“Lavinia, you are still the same person I have always known.” His calloused hands cradled my cheeks. “Open your eyes.”
I complied, but I couldn’t see him as tears fell freely down my cheeks.
“None of us are going to leave you. Nobody wants to kill you. Prime being your father doesn’t change who you are. Your blood does not define who you are. You are the only one with the power to do that. Nobody can take that away from you if you don’t let them.”
Hiccups wracked my body while I let his words sink into my rational mind. I was a good person. I had never hurt anyone who wasn’t trying to hurt me. There had never been any malicious intent on my part. Not once, in all the times I’d been faced with killing another, had I done it willingly.
Jameson’s strong arms wrapped around me as I let everything out. I had no idea how long I cried, but when I pulled away, I was most surprised to find tears in Jameson’s blue eyes.
“Is something wrong?” My body tensed while I waited with bated breath for his answer.
His smile lit up the dark room as I tried not to lose myself in his gaze and dimples. “Not right in this moment.”
His reply contradicted the look on his face. “I don’t understand. Why are you crying?” I asked, confused.
“You opened up to me and gave me your heart. Regardless of what is happening around us, we have found something special, and nothing can take that away from us. What you see aren’t just tears of sorrow because you’re hurting, they’re tears of joy that you trust me with your pain.”
Leaning forward, I pressed my soft lips against his rough ones, letting my actions speak louder than words. As his arms pressed me closer to his body, I realized with absolute clarity that he was right. Prime being my father did not define me. I would choose my own path, and I would choose to be good over evil every day of my life.
I would never be whatever Prime wanted me to be.
When Jameson got up to get us breakfast the following morning, I stayed in bed. Even though I was feeling better about my place in this world, I wanted to take my time getting ready and enjoy the freedom of not constantly being watched.
I made sure to imply to Jameson he shouldn’t hurry. Some time alone was just what my heart needed. After the emotional outpour the night before, a moment to reflect was appreciated. I changed into a simple light-yellow dress with capped sleeves and a single layer for the skirt. It was the most casual outfit I owned, as well as the most comfortable.
Just as I lay down on the bed, a soft knock sounded on the door. Swinging my legs off the side, I groaned while getting up and wondered who it was. I contemplated not answering, but it might have been a crew member searching for Jameson, and I didn’t want to be rude.
When I opened the door, I was surprised to find Alice standing before me. She didn’t wait for me to invite her in; she barged through the entrance and settled on my bed.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Yes, Alice. Please, come in and make yourself comfortable.”
“I heard Jameson speaking with Henry in the kitchen. He said you were alone, and I knew it would be the only opportunity I had, so I took it.”
“Opportunity for what?” I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face. She was trying to be so serious, but it wasn’t working for her.
She let out an exasperated sigh. “You wouldn’t talk to us last night. Something happened on that ship. I thought you might need a friend to talk to. The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll begin to feel better about whatever it is that is haunting you.”
Alice was always so preceptive. I sat down on the bed next to her and crossed my legs.
“You’re right. Something did happen, but I’m not ready to talk about it yet. Jameson knows, and it will have to be enough for now. I’m sorry.”
She reached a hand for mine. “You don’t have to be sorry. You just need to know that there is nothing you could tell us that would change how we feel about you. We already know you’re different. Whatever that means, we will deal with it together, as a family. We’re all each of us has left.”
Damn. I wiped a stray tear from my cheek. Everyone around me was getting emotional. I was trying to stay strong and deal with things on my own, but they were making it increasingly difficult for me. The words wanted to come out like a torrent. I wanted to tell Alice what had happened to me, and how her training had helped saved my life, but the fear was overwhelming.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “You don’t have to do it today. Nobody is going to ask what happened anymore. We just want you to know that, whenever you’re ready, whatever it is, we will be here for you.”
She gave my hand one more squeeze while she stood from the bed. I opened and closed my mouth several times, but words failed me. I wanted to say thank you and apologize for being unable to speak, but nothing sounded sufficient for the kindness I had been shown.
I had a choice to make in that moment. I could choose to be a victim, or I could be strong enough to lean on those who loved me and would lift me up instead of tear me down. I didn’t want to hide and be afraid anymore.
Jameson’s words of encouragement from the night before rang through my head, reminding me I was the only one who had the power to turn me into what I feared.
“He’s my father,” I finally whispered as her hand grasped the door handle.
Alice froze, her back to me, and I wondered if she had heard my words and understood them. Finally, she turned toward me with a wicked smile on her face.
“Did you just say Prime is your father? He’s the only ‘he’ you could possibly be referring to, and it’s so obvious, I should have seen it before.”
Elation poured from her and I had no idea why. Now, instead of being afraid, I was once again confused.
“Why are you so excited about this? I’m a monster. We have no idea what I will become.”
Alice shook her head, disappointment spreading across her face. “Do you think Jameson is a monster?”
