Eternal Flame - Book 6 (The Ruby Ring Saga)

by Chrissy Peebles

  “I’m so sorry, Victor,” I said.

  “She was a beautiful woman. She didn’t deserve the fate she received, nor did she deserve my father’s unfaithfulness.”

  “Ethano is your half-brother,” I repeated, still in shock.

  “Yes.”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” I said.

  “I was trying to win your heart. It would’ve done me no favors to tell you of my sordid past. How could I admit to being related to Ethano when he tried to kill you multiple times?”

  “But why is the ring only showing me this now?” I asked.

  “Because our bond is much stronger and deeper than before. Our love was not as strong when you first donned the ring. Your vision is strengthened by our stronger bond.”

  “Your mother said his mother came from another world. She must have been a blue-ringed immortal. That would explain why Ethano has the exact same power they do.”

  “I do remember my mother saying something about that, but I was so distraught that I could not remember every word she said. I didn’t recall it until now.”

  “Sometimes our minds block out memories, to protect us.”

  “Yes. It was hard to accept that my half-brother had grown up in the very same castle as me without me ever knowing of his origin. We were always competitive, and our father pitted us against one another. We were forever at war, always bickering and not getting along. We competed in the Blue Knight Realm festivals and always fought for the top spot in the games. We both grew up and advanced into our places in life, and even after we knew the truth, we never spoke of it.”

  “Ethano always had a beef with you? A real sibling rivalry, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  “I can see it and sense it strongly.”

  “At the core of the rivalry was a bitter jealousy. As an adult, he had palaces of his own, but he was never satisfied and always wanted more. He wanted to rule like our father. I suppose the hunger for power and position runs in our blood. But Ethano wants more than a kingdom. He wants to be the ruler of all of the Immortals.”

  “He wanted to be King Taggert.”

  “Yes, and that was why he plotted to kill him. He slowly killed him with guardian poison, as I’m sure my father instructed him to do. I think they both plotted to kill King Taggert.”

  “So he climbed up the ladder and became one of King Taggert’s top, most trusted men.”

  “Yes. He played his role well, but as he lay on his deathbed, King Taggert still chose me to rule the immortals. Nothing could have infuriated Ethano more, so, when I married you against all the rules, he used it to his full advantage. He wanted the court to find us guilty so we would both be executed. Then, he could continue his plan to take over King Taggert’s throne.”

  “Well, we put a big damper on those plans.”

  “We most certainly did,” he said with a sly smile.

  Suddenly, another vision popped into my head. “I see an island, with crystal-blue water and azure skies.”

  “I see it too.”

  “Where is it?”

  “It is the place where the rift between Ethano and I really took root, where our feud took a deadly turn. I wasn’t satisfied with just ruling Tastia. I wanted to be involved in the action, to partake in the battles myself. I joined my men on the front lines, leading the way victoriously.”

  “You lived for the action, the adrenaline?”

  “Yes. I did not want to watch afar, like some kings did. I was knee deep in glorious warfare and fought like a brave knight.”

  “Ethano thought that would be your Achilles heel,” I said, “but it wasn’t.”

  “They tried to get my head a number of times but were never successful. Ethano fought next to me, and we won many battles. At one point, it felt as if we were real brothers, as if we were friends.”

  The vision confirmed his words, as the brothers shook hands.

  “Friends and brothers,” Ethano said.

  Victor smiled. “We are brothers, Ethano, and I will always consider you family.”

  I listened intently as Victor continued his story.

  “We banded together after we fought a few battles and won. We bonded over a few mugs of ale, stories, and laughter.”

  “You made up,” I said softly.

  “Yes, and since we’d grown up together, when he proposed a plan to travel to the island of Kula to steal back an ancient treasure that once belonged to our kingdom, I jumped onboard. It belonged to my mother, so the priceless gems and heirlooms meant much to me. Ethano lured me with false hope about getting my family gems, taking my rightful treasure back. It was a challenge to retrieve it from the thieves, but I knew I’d conquer the island and get what rightfully belonged to me. Della went with me and begged me not to kill anybody on the island. I told her that if they would give me back my treasure, I wouldn’t hurt a hair on their heads.

