“By the time he returned, he was a different person. Not quiet the monster he is today, but Susanna saw the path he was heading down. At that point, I had already stepped in to care for you and your mother. I had always loved her, and when she came to me with the secret of her pregnancy, I immediately wed her, so she would not have to be ashamed. I claimed you as my own and never looked back.”
Tilting my head back, I found an interesting spot on the ceiling to focus my attention. I was on information overload and didn’t know what to do about it. I still had so many questions, but I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle any more answers.
“I think we need some time to process everything that has been discussed tonight,” Jameson advised.
Glancing over at him, I smiled, thankful that he knew me so well.
“Where are you staying on the island? We searched everywhere, but all we found were recently abandoned homes and stores,” Henry stated.
“I was beyond the town, in the forest. I got word from a ship that came in that they saw several pirate ships heading this direction. Thankfully, I had been here for several weeks already, preparing the town, so they trusted me. I sent them away to the mainland and waited here. I thought your ship was one of the pirates’ since you have black sails. I’m assuming it doesn’t actually belong to any of you?”
Jameson shook his head. “No, it was one of the pirate ships that Pierce had recruited. We took it from them after we defeated their group, with assistance from Ruth and her men.”
“Very well. I’ll go back to the island tonight and keep watch. You’re welcome to stay on the ship or use one of the houses, whichever is your preference.”
“We’ll stay on the ship,” I answered before any of the others could. I wanted privacy, and intruding on someone’s house didn’t sit right with me. “Can we see you in the morning to continue our conversation?”
“I would like that.” Solomon stood and walked around the table before stopping within touching distance of me. “I never meant to hurt you, and I hope I can prove that to you.”
I didn’t respond. Instead, I watched him walk out of the galley, followed by Alice and Henry. When we were alone, Jameson took my hand in his, pulling me from the room. With hesitation, I let him guide me back to our room. As soon as we were inside, he wrapped his arms around me, and once again, all my emotions fled from my body.
Collapsing into him, every feeling I had been holding back since I saw my father again came pouring out of my being. I wept for the childhood that was taken from me when I lost my parents. Sobs filled with grief burst from me as I remembered my mother and how her joy used to fill our home. Jameson’s tight hold on me was the only thing grounding me while I cried for what I had lost.
Sometime later, I managed to pull myself together and stitched the wounds closed that had been reopened that night. The pain was still raw, yet I accepted it as another part of me. There was no changing the past, only how I applied it to my present and future. I would take what had happened to me and let it make me stronger. I was not going to let it tear me down or turn me into the person who would side with Prime. Whatever I did, it would be to avoid that outcome.
“What can I do?” Jameson whispered when I was calm again.
“Exactly what you are doing. I just need tonight. Tomorrow, we will deal with everything else. I have more questions, but I just couldn’t take any more without exploding, and I didn’t want that to happen in front of everyone else.”
A laughed escaped his lips. “I had a feeling. I can’t believe Solomon is your father.”
“Stepfather, rather,” I scoffed. “Don’t forget who my blood father is, and what that could mean for us. I’ll be surprised if Alice and Henry are still on the ship when we wake in the morning, especially after what we learned tonight. The things the Sea Witch foretold…”
Both of his hands grasped my face as he lifted it toward his. “We already talked about this. Prime does not define you, and none of us care if his blood runs through your veins. You are not him, and the Sea Witch saw two paths. I will do everything I can to make sure you stay pure, like you’ve done for me.”
“It’s just hard to remain positive after hearing everything Solomon said. We have to find her next. I need to know more.”
Lying on our bed, I ran my hands over my face and replayed everything that had happened. It was more, and somehow less, than anything I had expected. I had anticipated finding Solomon, leader of the hunters, with a crew full of people ready to battle Prime.
Instead, we had found Tobias, the only father I had ever known until recently, and he was alone. We had no back-up. We had no plan, and I despised the helpless feeling that consumed me at those thoughts.
Snuffing out the oil lamp, Jameson crawled into bed with me. Neither of us changed out of our clothes and into sleepwear. My imagination ran rampant with the idea that nothing was as it seemed. Staying prepared at all times was going to be our new reality.
As I did my best to ignore my racing thoughts, I knew one thing for certain. I was a wild card, and I needed to decide how long I wanted to keep those I loved at risk by being near them. If Prime realized I wasn’t dead, none of them would be safe if they stayed with me.
Chapter 10
The following morning, I was up before the sun and headed for the galley. Cooking for our crew sounded like a good way to release the tension. Moreover, doing something nice for the people who had been helping us while we’d been out at sea for the last few weeks was the least I could offer.
Jameson joined me and we had a small feast of eggs, bread, and fresh fruit put together within an hour. After the crew finished eating, Alice and Henry volunteered to clean up while we went in search of Solomon. I had more questions prepared for him, and I was ready for more answers. I awoke today with a renewed sense of determination to defeat Prime and bring some normalcy back to our islands.
