Deadly Ends (Book #4)

Chapter Fifty- Eight

I stood under a large tree, watching as Heath and Louis prepared graves for those who had passed on.

Rose and Preston had been decapitated and drained, by Lukas. For his own sick pleasure, he had turned their hearts into ash, just as he had done with Edgar.

Florence would soon be spreading Samuel's ashes over the land, feeling that he deserved a proper goodbye in the end.

No one fought her on the subject, knowing that she needed this closure in order to move on herself.

Annabeth was able to be saved, once her heart was placed back in her body. She is finally getting to live the human life she never had and was learning to live all over again.

Montgomery had offered her the chance to be turned back into a vampire, but she turned it down. She stated that if she changed her mind then she will take him up on the offer, but she needed to know what it was like to live.

Montgomery faced burns all over his body, but was able to heal himself before damage had taken place.

Walton's eye could not be repaired and was now living with only one eye. He knew that it could have been worse, after seeing how Timothy had gone blind. He was just grateful that he made it out alive in the end.

Claude and Audrina had been fed on by Samuel, but once he spotted Florence and Heath, he left them in that state, expecting them to die out eventually.

As days passed, bruising appeared around Heath's throat, from Samuel, but Florence was taking care of him, feeling guilty for his attack, even though he did not hold her responsible.

Montgomery healed Louis' arm, but scarring remained there for unknown reasons.

I walked over to the gardens, with Rowena at my side.

Both she and Langston had cuts and bruises, but they were healing nicely, moving on from the ordeal and getting to continue living.

Rowena sat down on a bench "The fact that all of this is real, it leaves me in such disbelief"

I sat down next to her "It is quite a bit to take in"

Rowena had not spoken about her capture and I knew that she needed a few days to pass before she could answer anything.

All of this was just so much to take in.

"Samuel told me that mother and father were slaughtered" I looked over at her, seeing her shift in her seat "Is this true?"

"No, it was not them" she said, shaking her head "I have not been home in some time"

I looked at her confused "What do you mean?"

She sighed "When Elijah never returned home from his hunting trip, they put every pressure on me and were arranging for me to marry someone much older than me, immediately"

"But you are still a child" I objected, appalled that they could try to do such a thing.

She nodded "One of our servants, Everett arranged to help me run away" she looked down "I took as much silver as I could find, because he said he would let me stay with his family at their farm in a village. So one evening, we escaped and he made sure I remained safe"

"He took care of you?" I asked, surprised that someone who had worked for our father could be kind to someone from his family.

"Yes and his family took me in, immediately treating me like one of their own" she frowned "It was like getting a glimpse into how a family really should be"

I shook my head "So they were the ones who were attacked?"

"I thought it was someone that father had sent, thinking he had finally found me, but they kept saying your name and they were monsters" she said, her voice cracking.

I put my arm around her "I am so sorry that you have witnessed such acts"

She looked up at me "Please do not make me go back home"

All I could do was shake my head "Absolutely not. You can be free now, just as I am"

Rowena rested her head against me, letting out a sigh.

"This is a whole new world for you and any questions you have, I will do my best to answer them" I tilted her head up "But do not for one second believe that you do not have a home with me"

She smiled and hugged me tightly.

"Thank you, so much" she whispered.

I never believed that I could ever see my sister again, given the situation and yet here she was, here to stay.