14. Let the Light In

When Angel was twenty years old, he lost everything. Almost everything, at least. Taking care of Isaac helped pull him through the weeks after the Massacre, kept him going, on his feet and functioning.

Anything to help his thirteen-year-old little brother deal with losing everyone and everything they knew and loved in the most horrible way possible.

Angel never regretted that, he told himself sternly as he gazed up from the floor of the hallway at the ceiling, blinking until his body was ready to try walking again.

"Shit, Angie, I am so sorry." Isaac said as he leaned down over Angel, holding out a hand. "I had no idea you were coming before I walked through the archway."

Angel took the help and got to his feet, rubbing his sore nose from where it had impacted on Isaac's sternum before his brother knocked him on his ass.

"I take it Cian set up the archway in the Tower?" Angel asked, seeing the evidence of Cian's work past Isaac's shoulder. The linen closet was gone; in its place was a rough, wild stone archway that looked like it might topple at any moment. Angel hoped not, but he suspected it was for aesthetics and probably more stable than the townhouse itself.

"Yup, just a few minutes ago. It's fucking awesome."

"You sound way too chipper. Did you get any sleep?" Angel asked as he went around Isaac to get a better look.

"Plenty enough, and some quality time with Constans." That last bit made Angel sigh in brotherly disgust, Isaac chuckling, and he ignored his brother in favor of examining the arch that stood in place of the linen closet.

This close, he felt some kind of energy rolling off the archway, but his inner vision saw nothing but real rock and the materials of the townhouse. Odd. There was nothing, literally nothing, to be seen through the arch—merely blackness, a shadow so thick it felt like a tear in the fabric of reality.

In a way, it probably was.

"He obviously explained how it works?" Angel said, poking at one of the stones about halfway up the arch. It was real, for sure.

"Yup. Think about where you wanna go before you step through. Takes us to the Tower vault in Constans' suite, the library hearth in the Mansion, the foyer at Milly's townhouse, and the conservatory at the Mansion as well."

Angel frowned. "Seems kinda easy to get muddled, what if someone does it wrong or something?"

"Wrong? You worry too much. Anyhow, Cian said if you aren't sure where you wanna go, it'll let ya out in the temple of the mound. You won't be lost in interdimensional space forever."

"Well, that's good to know," Angel replied casually but inwardly he was relieved. That had been a concern. This beat having multiple arches to multiple destinations for sure, though, so he'd risk the chance of ending up in the wrong place if he wasn't focused over having to cordon off an entire floor of his townhouse from the staff.

Speaking of, he needed to find Martin and discuss dragon diets.

Angel checked his phone and saw it was after lunch. He'd gotten several hours of sleep, thankfully, and needed to alert everyone to the meeting he had with de la Roche. Isaac must have seen the reluctance on his face, because he shook his head and knocked his elbow into Angel's shoulder, just enough to get Angel to move a step or so. Little brothers were annoying.

"I know that look. Simeon filled in everyone this morning via text about the ambush meeting with the blood mage asshole. The group chat was not happy."

Angel turned from the darkness of the arch and quirked a brow at Isaac, who grinned. "Yes, Daniel made a group chat. You're so old. Much easier than texting everyone one by one. I'm exhausted just thinking about it."

"I'm not old, I'm fucking thirty. Jerkface." Angel grumbled, scowling at Isaac, who merely laughed at him.

He was slightly embarrassed not to have thought about that. He shrugged and pulled out his phone, and indeed, there was a group chat. How lovely. Everyone was in it, including Milly. He poked about some more and found another group chat with everyone in it plus their recent arrivals and guests.

He sent a good morning and asked after everyone, and waited as a flow of replies came in from his friends and family. Everyone was all right, and appreciating the doorways Cian installed overnight. "Is Cian in the group? I guess his cover is blown, since Celyn knew he was there the whole time last night, and he rescued Rael and Jameson, too."

"He's in there under plain old C. Not one for chatting."

"Wouldn't expect him to be." Angel pocketed his phone and eyed his little brother. "Want something to eat? It's nearly lunch, but we can do brunch. I am not cooking."

"Sure, I can eat. Constans and Simeon are doing Clan stuff today, and the boutique is closed for renovations. I need something to do."

"I'm hosting Rael and Jameson for the time being. Want to help me train Rael? He knows nothing, so it'll be beginner-level stuff. I know you're past that, but having someone close to his age there might help him relax and not be intimidated."