The sun was high above the horizon when Jameson and I disembarked, heading to wherever Solomon had holed up for the night. Our fingers were intertwined once again, and I relished in the feeling of him beside me. A sappy grin spread across my face while my heart filled with an emotion I hadn’t been brave enough to voice out loud yet. The time was coming, judging by the sensations that swooped in my chest.
Had my mother felt the same thing once? The question entered my thoughts unbidden. All of the talk about the past had random thoughts traveling through me, causing me to be more distracted than I should have been. If Solomon’s words from the night before were to be believed, my mother had once loved a pure vampire.
From the way Prime had spoken of her, he had loved her, too. Yet, their love wasn’t strong enough to keep him from turning to the bloodlust and letting greed consume him. It made me question the future for Jameson and me. Would we end up any differently?
I shook my head forcefully to rid my mind of the ridiculous thought. Of course, Jameson and I were different. We were connected in a way that Prime and my mother had never been. He wasn’t my weakness, just like I wasn’t his. We made each other stronger. The tides of fate had brought us together; the current of destiny and our own stubbornness would ensure that we remained by each other’s side.
We walked up the steps of a modest dwelling. Jameson knocked on the door as soon as we reached the porch, and I didn’t question how he knew Solomon was staying in that house. Heightened sense of smell hadn’t developed for me yet, and I was grateful for that. There were some smells I couldn’t stand with a normal nose, and I wasn’t ready for those to be intensified.
Solomon answered the knock quickly, and I was stunned once again. He hadn’t aged from my limited memories of him. It was unnerving and increased my conflicting emotions.
He glanced at us briefly before something caught his eye, and he looked me over more closely. I was wearing the cream-colored dress that I had worn off of Prime’s ship. It was light and easy to move in, and thankfully hadn’t been ruined during our escape.
He stared for a
full minute, and I started to get uncomfortable. Jameson cleared his throat pointedly when my hand tightened in his. Solomon blinked several times before stepping aside, so we could enter the dwelling.
We sat down at a table in a small dining area. Glancing around, I noticed that the furniture was sparse, but the home was kept clean and cared for, just like everything else I had noticed about this island. Solomon sat down opposite from us; he had that peculiar expression still on his face.
“What?” I asked, annoyed at his obvious staring. He was making me uncomfortable.
“Where did you get that dress?” he responded, taking me aback.
“It was in a trunk, in the room I was given on Prime’s ship.”
“You were on Prime’s ship?”
“Yes, for about a week, but back to the dress,” I prompted, wondering why it was such a big deal.
“That dress belonged to your mother. You look even more like her in it,” he whispered, and my heart stilled.
Silence fell between us. I didn’t know what to say. How had Prime gotten a trunkful of my mother’s dresses? He must have taken it after he killed her and sent Solomon out to sea to die. The more I thought about it, the less surprised I was to find out he had raided their ship before leaving everyone for dead.
“Why were you on Prime’s ship?” Solomon finally asked, directing his question to Jameson instead of me, for which I was grateful. I still didn’t like talking about the time we had spent captured. Frankly, I would have loved to scrub it from my memory.
“After we met up with Ruth, and she sent us to find you, our vessel was invaded in the night. They didn’t kill anyone, but they took Lavinia and me. We were imprisoned by him for five days before we found a way to escape.”
“I haven’t heard of anyone escaping Prime’s ship once they are on it.”
“It wasn’t easy, and things didn’t go as planned—like Lavinia dying again—but we had some inside help.”
“Again! What do you mean again?” This time he spoke directly to me. His eyes grew wide with a fear I hadn’t expected from him.
“I can die, then come back to life. Each time, I gain a vampire ability. When we escaped Prime’s ship, I gained heightened sight,” I answered with a nervous shrug.
“How many times have you… died?” He swallowed harshly after asking the question.
“Four times,” Jameson answered, slipping his arm around my shoulder.
I was glad he knew the number, because I had stopped keeping count. It was rather depressing.
“What other abilities?” Solomon was losing it with every answer I gave him. At least now he knew how I had felt last night.
“Healing, strength, and hearing. Speed keeps increasing as I die, as well,” I shivered, remembering each death.
We fell silent again as Solomon processed this new information.
“Last night, you said that Lavinia has the potential to become a lethal vampire. How?” Jameson asked, breaking the silence.
“I don’t know,” Solomon responded wearily, running his fingers through his hair. “The witch wasn’t specific.”
“But you have an idea,” I prompted.
“Well, now I do.” He sighed, appearing pained. “I never wanted this for you. I hoped growing up in Port Victory would keep you safe. It’s one of the smaller islands, and the pirates wouldn’t normally take notice of a small island, but I underestimated the lengths that Pierce was willing to go to gain power.”
I just nodded, choosing not to comment on the matter. I had made my feelings about my aunt and uncle known. In Solomon’s mind, he had been protecting me and, in a way, I understood.
“What’s your theory?” Jameson asked, drawing me closer to his side.
“The venom coursing through Lavinia’s veins is in its purest form. She was not turned but was born this way. What she is resides within her very being. It has always been there, dormant until she needed it. It brought her back to life, and by doing so, it changed her. Each death unlocking an ability…it’s likely the venom finding a way to protect Lavinia and keep her from continuing to die.”