My eyes widened. “Of course not. He’s the kindest man I know. Why would you ask that?”
“Turned or born, it doesn’t matter. You’re both vampires. Why would we accept him and not you? Who cares who fathered you? We certainly don’t. You’ve proven yourself to us by keeping Jameson sane and safe. No matter what you are, we know who you are.”
Standing from the bed with tears running down my face, I took two steps toward her. She hugged me as I fell into her arms, and I let the last of my worries escape me. Everything was going to be all right. Prime would not tear my new family apart. I would not let him hurt us. We would get through this together and, somehow, we would come out of it stronger.
Two weeks had passed since Jameson and I arrived back on the ship with our crew. We were running out of supplies and everyone was exhausted, though we managed to keep up our spirits. Port Baldaire was further away than anyone had realized, but, based upon Jameson’s calculations, we were scheduled to arrive later that night.
I had been teaching him how to read the maps, and he was catching on fast. Once Alice and Henry caught on to what we were doing, they wanted in on the sessions as well. I ended up reading with a group of at least five crew members each day for about an hour. The eagerness in everyone to know more about our world was incredible, and it gave me continued hope that everything would be fine one day, as long as people like our crew existed.
Henry had done a fine job commanding the ship while we had been gone. He’d created more efficiencies and a different schedule, which meant everyone was able to work less and spend more time either resting or learning.
Eventually, I opened up completely with Alice about what had happened on Prime’s ship. She kindly relayed that information to Henry for me, since I didn’t feel like crying in front of him. When she was done, Henry promptly found me and hugged me long enough that Jameson finally had to pull him away. I had been feeling better about who I was as the time passed. The only thing I feared was that things had been too quiet.
&nb
sp; We hadn’t seen any other ships in our travels to Baldaire. While we were grateful not to run into pirates or vampires, it worried us that there were no sailors doing their normal routes, either. I had no idea how large Prime’s army was. He could have taken over all of the islands in our small chain by now, and we might be headed for a trap, but we had no other options.
We had to find Solomon.
Everyone kept saying he would have the answers we needed to stop Prime. That he had been around since the beginning of all of this, but he was too elusive. If he knew we needed to find him, why was he making it so hard? I was starting to doubt that finding him was our best solution. If he wasn’t at Port Baldaire, then I was going to suggest we go back to Ruth’s compound and prepare for our own fight. We couldn’t keep waiting on other people or we’d end up dead.
It was late afternoon and I was in the kitchen with Alice, preparing dinner for the crew. “Soup is simmering,” I informed her as I finished putting in the last of the ingredients.
“Perfect. The bread is rising. Let’s go get some fresh air.” Alice pulled my arm toward the stairs, and we ventured to the top of the deck.
It was August and the weather was increasingly warm, but the breeze from the ocean took the edge off it. A whistle sounded, and I looked up to find Henry in the crow’s nest.
Alice’s face lit up at the sight of him, and I smiled at her happiness. They were doing great together, and it made my heart full to know each of us could find joy, no matter what was happening around us. We missed Nathan and Nettie immensely, and I secretly hoped Solomon wouldn’t be at Baldaire, just so we could go back for them. I missed the light that radiated from Nettie.
We spent the rest of the afternoon outside, enjoying the small things. After dinner, Jameson announced he spotted land and we’d be arriving within the hour. There were still a few hours of daylight left, which meant we could check things out tonight instead of waiting until the morning. None of us wanted to disembark at a new island in the dark after what we had encountered on previous ones.
“Are you all right?” I asked Jameson when we were finally alone. I had expected him to be more excited about being so close to where we thought Solomon was, but instead, he was tense and quiet.
“I’m fine. I just keep wondering what we will do if he’s not there. We don’t have enough supplies to get back to the others without rationing or going without. It’s not fair to the crew. We need a win.”
My fingers entangled with his long blond hair as I pulled him toward me. “Even if Solomon isn’t there, we will find whatever we need and deal with it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned during these last couple of months, it’s that our group is rather great at improvising.”
His smile melted my heart. “That was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you.”
I pressed my lips to his. “You’re welcome.”
A throat cleared behind us. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’ve arrived,” Henry informed us from the door.
“Can you see the port from here? Are there people?” Jameson asked eagerly.
Henry shook his head. “There are boats and buildings, but no people.”
“That’s better than nothing,” I added. “Let’s check it out and, even if there are no people, it sounds like there are still supplies. Our trip won’t be for nothing.”
As I said the words, I could feel the lies pressing down on me. If Solomon wasn’t there, we had wasted weeks at sea for nothing. I wanted to remain positive for Jameson, but it was proving to be more difficult than I thought.
Chapter 8
The port was big enough that we were able to pull the ship all the way in to the dock. Our crew readied weapons and split into two groups. Henry and Alice led one, while Jameson and I led the other. Robert, William, and Peter were with us. They were regular attendees in my reading lessons, and I was glad to have them at my back.