Isaac sighed, dramatically of course, as if put out, but he smiled at Angel anyways. "Sure. Nothing more humbling than getting my ass handed to me by my big brother for the sake of a new student."

Angel laughed as they headed downstairs in search of food.

The Tower was still standing but from the tense faces of the vampires facing him in a semicircle, it had to be crumbling around their heads.

"Explain it to me, but slower," Simeon bade the fledglings, not unkindly. He'd been in the Tower not even a handful of minutes before Master Batiste handed him this problem. That was all right, for although he had not made fledglings of his own, he routinely took them in hand when problems arose. Master Batiste respected his decision not to sire or assume control of any bonds, but that left him as an impartial authority figure and it helped during internal bloodclan problems.

"Elder, we are finding it hard to feed," one fledgling stated with an air of panic. Simeon reached out instinctively and cupped the back of the fledgling's neck, squeezing firmly, bringing them calm. The young man relaxed, shoulders dropping, exhaling. He was less than a year Turned and still very human in his mannerisms and worries.

"So you said, but I need more details."

"Our donors are failing to meet us, and some are refusing to come to the Tower." another fledgling said, this one a young woman with short blonde hair and a thin, sharp face, her eyes wide. "Our regulars are canceling contracts or resigning. Some aren't returning our texts or emails. We're being ghosted by donors."

"Not the donors employed by the Tower?" Simeon asked, to clarify. Vampires in the bloodclan had the option to contract with independent blood donors who weren't part of the Tower ecosystem, and fledglings who were approved for solo feeding sometimes took that option as well, many times choosing people from their human lives who sought entry into the vampire world.

One of the easiest ways to become a vampire was to begin as a donor, work for a contracted number of years, and then be Turned once the contract was fulfilled. For a donor to suddenly break off the relationship was incredibly rare, especially experienced donors—some went decades as a donor before becoming a vampire. This was a preference in Batiste's clan—it made for more compassionate vampires in the end, as they were protective of human donors and the near-sacred relationship between vampire and donor.

So far, there were only a handful of fledglings with this issue of ghosting donors. He needed to inquire among the clan as a whole to see if there was a wider problem needing to be addressed.

"Experienced donors or new donors, ones hoping to join the bloodclan?" Simeon asked them again, hoping to get them out of their panic and communicating more freely.

A third fledgling spoke up for the group. "All new, Elder. They wanted to join the bloodclan, and became our donors as a way in." All perfectly normal, provided the humans passed background and health checks.

"When did you last speak to any of them in person prior to them ghosting you?" Simeon asked. "Was there perhaps a fight or misunderstanding? Family members applying pressure to stop being a donor?"

It happened. Some humans were obsessed with vampires—in many cases, to the point of hatred. Bigotry against vampires was common among the more religious human sects and the humans who supplied living blood donations.

"It's been over a week, Elder, for all of us." the young man said, and a fine tremor went through his taut frame. Simeon squeezed harder, wanting to ground the young man and keep him focused. Nothing made a fledgling more dangerous than hunger and panic combined. "And we had no fights or arguments. Something has happened since we last saw them in person."

"A week is too long without feeding. This is dangerous," Simeon said.

"We've had some blood bags, Elder," the blonde woman replied.

"Fledglings need living blood from donors more than blood bags," Simeon reminded them gently. "Head into my suite and relax, I'll source some experienced donors from the higher ranks and see you taken care of soon. Sit, sit."

He gestured to the living area of his suite and watched until all five of them found seats. He pulled out his phone and began texting, and was hardly finished moments later when Ellora Sumar answered his summons and knocked on the door of his suite.

He let her in and quickly explained the situation with the fledglings.

"Sounds like something orchestrated, for all their donors to disappear on them at the same time. Let me investigate—I should have something in a few hours."

"Thank you, Ellora."

Behind her there was another knock at the door—Miguel, the newly Turned security chief, led in a handful of older, more experienced human donors who Simeon knew well. Many of them had supplied him prior to his bonding to Angel.

Ellora let them in and Simeon pointed to the living area, Miguel guiding his charges to the hungry fledglings. Simeon was going to stay to oversee the feedings, to make sure the fledglings and humans had a pleasant experience, and hunger did not lead to violence. Ellora slipped out of the suite with a small nod, and Simeon trusted her to find out the source of the trouble.

