila and I… Molly helped her…” my mother murmured gently.

“That’s not all,” Markos interjected, “It would seem the Vanir have officially declared war. As a result, the Fae to the South wish to break the alliance, and an enforcer is waiting to speak with you.”

“Where is Charles? Does he know of this?”

“Yes. He is in the gardens, training.”

“And what of Eric, has there been any word?”

“Eric has escaped,” Markos informed me blandly.

“Escaped us, or his family?”

“Us, at the least, the Vanir were last seen moving Northeast.”

“Was Eric with them?” I demanded.

“How should I know? We only tracked them long enough to be certain that they were indeed leaving.”

I grit my teeth, “Leaving because Eric led them away. We need to find him-”

“We killed one of them,” Markos continued, cutting me off and ignoring what I had said entirely. “The Ghouls are watching it to see if it awakens again. But it seems unlikely at this point; the flesh has begun to rot.”

“How was it killed?”

“We don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? Who killed it? Bring them to me.”

“I killed the vanir,” Achaicus mumbled.

“Well then, how?”

“I don’t know, I killed her again and again, and eventually she didn’t rise…”

“Show me.”

─── .✦········· ───

The vanir my brother had killed was young, not more than a teen. Dried blood stained her skin, and the wound to her chest was unhealed. Still, she remained remarkably preserved, with only the dehydrated state of her skin indicating death.

“How long has it been?” I asked with pensive apprehension.

“Two and a half days,” Markos responded, he was somewhat hostile in his manner.

She looked alike to Eric for her hair being a similar color but for little else. A silver chain hung around her throat, and I carefully pulled it from beneath her clothes. The charm that hung from it was identical to the one Eric had; only the inscription read a different insignia.

“Have her guarded for another few days; if she doesn’t wake by then, we’ll deal with the body,” I instructed calmly, allowing the necklace to slide from my fingertips.

It would seem they could die, and that made me more anxious to find Eric. If his family had captured him, I feared for his well-being. I left without saying a word, and Markos followed after me.

He grabbed my arm as we entered the hallway, and my brother followed anxiously. His grip was uncomfortably tight, and he pushed me back into the wall. “Markos-” I began, annoyed.

“There hasn’t been any word from Claire or Calla since the takeover. Your mother was the only one to escape, and Achaicus is useless. Grant me permission to go to Leúchtend.”

It was not a polite request. From the anger in his eyes and the tense set of his jaw, I understood he was oddly unhinged. I had seen him like this a handful of times, and I knew I couldn’t send him anywhere in this state. He was probably one small push away from a massacre, and if he arrived to find them dead…

“No,” I responded calmly, pushing him off. “I will speak with Charles and the enforcer, and then we will begin to plan our next moves.”

“There is no time for that,” he hissed, “If they are still alive, time is limited.”

“And rushing in without thinking will do nothing to help them.”

Markos grit his teeth, delaying before he continued in a lower tone, “This is your fault.”

“Excuse me?”

“You and Achaicus both—neither of you trained your Pets correctly. But you especially-.. I sent my family to Leúchtend to get them away from your rabid dog. You ignored my advice, repeatedly, because you allowed your attachment to him to cloud your judgment. If you had let me find a way to kill the Vanir, none of this would be a problem, and my family would never have been in danger like this.”

I clenched my teeth, “I’ll warn you just once, Markos, don’t forget who I am and don’t speak to me with such disrespect. You’re not the only one who’s lost someone right now, and without my ‘rabid dog’, you wouldn’t have a family to worry over in the first place. You owe him, more than you would ever admit, and you know it.”

For a brief moment, I thought he might hit me. Instead, he turned away sharply, and I rested back against the wall gratefully. He was right; this was all my fault. Claire was just as much a part of this family now as anyone else, and Calla deserved more for her loyalty.

My chest felt tight, and panic washed over me. My brother was a mess and Markos wasn’t thinking clearly. This was why I needed Eric back; he was the calm in a storm. I wasn’t fit for this, to rule, to look after so many people. What was I thinking? I couldn’t protect anyone.

“Nathaniel,” my mother’s soft voice interrupted.

“What now?” I muttered more harshly than I intended, and she faltered nervously.

“…There’s something I need to tell you about your father and Eric…”

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