“Sorry.” I pulled back, softening my expression and setting her down once more. “Thank you for coming to get me. I’ll go see Henry now. Do you want to walk back to the house with me?”
The smile lit up her innocent face. “Yes! Then, I’m going to help Humphrey with breakfast. Whenever I help, he lets me pick the biggest pancake.”
She tugged on my hand, urging me forward, and I gladly followed her. Nettie’s joy brought a smile to my lips. When we initially returned, Nathan had told us how much she struggled to adjust after our group separated, but she had finally made some new friends, and Humphrey had taken a liking to her. He was an elderly man who loved to cook. He couldn’t fight, but he insisted on doing his part to help our cause. He could be cross at times, but Nettie had warmed his heart, and it was interesting to watch them together.
When we entered the house, Nettie informed me that Henry and Maggie would be found downstairs. Then, she said goodbye and headed toward the kitchen.
Screams reached me before I opened the door to the basement area, and I cringed. Quickly entering the room, I followed the noise to find Maggie slamming her head against the stone wall. Cracks ran up to the roof, and blood coated the area in front of her. She was yelling, crying, and then laughing in rapid succession.
Stepping closer, I placed my hand on Henry’s shoulder as he fought Maggie’s strength. “Let me.”
“Thank you.” His head fell forward.
Henry was strong and had come a long way in his training, but he wasn’t vampire resilient. Maggie outpowered him significantly, even with her small size.
“Maggie, it’s Lavinia.” My hands gripped both of her shoulders as I stopped her from smashing her face once more into the wall. “What’s wrong? What do you need?”
“Where is Timothy?” she screeched, turning toward me with wild red eyes and a gash on her forehead that was already healing.
“He’s with Alice. If you want to see him, you need to calm down. You’ll scare him like this, and I know you don’t want to do that.”
“I heard him scream. He needs me.” Snarling, she yanked out of my hold and raced for the door.
Henry braced himself in front of the exit, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. We both hated what came next. Maggie charged him, but he managed to stay on his feet as I sped forward and restrained her again before she could cause him any harm.
“Calm down!” My voice boomed through the room.
She twisted and bucked beneath my hold, trying to bite and hit me—attempting to free herself and go to her brother—but I didn’t waver. As much as it hurt me to keep her like this, I knew it would hurt her even more if she harmed someone in her current state. Henry stepped forward with a set of chains and, together, we tied her arms behind her back before setting her on the bed and locking the manacles around the metal frame.
Tears trailed down my face as I took a step away from the helpless child. Anger stirred just under the surface of my skin. Prime had done this to her. He had made it so she might never have a quality life. Every time we had to restrain Maggie, the drive to kill him—once and for all—increased exponentially.
Henry stood sentry next to me, and we waited for her to calm. Almost a half-hour later, Maggie finally cried herself back to sleep, whispering about how sorry she was for being a monster.
“Thank you,” Henry breathed as we stepped out of the room.
“You and Alice don’t have to do this alone, so I’m glad you asked for me. I know you both volunteered to take responsibility for them, but it doesn’t mean we aren’t here for you.”
His shoulders sagged in defeat. “I know. We’ve grown to care for the children more than we imagined, and it makes everything all that much harder to witness.”
I grasped his arm, trying to offer comfort. “We will figure out a way to help her. She won’t always suffer like this.”
As I said the words, I tried to believe them myself, but it was hard. I was new to the vampire world and had no idea how we could fix Maggie’s erratic emotions, but I knew none of us would ever stop trying.
We parted ways, and I went in search of Jameson. He had been in a meeting with Solomon when I started my run, and I hoped he was done. Nothing soothed my frayed emotions like his strong arms around me.
On my way to our room, I peeked into the kitchen to find Nettie with flour on her nose and cheeks, flicking some of it at Humphrey. He grumbled at the mess she made, but I saw a glimmer of the smile he tried to hide.
When I arrived at the door to our room, a fleeting shadow underneath the door called my attention, and my ears picked up the sounds of heavy footsteps pacing within the room. My lips curved up as I turned the handle.
Jameson was holding his dagger in one hand and a book in the other when I walked in. His eyes found mine as the door clicked closed behind me, and the smile he cast my way never ceased to take my breath away.
“How is Maggie? I saw Alice and she mentioned you were helping Henry.” After setting the items down, he took several steps my way.
“Not good. We had to restrain her again before she left the room or hurt herself even more.”
I took a stride toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist as he pulled me close. A deep, calming breath made its way through me, taking in his scent—rain, trees, and honeysuckle. It had taken me months to remember the sweet fragrance of honeysuckle, but when we arrived back in Port Valor, some of it grew near the house, and I was finally able to identify the name of the aroma that had evaded me for months.
“I wish we could do something to help her,” he whispered against my neck.
The sun’s rays shone through the window and seeped into my skin as I pressed against Jameson, reminding me of another development that had come about: the sun made me stronger. For most vampires, it made them tire much quicker and, depending on their age, weakened them considerably. The newer the vampire, the faster their energy faded against the sun.