“There could be vampires anywhere around here,” Jameson warned. “Keep your eyes moving and your movements precise. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, don’t hesitate to point it out.”
The only positive aspect so far was that my chest hadn’t tightened like it had when we arrived at the previous islands. The half-dead vampires seemed to make some internal warning system go off in me, and I felt a minuscule better that it hadn’t happened this time.
We cautiously walked down the planked wood of the pier that led toward the town. It was deserted and eerily quiet. Our footsteps echoed loudly, and I flinched, expecting the worst, but after we walked into town and no vampires approached, I began to relax.
The town was quaint and far bigger than Port Victory, the place I had grown up knowing. The buildings were built differently than what I was used to seeing, grander and painted in an array of colors that would have filled me with joy under different circumstances.
Alice and Henry’s group ventured to the east side of town, while Jameson and I headed to the west with our group. The buildings became more striking as we traveled farther inland, and I couldn’t help but imagine what the town had been like before it was deserted. It was so bright and cheerful that it was hard to think of anything bad happening in a quaint place like this, but judging by the emptiness everywhere, something had definitely happened.
“Do you sense anything?” I whispered to Jameson.
“Nothing,” he answered, glancing at me with his brows furrowed in concern.
At the other islands, he had smelled blood, dead bodies, and decay, but there was nothing this time. It was unnerving and caused the hairs to rise on my nape.
Once we reached the edge of town, we turned to head back. Jameson suggested we check several of the houses for anything suspicious and for supplies. The houses we searched were completely normal inside. In the dining room of one house, there was food set out as if the occupants were just sitting down for dinner. There was a small doll on one chair and a toy wooden boat on another. I could easily picture a family sitting around the table, with love and laughter ringing through the room.
“What happened here?” I whispered, fingering the lace edges of the doll’s dress as I walked by it.
“It looks to have been abandoned in a hurry. Though, there is no sign of a struggle, or any of the normal indicators that vampires or pirates have been here,” Jameson answered while looking at a painting on the wall.
“The food hasn’t spoiled yet. It’s as if everyone left right in the middle of dinner just last night,” I mused as I righted the tipped-over sailboat and moved about the room. “Are they still alive? And if they are, where did they go?”
“I don’t know, but let’s hope that they’re alive and well somewhere.” His arms slipped around my waist, pulling me close.
We made our way back to where we had split from the others. Alice and Henry were waiting for us; their expressions told me that they had found the same things we had.
As disappointment assaulted each of us at having traveled all this way to not find Solomon, we decided to start gathering supplies in the buildings we found. We raided the stores and sent for more of the crew to help take everything on board. There were barrels of fresh water and fish, baked bread that made my mouth water, and salted meats. We grabbed what we needed to make it to our next destination and took nothing more, out of respect for the recently-departed inhabitants.
The sun sank low in the sky as the crew loaded the last of the cargo. I was standing on the sandy beach, looking back at the deserted town with a heart full of emotions. I hoped that whatever had happened there, the people were safe somewhere far away and would return someday to pick up their lives again.
“They loaded the last of it,” Jameson informed, stepping to my side and putting his arm around my waist.
I leaned into him with a sigh of contentment, but it was quickly overshadowed by uncertainty. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what had me so uneasy.
“What now? Do we give up, head back to Ruth’s, and regroup?” I asked.
He sighed
heavily as I rested my head against his shoulder. “That’s probably what is best. We’ll figure something out. We always do.”
We did seem to always overcome what was thrown at us, but I also knew that sort of luck didn’t last long. My father Tobias used to tell me that “luck walks a fine line between disaster and survival.” There was more to it, but I was so little when I last heard it, I didn’t remember. The first part had always stuck with me, though.
Standing on the beach, we watched the shadows gather in town as the sun set. No lanterns were lit in the streets. No homes blazed with the warmth of family. It remained dark, and I held my breath, waiting for some monstrous creature to come prowl the still streets, but nothing moved. Not even an ocean breeze stirred the silent area.
“We’ll stay docked here and then set sail at first light.” Jameson kissed the side of my head.
We both turned and walked toward the brightly-lit ship hand-in-hand.
“Jameson.”
We jerked to a stop as his name was whispered into the night.
“Did you hear that?” he murmured, his eyes wide.
Drawing closer to him, I nodded and remained silent as we both strained our ears, trying to catch more words.
Holding my breath, I tried to stop my heart from beating a frantic tempo, but after several minutes of silent listening, no more voices could be heard. I couldn’t blame it on imagination, because we had both heard it. Jameson tried to pinpoint where it had come from, but after a moment, he shook his head at me.
“Jameson.”
I gasped softly as his name was spoken once more, and Jameson swiveled his head back the way we came. Night had fallen, so the only light was being cast from the ship and the stars above. My advanced eyesight penetrated the darkness, but nothing moved. Nothing to indicate what or who had whispered Jameson’s name.
Blood of the Sea Omnibus Page 22