Celyn sat on the bed in their Tower suite and watched as Remi fed from a donor. A woman with long red hair, pale limbs, and a friendly smile, she was lovely in a way that made Celyn want to draw her. Remi fed from her wrist while she sat in a chair, and both Remi and the donor made no move to make the act sexual. She had come at Remi's request from a central security hub in the Tower, which functioned as a mix of concierge and security that had Celyn impressed and confused.

The donor was willing and able, and she made sure to express her boundaries before allowing Remi to feed. Remi had done the same, reinforcing the non-sexual nature of the act, and only bit when she offered her wrist and nodded to him.

Less than two minutes later, Remi was done, licking her wound and holding her wrist over her heart, elevating the limb. She was no paler than before, but her eyes were blown wide and her lips parted as she panted. Remi had made it as painless as possible—Celyn knew that from experience and he wondered if she regretted the non-sexual bargain struck at the beginning. Remi was two thousand years old, quite experienced, and devilishly handsome.

A knock on the door and another vampire came in, dressed in a black suit, earpiece in his left ear, and he escorted the woman from the room. Remi gave her a short bow and a murmured thanks before the door shut behind them.

"She gonna be okay?" Celyn asked, more out of curiosity than belief that Remi had taken too much.

"Yes," Remi replied. "Her escort will take her to rest and eat. I took less than a pint, more than enough to sustain me for a couple weeks. I am old, and what I took will serve me well in the battles ahead."

Celyn fidgeted with the blanket on the bed, eyeing Remi from under his lashes. "You drank from me a couple days ago. Was I not…was it not enough?"

"Kedvesem, never think such a thing," Remi said, and knelt on the floor in front of where he was sitting, taking both of his hands in a firm but gentle clasp. "I merely tasted you, and you were a delight to the senses. Divine sustenance, truly."

"Then why…?"

Remi smiled. "I fear taking too much from you, kedvesem. And…" Remi paused, clearly torn about what he wanted to say next.

"What?"

"Vampire mate bonds can be strengthened by repeat feedings. I don't want to take too much too soon, of course, but I also don't want the nascent bond we have growing between us to bloom faster than you may be ready for."

"Vampires mate where true love blooms, that's what I've always heard. True love?"

Remi nodded, looking down at their joined hands in Celyn's lap. "I am quite certain you are my true love, Celyn. Already my love, in less than a week's time. The bond is growing, slowly, but it is there. We hardly know each other, and I wish to give us both time to learn about the other before the bond becomes a solid thing. Feeding from donors will give us that time."

"Please don't make decisions about us without input from me," Celyn stated firmly, and Remi nodded, biting his lip and sighing. Regret clouded his earnest expression.

"Forgive me, for I did just that."

"Forgiven this once," Celyn answered, rubbing his thumbs over the back of Remi's hands, which were now toasty warm from Celyn's body heat and the donor's blood. "No more one-sided relationship decision-making. Talk to me about things."

"I will, I promise."

Celyn nodded, believing Remi. "Good." He paused. "Now, about the bond. I wouldn't mind it settling into place. I want the bond, Remi. I can't see it yet, and I want to. What does it look like?"

Remi's face lit up in a wide, happy smile. "A shining thread of gold in the ether between our souls, my love. Try seeing it with the part of you that can see magic. It might be there for you to see, and if you want the connection, bring it to your light."

"Okay," Celyn replied, thinking hard. He usually saw magic as a given—he never had to reach for that ability; it was there all the time, and he sometimes had to struggle to turn it off in places where there were a lot of spells and magic, like the Salvatore Mansion. For him to be unable to see it now meant that it was probably very new, and not yet powerful enough for it to appear to his eyes. That matched how Remi described it.

Celyn shut his eyes and tried another way, entering into a trance as easy as breathing. His fae ancestry came in handy—he knew himself well, inside and out, and meditating was something he could do any time or place, and it gave him a sense of peace and strength.

There it was. Exactly as Remi described it. A thin, shining golden thread, the end fluttering about the core of Celyn where his soul was anchored to his body and the physical realm. So close to connecting, too close for Celyn not to be pleased and happy. He reached out, and grabbed that end, and pulled it to his core. He welcomed the connection, and the warmth and rush of energy that filled his core made him gasp, eyes opening.

