Hidden Truths - Ethan

Epilogue

London, 1856.

I peek out of the heavy red curtains with the golden embroidered ends to find the room jam-packed with people. Most are humans as it is only late evening and too early for most vampires to attend a theatre play.

Connor nudges my shoulder and I lay down my hand on his, interweaving our fingers without turning to look at him. I don't have to hide with him. I never thought that to be able but I trust him to a degree I barely trusted any man.

After the battle in the woods things changed a lot. Ethan left. Nobody knows where he is. He just took the remains of his dead son and vanished into thin air without uttering a word to anybody.

That's not exactly true.

He talked to Eve before and told her that she shouldn't let people hate her for anybody else's cause. Especially not for the Vampire Society of London. I expected him to run berserk on her for killing his son, but he just apologized for making a monster out of her. She cried in his arms and I'm sure he knew that I was eavesdropping but he didn't seem to care.

It's already seven years since then. I can see Lord Blackwood sitting in his usual lodge on the right side of the stage. When he found out about her he started to attend and never miss one of her plays. He also changed, or maybe his true nature just came closer to the surface so that people had to rethink their romantic view of our kind Lord. The Vampire Society of London got re-established fast and within a year nearly everything was back to how it was before the big fire in the headquarters. Nearly.

Lord Blackwood never gave back any power to the council and its members. He officially rules like a King now and all that the former council members are allowed to do is report and make suggestions. Not following his orders bring very bad consequences. I should know, I am still responsible for the affairs with the Beasts but I'm lucky. Lyall and Étain are good people with an honest heart. In addition, they highly appreciate that I took Connor with me, even though his features are a little more feral than most.

Connor and I get along so well because he does not restrict me in my doings. He helps with the orphanage. I didn't have to tell him that he will never give me what Ethan would have been able to provide, but he doesn't seem to mind. Ethan killed his brothers in a long-ago war and he got turned to find him and get his revenge. I think he reconsidered and somehow managed to forgive.

The buildings of the Vampire Society of London are all over the city now. We settled into the closest to the orphanage but Lord Blackwood started to change his residence as he pleases. Nobody knows exactly where he will stay during the daytime. Eve loves this system and despite what Ethan told her, she never stepped down from the position of the first in line for the royal guards.

The thing that changed is that Lord Blackwood executes the sentences on his own now. As far as I know, he insists to. I guess that's why people finally can see his true colors shining through. He grew colder since Ethan left him behind without a word of goodbye. He seems heartbroken.

The Hunter spoke the truth about his situation. Lord Blackwood kept him away from Ethan. What nobody, besides me, knows is that Lord Blackwood was the one who ordered the Warlow's death in first place. Putting the information together I gathered from the different parties involved I can only assume that Lord Blackwood wanted Ethan in the council. It seemed to have been a special bonus that the Hunter would have been able to get framed. Maybe the threat of another man in Ethan's life was unbearable to him.

To be fair, the Hunter always talked about 'the man he loves' and not about the fact that Ethan was his father. I also assumed he wanted to find his long lost lover and that Lord Blackwood did not allow men to be so open related and attached to another. How wrong I've been. The coin dropped the moment Connor hinted about Lord Blackwood's affection for Ethan.

The Hunter was smart enough to hand over the order of murder to a man called Ned Low, also known as Charles Holmwood, and his companion Charlotte Bloomsday. The former pirate came to London for the sole purpose to destroy the kingdom which betrayed him in his human life. There are whispers about the fact that the Hunter is Ned Low's creator but I guess that's just gossip.

With joint forces, they managed to make our ruler sway and they were only giving Ethan the runaround. I don't think that he was prepared for the past to hit him that hard. Until now Ned Low and Charlotte Bloomsday did not get caught. I heard gossip about them moving on to the mainland – for now.

I take a look at the new pocket watch before slipping it back into the hidden pocket of my dress.

"Ready?" Connor asks and I nod.

"Always, my dear," I wink and he grins.

"I'll take a look at her while you get it started. One should think she is already used to the spotlight," he murmurs before leaving.

While I do my introduction on stage to set the mood for the play my mind gets slightly distracted by something I really cannot point my finger on. What feeling s it that brings that chill and little tingle to my spine?

I stay alarmed but let the plot of the play unfold. The little girl on stage does a wonderful job. Her brown locks fall perfectly over her white dress as she plays her favorite role as an angel. She earns the biggest applause in the end and the people do gift her standing ovations.

It is common that she gets flowers from someone in the front rows. Friends from the orphanage, people who work for me or our Lord are sitting there. This time though a stranger enters the stage and I can immediately smell the death spirits around the man.

My look wanders to Connor who is watching us from the side stage. The stranger lowers to hand the flowers over and before I realize what is really going on a gunshot rips through the air.

Screams.

Panic.

I hurry to wrap my arms protectively around Nora. Although she also screamed I can smell and see no blood on her. Hastily I look around to see where the threat is coming from and freeze. My eyes catch the sight of the stranger's blood sprawled over the floor with a hole in his head. Next to him, a long knife that must have been hidden behind the flower bouquet.

Following Connor's gaze into the room, there is a familiar black haired man standing in the middle aisle between the seats. The fearful crowd tries to get away from him as fast as they can and the room starts to empty.

He is wearing a brown bowler, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up and the brown vest matching the checked trousers. The gun in his hand is made out of steel only and the cigarette between his lips smokes equally to the barrel where the shot just break out.

I can see him taking another draw before spitting it to the ground. He steps on it while lowering the gun and tugging it away in his leather holster around his shoulders. He looks almost like one of the gang members of the Wild Boys. I lay a hand over my mouth – or the Children of the Night as they are also called. Oh dear!

"Ethan?" I voice my surprise and he cracks a grin before his eyes wander to the right side where Lord Blackwood is. He is standing with his eyes fully flashed up, supporting himself with his hands on the railing and I wouldn't be surprised to see him jumping down every moment now.

I wonder how Ethan found out about Nora. We changed her name and gave her a whole new identity. She is attending school and everybody thinks she is related to Connor. In the end, Naveena was indeed a spy for the Hunter. Just as Connor was. Nevertheless, she thought she would do good by bringing Nora out of Ethan's reach. Connor confessed to me, that he was the one giving Maria the guns back then, but he thought that she would go for Ethan.

Our Lord and Ethan are staring at each other.

Ethan still smiling he says "I'm home. Did you miss me?"