My mind raced through the times I had been killed, how it had occurred, and what had happened when I woke. Though Solomon’s words sounded mad, they also made a lot of sense when I put it all together.
“I gained healing after dying from the fire. Strength came next, because I was unable to stop Pierce from biting me and draining me, then hearing after I didn’t hear him sneaking up behind me the next time.”
“And sight, so you could see people’s intentions.” Jameson pulled me closer to him. If he tugged me any more, I would be sitting on his lap which might not have been a bad thing. My body shook so bad from the revelations, I felt like I would rattle right out of my skin.
“It’s like the venom is making a new version of me every time I come back.” I couldn’t keep the fear out of my voice. What if I lost control after dying too many times? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I harmed those closest to me.
“The venom is not your enemy,” Solomon admitted slowly. “There is venom inside every vampire. It changes them to fit its needs, but if you command it, bend it to your will, it becomes your greatest asset. I pushed my hunger aside for years, only allowing myself to drink the blood of animals, and eventually, it learned to find strength in that. Now, immortality is mine and I have remained pure. If you continue on this path, Jameson, you too will become stronger for it.”
“I made a promise that I would,” Jameson answered, placing a kiss on my head. “I intend to keep it.”
“Just my presence calms something inside him and makes it easier for him to push it aside. Why does that happen?”
If he had theories about what I was or would become, then maybe he could help us understand what brought Jameson and I together with such intensity.
“From what you have described, the two of you have formed a bond, much like the one we hunters make with our daggers. When a hunter is presented with the mystical blade, the weapon reads the purity in the wielder’s intentions. The dagger has the ability to choose the hunter. I’m assuming there was a moment when all of this started, when one of you had to choose the other?”
I nodded. “We both did. I trusted Jameson enough to go with him after I ran from Pierce’s capture, and Jameson came back for me after he got our friends to safety. After that, I was able to use his dagger to kill a vampire.”
“There is stronger magic at work here than even I can pretend to have knowledge of, but I do know when you both made those choices, and they came from the purest of intentions, it formed a bond between the two of you that will be hard to break. It is likely why Lavinia’s presence can help you withstand the bloodlust. It’s quite impressive.”
“There were a few occasions when he was able to do the same for me. It confused me at the time, but it makes more sense now,” I added.
“Your connection is deeper than blood. It comes from a place of trust and devotion. It makes you both stronger, while still giving you the ability to rein it in when the need arises. You are quite the pair,” he mused with a small smile. “I’m proud of you both.”
I ignored the warmth those words caused within me, taking a moment to process what had been said. I was something more than I ever imagined, and there wasn’t anything that would tear Jameson and me apart. Whatever choices laid ahead of me, I knew I would do whatever it took to remain pure and with Jameson. Prime didn’t have enough pirates and vampires in the world to change my mind.
“What does Prime want with me? He has plans and will do anything to have me.” I shivered, remembering his treasure room and the cabinet full of daggers. He had riches that kings would envy. What more could he possibly want?
“If the Sea Witch has spoken with him, then he will likely have heard much of the same as me. I would go as far as to guess that he thinks you are the key to doing something that not even the Sea Witch can do. You are both life and death. You were born from a human and an undead.
If your powers continue to grow, there’s a chance you will have the ability to change bigger things than just yourself. From what the Sea Witch has hinted at, I believe you could possibly bring people back from the dead.”
We sat in stunned silence for a long time after that. There was no way that I could develop that ability. It wasn’t possible, nor was it natural, and I wanted nothing to do with that kind of power. It was just a theory and a ridiculous one at that.
Jameson had turned to stone against me, and his breathing had increased. Suddenly, he pulled me into his lap and wrapped his arms around me so fast that I didn’t have time to react. His face pressed against the crook of my neck, and he breathed in my scent. I wrapped my arms around his neck, hoping that my touch would calm him, but he remained unmoving after several seconds.
Jameson’s reaction began to sink in, and I came to the startling realization that he believed Solomon’s theory. He didn’t spend time with Prime like I did. I couldn’t see him just wanting to bring people back from the dead. No, Prime wanted something else that he was keeping from even his second-in-command.
“What now?” I asked Solomon, still wrapped up in Jameson’s arms.
“Prime is looking for me. I have been a thorn in his side for years, and I’ll continue to do what I can to thwart him. He has no idea who I really am, and I’d like to keep it that way. Now that you are both involved, maybe the tides will begin to turn in our favor.”
“I want to see the Sea Witch. How do we find her?”
Solomon shook his head slowly. “You cannot seek out the Sea Witch yourself. When you are ready, she will reveal herself to you.”
I frowned at him. He made it sound like the Sea Witch wasn’t human. Though, in a world where vampire pirates existed, there was a high probability more magical beings existed. The thing that worried me most was that most powerful people we had encountered seemed to have an ulterior motive.
Blood of the Sea Omnibus Page 24