  “Della talked to them in advance and worked out a peace agreement. We were to meet the tribe onshore and come to a feasible compromise that would work out for all of us. I wanted to storm in and take back my treasure, but I went through with Della’s plan. The tribe seemed very peaceful and wanted to come to an agreement, so there would be no war. They were human, and I could very easily have unleashed my immortal wrath if it proved necessary. I took in a group of my best soldiers as backup.

  “They invited us to a ceremony. We ate and drank, and they gave me a special gift, a book they had pilfered after a raid on an ancient temple. It spoke of the prophecy and said my son would be the chosen one. Della was so happy that she would carry my chosen child.”

  “She assumed she’d be the one,” I said. “I guess this was an earlier time, when you two were happy and in love.”

  “Yes. At that time, there was no doubt in my mind that we would be together. She was the love of my life, and I wanted nothing more than to marry her so she could bear my children.”

  Everything flashed before me. I saw the happiness brewing in Della’s eyes, Victor wiping away her tears of joy as they smiled lovingly at one another. It was hard not to be jealous of that special bond, because I felt it strongly, even though it was over now. Then I suddenly felt his grief and his deep sense of loss when Della left him; I was devastated by his pain. When she hooked up with King William, the pain almost consumed me like a hurricane. At the same time, I felt a deep rage consuming him, an anger brewing against William. Then it all dissipated as the story went on.

  The islanders held spears at Della and Victor, and the chief stood.

  “I can’t allow you to have that child,” the chief said. “It will be the end of us all if it goes the wrong way. I have foreseen it.”

  “The child will bring peace,” Della insisted.

  The chief grimaced. “No! Evil will overtake it, and the child will be more powerful than anything we’ve ever seen.”

  Victor calmly stepped forward. “Put down your spears, and we’ll walk away. You know you cannot kill us anyway, and you will die if you do no let us go.”

  “Your head will separate from your shoulders as easily as any other,” he replied.

  “You tricked us into coming here so you could kill us,” Della said.

  “Not all are so easily fooled as my eldest son,” said a tall man with wavy black hair and blue eyes, stepping out of the shadows.

  Victor glanced up. “Father? Wh-what are you doing here?”

  “I am here for the same reason as you, to get back our family treasure.”

  “That wasn’t the arrangement!” the chief said.

  Victor looked stumped, and his brow furrowed. His gaze shot back to his dad. “You made a deal with these fiends?”

  “Son, their spears are laced with guardian poison. One tiny prick of your skin will end you.”

  “What do you want?” Victor asked.

  “To see you dead and buried, right next to your mother.”

  Victor gasped.

  “It’s not personal, son. It’s just that King Tagger
t won’t give Ethano his rightful inheritance, what he deserves, because he is not the firstborn. He was born second, and you are in the way of his throne.”

  “So if Victor somehow dies, it all goes to Ethano?” Della said.

  “It will be simple to blame his death on the natives, and no one will doubt that these restless tribesmen killed him, his men, and his lovely fiancée. Everyone believes you will give birth to a powerful son, but it is all nonsense.”

  Ethano walked up, next to his father, wearing a snide grin.

  “Ethano!” Della said. “You can’t be this cold, this cruel.”

  “I will rule over everyone in the Kardashian court, and my birthright won’t be hidden anymore. Everyone will know who my real father is, and everyone will respect and fear me when I take what is rightfully mine.”

  “But you love King Taggert,” she said. “He’s been a mentor to you, a friend.”

  “My father’s blood runs through me. I will stop at nothing to get what I want.”

  “Let’s end this,” Victor’s father said. He then whipped out his sword and ran toward Victor.