He felt Remi. Not just his hands, but him. The man, the vampire. His boldness, bravery, his protective nature. He was easy-going and laid back, yet filled with steely determination and the heart of a fierce warrior.

"Hello," Celyn whispered on a gasp. "Oh, how wonderful. You're mine now."

"As you are mine," Remi breathed out. "My beloved mate."

As old as he was, Ashwin figured he should be beyond surprises. Yet when the sidhe warrior anchored a permanent archway in the library, replacing the two hundred-year-old hearth with a stone arch, he admitted to some surprise.

"The hearth? It's original to the house," Ashwin shared, crossing his arms. Cian flashed him a grin, wild and carefree in a way that put Ashwin on the defensive. He might have known this sidhe for the last several hundred years, but Cian was mercurial and hard to predict.

Cian gestured with one graceful hand. "It still is, merely pushed aside for the doorway. Once the arch is no longer needed, the hearth will return, same as always and undamaged."

"I'll take your word for it," Ash exhaled roughly. "I don't know a thing about displacement due to magical doors."

"I would be surprised if you did. Such things are dying out with my people." Cian said that casually, without emotion. As if his people's inevitable extinction was something to be expected, like the sun setting or the moon rising.

Leandro chose that moment to come crashing into the library, as only young boys could do, all stomping feet and flailing limbs, exuberance personified. "Da! There you are!" Leo came running over, ignoring Cian completely, and tackled Ash around the waist, hugging him. "Where have you been all morning? Papá is going to do the spell!"

"I've been avoiding the sun, my dearest. And manners, Leo," Ash chided, booping Leo on the nose with a single finger and tipping his head toward Cian.

Leo looked properly abashed when he finally noticed Cian standing not even five feet away, and he let go of Ash and stood up as tall as he could manage, adorable and proper. "Good morning, Se?or Brennan. Would you like to watch Papá cast the spell?"

Cian stared down at the young boy in utter confusion for a long moment, and then shrugged one elegant shoulder. "Sure, lead the way."

"Yay!" Leo exclaimed and then bolted from the library, calling loudly to his Papá that Se?or Brennan was coming to watch and he had to wait.

"Are human children always this loud?" Cian asked curiously. Ashwin sighed and walked with Cian to the doorway, checking the angle of the sun coming through the rear of the house before entering the foyer where Ignacio stood waiting for them.

"Yes, I'm afraid so—they don't quiet down until their thirties, I'm sad to report."

Iggy heard the last bit and sent him a wide grin, hands already full with their son. Leo was feeling safe again, and his normal exuberance was at the fore.

"What spell, my love?" Ashwin asked when he joined his mate and son. Leo latched onto one of his hands and Ashwin lifted his son off the floor a couple of inches, not even noticing the weight. Being a vampire had distinct advantages when raising a child. Midnight feedings were a breeze, for instance. And letting Leo use him as a jungle gym also helped get some of the energy out. Leo giggled and swung himself back and forth, full of energy and ready to explode from it.

"The spell young Daniel shared before he left on his honeymoon," Iggy said. He gestured to the windows. "It's time to see if home is always waiting for us."

Cian made a soft noise as he grasped what Iggy was about, and he promptly sat on the floor and gestured at Iggy. "Do proceed. The estate knows you well, old friend. This will be interesting."

"Let's go sit with Cian," Ash put Leo down and tugged him gently to Cian. Leo sat without hesitation next to the sidhe warrior, and Ash sat on his son's other side. All three of them looked to Iggy, waiting.

Iggy was handsome and regal in bearing, as always, standing tall with his long, black hair pulled back over his shoulders, that streak of white at his temple distinguished and rakish. Very much a dangerous man, he looked the part, with broad shoulders, a lean waist, strong arms and legs—he exercised despite being a vampire's mate, keeping himself strong even with the mate bond preserving Iggy as he was at his mortal prime over a hundred years prior.

"Figlio mio, watch with your inner vision," Iggy instructed Leo, who nodded eagerly and got a fiercely determined expression on his face, making Ash smile at the sight. Iggy continued. "You don't need this spell now, Leo, but maybe in the future you'll have a vampire friend you want to spend time with, and it'll be important to keep them safe."

"I'm gonna marry a vampire just like Da when I grow up," Leo declared firmly, making Ashwin hold back a laugh at how serious his son sounded. "They're gonna be safe no matter what with me."