Thankfully, it didn’t seem to bother Jameson or Solomon, but it didn’t increase their stamina like it did mine. For me, the sun had played a huge role in my training, allowing us to spar outdoors often. It was just the three of us, which was fine with me; I was able to focus far better when I didn’t have people gawking at me.
Today was our day off, though, and I was in no hurry to leave Jameson’s arms. I still ran on our rest days, but I had no desire to leave our room again, especially while being back with him in that moment—so long as nobody truly needed us.
His fingers traced down my arms, leaving a trail of shivers as he went along. Leaning my head against his chest, I closed my eyes and let the steady beat of his heart calm the uneasy feeling within me.
Soft lips found their way to my neck and up behind my ear, and I was rapidly becoming mush in his hands. My body yearned for his touch, but something had held me back from taking our relationship further. I was afraid of the enhanced emotions I knew would come by consummating our relationship, and how it might change me once more.
My last major change had happened when I was severely overwhelmed, and the prophecy from the Sea Witch had me second-guessing every decision I made. Unfortunately, that included the ones revolving around my relationship with Jameson, but every time he touched me as he was in that moment, it broke through my defenses a little more.
His hands slid under the shirt I wore, and he tugged me closer. Each day, he took things a little further. He knew I needed his patience, but he didn’t let me run from my fears, either. I hadn’t outwardly expressed my thoughts to him about why I always pulled back, but he seemed to understand without me needing to say the words.
I pressed my lips against his as he explored the upper half of my body with candor. My custom training clothes made his actions easier and less awkward than trying to get through one of my corset dresses, letting me lose myself in his touch for just a few extra moments.
“I love you, Lavinia.” The deep tenor of his voice reverberated against my heated skin. Then, he straighte
ned my shirt and pulled back ever so slightly.
When a cool breeze hit my skin from the loss of his touch, I opened my eyes to find his azure ones staring at me and a smile on his face.
“I love you, too. Now, what is the smile for?” I asked, giving him a grin of my own.
“Am I not allowed to just be happy to have you in my arms?”
Rising to my tiptoes, I pressed my lips to his. “Yes, you are, but I need to go wash up after my run, so you’ll have to survive without me somehow, for the time being.”
His lower lipped jutted out, and I nipped at it before withdrawing from his arms. I turned back to find him grinning at me, dimples on full display, and my heart softened even more.
It had been several months since my life was turned upside down by vampires, but I tried to remember the positives. If it hadn’t happened, I would have been forced to marry Pierce, and I would have never known the kind of love I had found with Jameson.
As much as I missed my aunt and hated being on the run all the time, I had also gained a lot in the process: friends who I had chosen to call family, a father whom I had previously thought to be dead, and love stronger than all the evil in our world. Remembering those things made it easier to get up each day and fight for the safety of others.
I still hadn’t resolved things with Solomon entirely, but I had made more of an effort to get to know the man he had become. He very much wanted to be my father again, but we were both different people, and it was going to take time. Thankfully, he understood that, too.
As I stood at the wash basin, wiping the soft wet cloth across my arms, I heard a knock at our door and groaned. People rarely came to see us on our rest days and, if they did, it normally meant something had gone wrong. We hadn’t even had breakfast yet, and I was already seeing the day go downhill.
Hearing Nathan’s voice, I quickly finished cleaning up and changed into a simple linen dress with capped sleeves and no corset. Training days were great, because I was able to wear loose trousers and a shirt custom-made for the women who were training without feeling out of place, but I missed my dresses on occasion.
When I entered the room again, Nathan was standing by the door watching Jameson flip through the book I had seen him reading earlier—a pinched expression marred his face.
“What happened?” I asked Nathan since Jameson seemed solely focused on finding something within the book.
“Ruth thinks a dagger could lead us to the Obsidian Caves, but everything she has tried with hers hasn’t worked. I told Jameson that I thought if we could find a dagger for you to bond with on your own, you might have the best chance of finding the caves, since the Sea Witch has spoken to you directly.”
“But, we don’t have any other daggers,” I reminded them.
Ruth had thought there were more, but Prime had gotten his hands on the last of the supply Solomon had hidden, and I was never able to sneak back into his treasure vault to get them.
Jameson’s head snapped up, and his determined eyes met mine. “We’re going to make you one.”
Chapter 2
My head tilted to the side, wondering how in the world that could be possible without the Sea Witch. If there was a way to create a hunter’s dagger without her, then I was certain the process would have been discovered by now. It seemed like something that would have been tried many times over as the vampire population grew and the hunter count dwindled.
“How is that possible?” I asked, genuinely curious and a bit skeptical.
“I haven’t figured out all of the key items needed to forge it,” Jameson confessed, “but each of the books I have read gives a little more information than the last, and I think if I can just find the right pieces from each manuscript, then we can make it happen.”
“Where are you getting these books?” Approaching the table, I picked up and examined the item in question, a red leather-bound tome with cracks on the spine.
It was smaller than the average book, and it reminded me of a journal. I used to keep one when I was younger and living with my aunt and uncle. The writing was cramped and hard to decipher at first glance, but after a moment of concentration, I was able to understand most of the words.
