Chapter 404: House of Gale
…Several days ago…
The summer sun shined brightly as it began to sink beneath the horizon. Even now, the sting of the sunlight could leave terrible burns on a vampire if they stayed out too long without any proper protection. Thankfully, the ancient yew tree in the family’s gardens provided plenty of shade with its large gnarled branches.
The manor would have served better with its walls, but Gian thought it best to speak with his niece underneath the shade of the ancient tree. It was here that he had hidden from his teachers and the manor’s servants when he was a child. It was here where he had made a promise to meet his sister so many years ago.
Throughout the centuries Gian had always made his way back to this tree, it served as a refuge of sorts for him, a place to gather his thoughts and rest. The old tree and the gardens surrounding it gave him a sense of peace and even now, he held a small glimmer of hope that one day his sister might find her way back here to him.
He hoped the tree and the garden could provide some semblance of solace to his niece as well. Gale sat next to him underneath the yew’s branches, her back resting on the trunk. Her head was bowed, almost as if asleep, and her eyes were hollow. The whites of her eyes were almost as red as her irises. Her bright golden hair was covered in a dull sheen and disheveled from where she had pulled it and screamed until her voice was hoarse. Tears still flowed down her pale cheeks, but her voice was silent, save for the quiet whimpers as her shoulders shook uncontrollably.
The gods were cruel, Gian thought grimly.
They had taken young Clypeus only a year ago and now they had taken Gale’s father as well.
Gian didn’t want to be here, he didn’t want to be the one to tell Gale what had happened, but Gale’s mother had locked herself in her room and refused to see anyone ever since she had found out about the death of her husband.
So it fell upon Gian, the eldest of the House, to tell Gale what had happened in Dusk Valley to her father and the Veres army.