  Victor raised his sword to block the one coming down at him, hard and fast. With a clang of steel, their swords met in a fury. Sparks flew as father and son battled it out. Victor’s men fought like champions. Suddenly, a swift kick to the abdomen sent Victor crashing to the ground. One of the tribesman rushed off with Victor’s sword, leaving him defenseless.

  “Victor!” Della said.

  “I will take both your heads in one clean swipe.” With a loud battle cry, Victor’s dad lifted his sword high in the air, then came down at an angle.

  Della handed Victor a spear from a fallen tribesman. As his dad swung, Victor pierced his chest, causing him to drop his sword, his eyes growing wide. He crashed down, holding his chest, where the wound was gushing crimson.

  Victor rushed over. “Father, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”

  “Never!” his father said. “I curse the day you were ever born. You are no longer my son.”

  Ethano ran over in a hysterical fit, looking hatefully at his half-brother. “How could you kill him?” he shouted. “He’s our father and a great man!”

  “I was only defending myself,” Victor said.

  “He was the only person who has ever loved me,” he wept, “and he’s bonded to my mother through the ruby ring. You have taken them both from me, and now it’s your turn to die.”

  Victor threw an orange ball of light at him, followed by a yellow energy ball. Della followed suit. Victor’s team began launching an assault of intense magnitude. Sparks flew everywhere. The large teepee rapidly caught fire, and people screamed as the trees ignited. The wildfire’s speed and intensity caught everyone off guard as it quickly spread, consuming the thick, dried-out vegetation.

  Della grabbed Victor, and they seemed to vanish into thin air through the billowing smoke as she used her power of invisibility. She touched each and every one of Victor’s men, and they formed a long chain, not saying a word, all cloaked and hidden. The others hunted for them but couldn’t see them. Ethano screamed at them to find them at all costs, but Della led everyone to their boats. Ethano gave chase, but the immortals had disabled their boats. They made a clean getaway and left Ethano in a fit of anger and rage. From then on, Ethano and Victor had hardly spoken, but Victor was cleared of all charges.

  Victor and Ethano both held high positions in the Kardashian court, so they were forced to see each other. Ethano new that murdering Victor wouldn’t do him any favors, since Victor had so many close friends and allies and the favor of King Taggert. When Victor married me, it gave Ethano opportunity to take him out through legal means. He wanted to have Victor found guilty and executed to take out his revenge. Very few people knew Ethano’s true identity, but I was convinced of one thing: Ethano was just like his tyrant father.

  “I know the secret you and Della were keeping,” I said.

  “That I killed my own father and Ethano’s parents?” he whispered, horrified.

  I squeezed his hand. “It was self-defense.”

  “I could not admit such a foul thing to you, that I killed my own father and was responsible for so many deaths on that island. I couldn’t tell you, nor could Della. She knew how much it hurt me, and she didn’t dare spill my awful secret. Della is loyal to me and knew I had to be the one to tell you. She did tell me, however, that your strength and your will to survive when you hiked down that mountain were because of your love for me. She couldn’t bear to tell you something so horrible about me, to soil my reputation to you. She just couldn’t bear it.”

  “It shows Della’s sweet spirit. She could’ve told me that, to make me want to leave you, but she didn’t. She said you did horrible things in your past, but she didn’t divulge the details, even though I’m sure she could’ve come up with plenty of horror stories.”

  “Della is a friend, and I hope she will find happiness one day. I would really like to see her and William reconcile.”

  “Me too.”

  “Della was never my soulmate,” he confessed. “It was always you. You were the one I was waiting for.”

  “I’m sure she’s not too happy about that.”

  “No, but she has accepted it.”

  “It was never my intention to hurt her,” I said.

  “She knows that too.”

  “So Ethano blames her as well?”

  “Yes, and he considers her a co-conspirator, since she handed me the sword laced with guardian poison and helped me and my men escape using her power of invisibility.”

