Chapter Eight
After Rachel fell asleep again and Leila and Becky returned, Henry took his leave of them. The magic shield protecting him from the ill effects of the sun was a little weaker since it was only Leila maintaining it, but she did the best she could on her own, and the sun didn't bother him too much.
Henry didn't want to think about the shield or the sun. He walked along the streets outside of the hospital, trying to let the sheer number of things to see, smell, taste, touch and hear overwhelm his senses, but he couldn't pay attention to his surroundings. The knowledge Rachel had given him about this father weighed too heavily on him.
His father, the man he loved, the man who had raised him, was going to try to kill him.
If it was just his life on the line, he might have been able to accept his fate. But it wasn't just him. It was Rachel's life, too. Leila, Becky, and now little Cheri. All of them were relying on him. If his father had decided to kill him, then they would all die. That was something that he couldn’t accept.
It was prophesized that he would kill his father someday. And this is how the prophecy comes true. Because he won't let me and my brides alone.
Henry sat on the sidewalk and wept, not caring who saw him. He hated himself for this, but he knew it was the only choice he had. He had to return to his home and take the kingdom by force. He had to kill his father, or else his father would kill what mattered most to him.
He wasn't sure how long he stayed there, mourning his father and the relationship they had had. If it wasn't for that stupid prophecy, would any of this have happened?
Yes, a voice whispered in his mind. Because he would have still told you to kill Rachel.
Rachel.
Henry stood, straightening his shirt and dusting off the seat of his pants. His eyes felt raw and scratchy, but he wiped the remnants of tears from his face and headed back to his brides and his little daughter. Whatever happened now, they were his family. He had to protect them, even if it meant giving up the family he had grown up with.
When he returned to the hospital room, Rachel was awake and feeding Cheri. Becky and Leila were both in the room as well, and from the looks of pity they gave him, he knew Rachel had told them what she had seen. He avoided looking at Leila. After the months they had spent together on the run, their relationship had much improved, but he wouldn't say that she was a friend. He didn't want her pity.
"I have made a decision," he said. "I'm going to fulfill the prophecy that was made at my birth. I'm going back."
"I thought you would," Leila said, as Rachel made a noise of protest. "I'm going with you."
Henry shook his head.
"I'm a witch, I know how to take care of myself. Besides, you shouldn’t have to kill your own father. With any luck, we can wrangle it so that I'm the one who actually…"
Henry narrowed his eyes at the young woman. He couldn’t believe that she had ever taken a life before. Would she be able to do it now? "I'll do better if I don't have to worry about you, Leila. You're only seventeen."
"Eighteen, now. My birthday was last week. Not that it really matters. If you fail, my sister is going to die." She lifted her chin stubbornly. "I'm coming. Becky can watch after Rachel."
Rachel reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. She turned to Leila, and the young witch put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes.
"I'm going and that's final. If you try to make me stay behind, I'll just follow after you and probably trip up security or something, so there's no point in arguing with me."
Henry couldn’t help but smile. If nothing else, Leila never gave up when she knew what she wanted to do. He nodded. "Then I will bring you with me. But you do as I say when I say, and if it looks bad, you get out. Understood? Your safety and life come first."
"Obviously," Leila said with a shrug, but Henry knew that he might as well be talking to a brick wall–she wasn't going to give up even if she ended up faced with a dozen armed guards. He just hoped that her magic was going to be enough to protect her.
"I'll watch after her," he promised Rachel, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"More like I'll watch after him," Leila said with a grin. "And you take care of my niece, got it?"
Rachel shot her an annoyed glance. "Leila, I'm older than you. It should be me protecting you, not the other way around."
"And when I eventually have a kid, you'll have your chance. Because it's not going to be Princey's kid and he'll have to deal with the fact that I'm not his bride."
Henry frowned. "I would never hurt—"
Rachel cut him off. "Of course you wouldn't." Her eyes shone with fear, but she managed to smile at him. "Don't get yourself strangled to death."
Henry kissed her again. He couldn’t speak past the lump in his throat, so kissed little Cheri's head and nodded to Becky before he turned on his heel and left the room. Leila was soon beside him. They headed out together, not speaking.
***
After the brightness of the world above ground, the tunnel that led them back down to the vampire city felt sinister. Being encased by darkness once more had shivers running down Henry's spine. Or maybe that was because the familiar sights of his home were now enemy territory. As expected, there were no guards preventing their entry to the tunnels that led to the city, but the deeper they got, the tenser Henry became.
"Look, we need to talk before it's too late," Leila said suddenly.
Henry almost pointed out that now wasn't the time for idle chitchat, either, but swallowed it back. There was a chance–a good chance, however much he wanted to believe otherwise–that Leila, if not both of them, were not going to come out of this alive. If they didn't speak now, they might never have the chance again.
"I know that you wouldn't hurt me," Leila continued stiffly. "I went into this whole thing expecting… well, expecting you to be different. As soon as Rachel started having her visions about vampires, I looked you guys up and I wasn't keen on what I learned. I tried my best to convince Rachel to turn away from what she was seeing, but once she sets her mind to something, you can't convince her to change it."
"Yes," Henry smiled. "You two are very similar that way."
Leila stopped. She grabbed Henry's arm and turned him towards her. "But I was wrong. I thought she was just seeing bits and pieces and was falling in love with something–someone–who wasn't real. But she saw the relevant stuff, I guess. Because you are exactly how she used to describe you. And you love her."
Henry nodded seriously. "I do."
"Good. Because she loves you. She's loved you since before the two of you ever met."
Henry knew it, and that knowledge weighed heavily on him. Over the months, he had started to become more and more aware of just how well Rachel had known him even before he knew she existed. How much she loved him. If he was honest with himself, it frightened him at times. How could he repay the love that she gave him?
"If you had been what I was expecting, rather than what you are, I'd have killed you by now." Leila shrugged at him and continued down the tunnel. "But you love her, too."
"I do. I would die for her."
From behind them, a deep, ominous voice rumbled. "You will have to."