Chapter 39: Gregor
She’s alive. My precious Vivienne is alive.
I couldn’t believe my eyes, but it was true. She was right there in front of me, smiling at me. My only daughter was alive. Seeing her beautiful smile—the same smile that brought me through some of the darkest nights of the past five hundred years—made me break down in tears.
I never forgave myself for what I had allowed myself to do to her so long ago, when I let Borys Maslen get his hands on her and claim her as his betrothed. No other event in my life made me feel weaker and with less of a backbone than when Borys arrived to take her and I couldn’t do anything but cower in his presence.
I should’ve fought for her. I should’ve done everything in my power to keep him from taking her, but I was unable to do anything about it. He took her, he broke her, and if it weren’t for Derek saving her, I probably never would’ve seen her again.
Derek never forgave me for it. I never forgave myself for it, but Vivienne did. She was the one thing keeping our family together and when we thought her dead, we fell apart. Lucas lost his life at the struggle in The Oasis and Derek and I were very much willing to kill each other, but I spent the past centuries trying to make it up to my daughter, trying to be a good father, a good ruler, listening to her wise counsel.
I was lost without her and now that she was back, I once again gained hope that perhaps things would be as they used to be.
Vivienne’s soft hands began brushing through my hair as I sobbed over the edge of the bed, kneeling on the floor beside her. She remained still until I could gather my composure and actually look at her through tear-filled eyes.
“Vivienne… I never thought I’d see you again. What have they done to you?” She was obviously not as beautiful, perfect and vibrant as she used to be. I could barely speak the words out. I knew she was in pain and I hated the feeling of not being able to do anything about it.
“I’m alright, Father,” she assured me. She struggled to sit up on the bed and I quickly helped her, fluffing up the pillows behind her so she could sit comfortably.
No other person in the world could make my heart melt the way Vivienne did. I blinked away the tears as I sat next to her, putting my arm around her so that she could lean her head on my shoulder.
She snuggled against me and drew a deep breath. We sat silently for a couple of minutes, simply enjoying each other’s company. I reveled in once again holding her in my arms. With her, I felt accepted. While Derek and their mother always made me feel like some sort of disappointment, Vivienne never did. I was her father and she loved me and made sure that I knew it. She was a gift I never thought I could ever have for myself again, and no words could’ve ever expressed how grateful I was that my daughter was alive.
“I didn’t think it was true…” I said as I placed a kiss on her head. “I didn’t think you could’ve survived, but you did.”
“Barely…” She chuckled dryly. “If it weren’t for Sofia, I never would’ve gotten out of the haze they put me in.”
I tightened my jaw at how she attributed her survival to the redhead my son was so madly in love with, the same young woman I hated with every fiber of my being.
“The darkness is coming for her,” was all I managed to say.
At that, Vivienne scoffed. “It’s been after her since the day she was born, Father.”
I didn’t understand fully what she was trying to tell me. When it came to her, I rarely ever did. Finding that any talk of Sofia Claremont—especially when speaking about her in glowing terms—made me sick to my stomach, I decided to change the subject. “Do you know what your brother did to me? He took over ruling The Shade. He overthrew me and put me in prison.”
“I’m sure he had good reason to do it, Father.”
Her words were a blow to my gut. I had forgotten how fiercely loyal she was to her twin. I couldn’t blame her. Derek was the one who risked his life to save her from Borys, not me. He was her savior, while I cowered in fear.
“Father, was the prophecy not clear to you?” she asked as she turned her eyes toward me. “We are supposed to support Derek if our kind is to survive. The Shade and all of its people are his to save and rule, not yours.”
In the deepest recesses of my heart, where goodness and bravery and what was left of my conscience still thrived, I knew that what my daughter was saying was the truth. Only Vivienne was able to access those parts of myself that I had to turn off in order to survive the past centuries, but her words were difficult to swallow. “Was everything I did for The Shade all those years for nothing, Vivienne?”
“Everything we did was to prepare for Derek’s awakening, so that he could fulfill the prophecy and bring our kind to true sanctuary. I thought that much was clear to you, Father.”
My jaw tightened as a battle waged inside of me—a battle I was afraid I could never win.
Vivienne kneeled up on the bed—slowly and carefully—so that she could face me and look into my eyes. The moment her blue-violet gaze bore into my eyes, I knew that she knew what was behind the mask of confidence and courage I was trying to keep up.
Her face fell and a tear ran down her cheek. “The darkness has gotten to you, hasn’t it?” she asked, her voice clearly about to break.
I nodded, affirming her worst fears. She’d spent hundreds of years trying to protect me from the darkness and to sit there and look her in the eye and tell her that she’d lost me was heartbreaking.
“I’m so sorry, Father. I didn’t think… I had hoped…” She choked on her own words and tears began streaming down her face.
I pulled her into my arms, and let her sob into my chest, not knowing what to say or do in order to console her.
“Have I failed you so badly, Vivienne?” I asked, my own voice choked with the tears I was trying to hold back.
She shook her head into my chest and kissed me on the cheek. “No, Father. It’s not too late yet. You can fight this, but you have to listen to what I’m saying. You have to be a father to Derek. He is not your nemesis. You need to honor the prophecies. If you fail in this, Father, the darkness is going to use you to destroy us all.”
Her words made me sink into deep despair, knowing fully well the weight of what she was telling me. Despite my fears that I could never do what she was asking of me, I nodded. She didn’t have to know how weak her father was. She didn’t have to know that it might be too late, that the darkness already had too firm a grip of me.
“I’ll do that, Vivienne.” I lied. “I can’t allow myself to be your downfall.”
Even as I said the words, a hiss echoed from within me—dark and menacing—full of spite and with a hint of amusement. You’re a fool, Gregor Novak. It’s your weakness that will destroy them all, and your beloved princess will be the first to fall.