  “So that’s why he wants the two of you dead,” I said. “He wants revenge for the death of his parents.”

  “Ethano knows what a moral person you are, Sarah. He knew you’d eventually find out. When he held me captive, he told me this every day. He told me you’d never stay with a man who killed his own biological father. He said you would never stay with a man who let a village full of people burn to death. If I could go back, I would. I swear to you that I would have saved them if I could have, but I had to flee.”

  “It was a tragedy,” I said, “and it was absolutely horrible, but it was an accident. You were fighting for your life. Those people wanted to kill you.”

  “Della and I went there on peaceful terms. We never intended to harm anyone.”

  “Everything just escalated.”

  “I’ll never forget that awful day, not for as long as I live. My father died by my hand, and I’ll never forgive myself.”

  I held Victor in my arms and softly stroked his back.

  “I can never forgive myself,” he said again, his voice wavering.

  “You have to learn to cope with these feelings, or they will destroy you. You have to let it go, Victor.”

  “You truly believe that tomorrow is a new day? That we can shake the past away?”

  “Yes.”

  “I can’t. I keep reliving the experience,” he said. “Sometimes I feel so numb, so detached from the world around me. I can’t sleep, for I am encumbered with nightmares. Flashbacks of that horrible day dominate my mind, day and night.”

  “There is a path to peace.”

  “Not an easy one.”

  “I know, but we’ll get there together, one step at a time.”

  His lips pressed into grim lines. “How can I tell my son that I killed his grandfather?”

  “You can’t let this mistake define who you are.”

  “I torture myself time and time again. How could I have done something so unspeakable?” he said.

  “He came at you with intent to kill. You defended yourself in a split-second decision.”

  “I’m a destructive force of nature. I’ve killed countless souls in battle, even my own flesh and blood.”

  “We will figure out how to best move forward with integrity and honor. You’ve changed. You’re not the man you once were. You have to forgive yourself, and you can’t let this eat away at you. What happened is in the past, and w
e can’t change it. I’m here for you, and I will listen to anything you have to say. Don’t feel like you have to keep secrets from me. I am your wife, for better or for worse. I’m here for you, baby, always and forever.”

  “I’ve never been able to talk about this with anyone.”

  “And that’s why it’s eating you up inside.”

  He swallowed hard. “I hated my father and wished him dead a million times, but I never thought I’d really be his killer.”

  “You feel guilty and condemn yourself continuously. Guilt, anger, and resentment is keeping you stuck in the past, keeping you from moving forward.”

  “I’m ready to stop running from my problems, that I must face them, but how do I ever forgive myself, Sarah? How? Will the hurt ever end? Can the pain ever stop? I’m so overcome by shame.”

  I softly cupped his face. “You are not perfect. You make mistakes, as we all do. You need to forgive yourself and let go of the pain. Forgiveness is a process, and I’m sure it won’t happen overnight, but you need to accept that you can still be a good person, even if you did make serious mistakes in the past.”

  “I wish I could go back and do things differently.”

  “You couldn’t have done anything different, or he would have killed you, and then Alexander wouldn’t be here.”

  “Alexander deserves a better father.”

  “There’s a huge difference between doing a bad thing and being a bad person. You are not a bad person. A bad person would have killed Ethano on the island.”

  “How could I destroy him when I already destroyed his parents, my own father?”

  “It took willpower. Ethano has done nothing but try to destroy our lives. You had the opportunity to kill him and didn’t. He wasn’t real, but you didn’t know that.”

  “The pain is killing me, my love. My violent past has caught up with me. What should I do?” he asked.

  “Turn the page. Quit reading the last chapter and move to the next chapter in your life. You need to realize you are so much more than your past mistakes. You’re a wonderful man with redeeming qualities and a good heart. You have me and your perfect baby son, and we’re going to have a glorious future. Alexander is going to be just like you.”

  “Please don’t say that,” he whispered.