"My brave, sweet boy," Ashwin murmured, hugging Leo around his shoulders. Already Leo was so much like Ignacio it made his heart hurt."Watch Papá now."

Some magic a vampire could see and sense—mostly sense, like a charge of electricity building, and predominantly by proximity, like active spells immediately after casting, or those that used a surplus of power. Seeing spells that were static, laid in place, was harder, but the older the vampire, the more likely they were to develop gifts that might let them see magic. Such passive gifts were rare, though—vampires tended to develop active abilities, ones that were tangible and affected the physical world, like Constantine and The Way Between.

Ashwin was unable to see what Iggy was doing, but he recognized when Iggy was using magic. A nebulous tension surrounded the sorcerer, long hair fluttering a bit from a soft draft that came from nowhere—a spark or two flitted about his broad shoulders, and a hint of ozone was carried on a growing breeze in the foyer. Leo gasped and oohhed and aahhed as his father worked, able to see in detail what his parent was doing with his inner vision.

Watching his mate of over a century work magic was never tiring, it never got old. Leo leaned into his shoulder, and Ashwin absorbed the heat from his mortal son, the warmth that seeped into his bones, as welcome as the love it represented.

Nothing changed at first. The sun, high overhead as it slid closer to midday, was not at an angle to worry Ashwin much as long as he stayed away from exterior doors and south-facing windows.

When a mortal Invited him into their home, a place where the Invitational magics held sway, it was less a noticeable event and more an absence—of pressure, resistance, all gone with the right words and intent behind them. Where once there was a wall preventing entry, there would be nothing, like the lessening of pressure in the air after a storm.

He felt it then.

Not the absence of pressure, but the sweep of energy along the mate bond he shared with Ignacio. As familiar as the smile lines on his mate's face, the bond was a thick, golden rope woven by years of trials, failures, victories, and above all else, love. It glowed bright, full of satisfaction, and Ashwin knew in that moment that Ignacio was successful.

"Welcome home, my love," Ashwin whispered, hugging Leo to his side.

"Papá did it, didn't he, Da?" Leo whispered loudly, making Cian grin widely at the lack of subtlety.

"He did, Leo, he did indeed."

Iggy opened his eyes and sent him a wide, happy grin. He came over and held out both hands, helping Ash and Leo to their feet. Iggy tipped his head toward the front doors, where small, rectangular windows perpendicular to the floors ran vertically next to the doors, letting in light that stretched a few feet into the foyer.

Leo ran to the light and waved his hands through it, though why escaped Ashwin, as his son was as human as could be—but it was charming and sweet and he smiled to see his son's silliness. "Da! There's light here, come try it!"

Despite his eagerness to see the spell work—he had no doubt it worked, this was Ignacio after all—a part of him was wary. His entire immortal life was predicated on avoiding the sun, inimical in all ways to his very existence.

His age and mate bond gave him some resistance to the light, allowing him precious moments to get to safety in case of exposure, so he would need to dare a longer exposure to see if the spell had taken root.

He had been Invited into the Salvatore Mansion over a hundred years prior, and so he had no idea if the Invitational magics were still present, considering the passage of time, but Iggy appeared satisfied, and his mate would never let him get hurt for the sake of appearances or pride.

Mentally girding his loins, Ashwin went to stand beside his son, Iggy on his other side, Cian watching avidly from his spot on the floor—and stuck his hand in the sunlight.

Nothing happened.

No painful, burning heat, nothing but a gentle warmth. Soft and gentle, and his skin looked frighteningly pale in the sunlight. Vampires looked their best in candlelight—the clarity of the sun showed his undead state with brutal honesty. He waited, but nothing happened, and he took a full, fearless step into the light.

It fell over his face, a blanket of warmth. Bright, so bright he shut his eyes and the light seeped through his lids. It was almost painful, the brightness, his eyes watering for the first time in eons.

He was standing, unharmed, in the sun for the first time in hundreds of years. His last night as a mortal man had been one of violence and death, and he never got to say goodbye to the sun, his Turning unexpected and chaotic. Yet this moment felt like the greeting of an old and beloved friend, long thought lost, but found again.

He opened his eyes and gave Ignacio a brilliant smile, tears pricking his lashes. "I love you, Ignacio Salvatore."

"I love you, tesoro mio," Ignacio replied. A soft kiss followed, their joy echoed in the happy cheering from a rambunctious young boy.