“There is a small library of sorts that Ruth has set up here. It’s not extensive, and mostly consists of journals from previous hunters who have written down their thoughts and impressions. There are even a few that Solomon wrote, detailing his beginning as a vampire and then hunter,” Jameson explained, not quite meeting my eyes.
He empathized with Solomon, not only as his hunter mentor, but also because they were both pure vampires. He knew my feelings about my father and respected them, but I knew he wished I would give him more of a chance. Over the past weeks, my resolve had been slipping and my heart warming a bit more toward him, but I was stubbornly not giving in. Not yet.
“So, you found clues in these journals to piece together a way to forge a dagger—without the Sea Witch’s help—in hopes that it will lead us to the Obsidian Caves, and we can find her.” I tried to keep the doubt out of my voice, but by the sheepish looks on both their faces, I had failed. I wanted to be supportive, but the plan sounded like it would take too much time. Time we didn’t have.
“When you say it like that, it doesn’t sound like much of a plan,” Jameson admitted.
“Well, it’s the only good lead we’ve come up with so far,” I added, trying to be positive, and gave them both a small smile. “Show me what you’ve found and maybe I can help.”
“Seems like a waste of time if you ask me,” a voice said from the doorway.
Evander was leaning against the frame, careful to keep away from the rays of sunlight that streaked across the floor. He was wearing new clothes and would have looked like a gentleman, if it wasn’t for all of the scars littering his face and arms. He watched me appraise him before taking a bite from an apple.
“You haven’t offered an alternative,” Jameson pointed out, sounding as if they had discussed it previously.
“The dagger creates a magical bond with the hunter. How can you replicate that without magic?” he asked, stating the very thing that had given me pause. “And if, by some miracle, you can, how do you know Lavinia will be able to bond to it? It could choose another, and all your efforts and time would have been wasted.”
“It’s worth a try. How else is Lavinia supposed to find the Sea Witch?” Nathan countered, and I noted his uncomfortable stance. He didn’t trust the vampire.
“You found me, didn’t you?” Evander asked, turning his piercing green eyes on me.
“That was the compulsion. It guided me,” I stated, trying not to show how uncomfortable it made me. “I can’t compel the Sea Witch.”
“No, you can’t, but I think that is the answer,” Evander challenged. “You need to explore that ability. There is more there. You just need to figure it out.” His eyes bore into mine, trying to convey his seriousness.
“I discovered that ability by accident, and it’s not something I wish to explore further,” I declared, straightening my spine and raising my chin.
A crease formed between Evander’s eyebrows, but he took another bite from his apple to cover it up. Still, I saw it. He was hurt I had dismissed his advice.
“I’ll be around,” he offered, before disappearing in a gust of air.
“I don’t trust him,” Nathan stated what was already obvious to us.
“He means well,” Jameson replied, frowning at the door. “At least, I think he does.” He shook his head, confused.
“Show me what you’ve found,” I prompted, putting Evander and his advice out of my mind.
“Right,” Jameson agreed, refocusing on the task at hand. Flipping through the book, he pointed to a passage. “This journal was written by a hunter named Cassien. He tested his dagger thoroughly and was the one to figure out how to use it to find vampires. I’m hoping to learn and understand that a bit more, to see if that could be the key to finding the Sea Witch once we make your
blade.”
I nodded, reading through the passage quickly. Cassien was thorough in his descriptions, and it ignited a small spark of hope in my chest. Maybe this could work. My abilities had fully manifested, but I was hesitant to explore them like Solomon and Evander wanted me to.
The darkness inside me lay mostly dormant, for the time being. I was terrified to see just how far it would push me if I attempted to use it. The power was a temptation that I could not afford to give in to. Not with so many people I cared about around me.
“It’s a good start,” I concluded, smiling at Jameson. I loved seeing that flicker in his eyes as he learned new things. Reading had opened up a whole new world of knowledge for him.
“There are more of Cassien’s journals in Ruth’s library. I’ve only read a couple, but I have a feeling that everything we need to duplicate the daggers is between their pages. We just need to piece it all together.”
“It’s our day off from training, so let’s go to this library and see what else we can find,” I offered, my heart lifting. It felt like we might finally be moving forward for the first time in weeks.
Nathan went to check on Nettie while Jameson led me to where he had been doing his research. Ruth’s library was located in a small room. A floor-to-ceiling bookcase was built into the East wall, with most of its shelves filled with books of all different sizes. A small table was set in the middle of the room with chairs surrounding it. Maps of far-off places were hung on the remaining three walls, making me feel very small in comparison to everything that lay beyond our small strand of islands.
Jameson went to the shelves, pulled several books down, and carried them to the table. “These are all of Cassien’s journals that have descriptions of daggers he studied, which were either his or other hunter’s. Each one leads to the next. He had a brilliant mind and opened so many avenues for making hunters more effective in this fight.”
“That’s great, but you said ‘he had’…” I let my thoughts drift off, hoping Jameson would know what happened to Cassien.
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