Blood of the Sea Omnibus

by Heather Renee

  “Well, the last time I listened to your advice, it didn’t work out so well for me. Forgive me if I’m not the first to volunteer in trusting your word.”

  I glanced at Jameson. “We should go save him.”

  “It sounds like he might deserve it.” He shrugged, then winked.

  Grasping Jameson’s hand, I sped toward the ship with him beside me. When we arrived at the gangplank, we slowed down as the screaming reached us.

  “Next time, don’t be such an idiot and I won’t stab you.” Catherine was inches from Evander’s face, and I felt like we were interrupting a passionate moment instead of saving Evander.

  Ruth and Solomon spotted us and came over, seeming grateful for an excuse to step away.

  “How long have they been at it?” Jameson asked.

  “Since the moment he opened his mouth. We tried to get in a word to help, but they didn’t acknowledge us. We only stayed to make sure she didn’t actually kill him.” Solomon glanced back, seeming to double-check no blood had been shed in the minute he wasn’t paying attention.

  “So, what is the plan now? Are we still leaving today?” I asked.

  “As long as Evander can calm her down, then yes. I don’t want to leave the island unless the new ships are joining us. It’s already a risk leaving people behind, but I won’t make it greater with vampires on our beach,” Ruth replied.

  Solomon placed his hand over hers. “We have some of our best fighters staying to protect the others, and the safe rooms have all been prepared if anything should happen. We’ve done everything we can, given the situation.”

  My eyes met Jameson’s then went back to Ruth and Solomon. Something was going on between the two of them, but there was no time to inquire about it. I’d have to settle for speculation for the time being.

  “Lavinia!” Evander roared. “She’s refusing to speak to anyone but you.”

  I looked up and, sure enough, Catherine was gone, and Evander was left pacing the deck by himself. “Where did she go?”

  Evander pointed to the crow’s nest, and I saw Catherine’s thick chestnut hair blowing in the wind.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said to Jameson.

  “Be careful.”

  “Always.” I smiled.

  Speeding up the rope ladder, I stood in front of Catherine within seconds, and her appraisal of me made shivers run down my back. Her silver eyes were judging, and I was beginning to think I should have brought Jameson with me.

  “You’re his daughter.”

  “I am, but only by blood. Is that going to be a problem?” I wouldn’t let her push me around, and she needed to get to the point.

  “I don’t know. Is it? Will you actually be able to kill him? We’ve taken a huge risk coming here, and before I ask my people to fight alongside you, I need to know you have no doubts about what needs to be done.”

  “Do you realize what will happen when I kill him?” It might not have been the best time to bring it up, but we didn’t need them rebelling against us later on if they didn’t truly understand.

  “I do, as do the others with me. Not all of them are vampires, but the ones who are have accepted their fate. We’re not all vicious monsters like your father.”

  “He might have been responsible for getting my mother pregnant, but he’s not my father. He did not raise me, and he holds no influence over me. I am my own person, and sharing the same blood with Prime doesn’t mean a damn thing to me.”

  Her attitude was grating on my nerves, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stay in her presence.

  Then, like someone who had gone mad, she grinned and laughed. “Evander was right. You have enough fight in you. I just needed to see it for myself.”

  “So, you’ll go to war with us?” I asked, done playing her games.

  “If you promise to end Prime once and for all, my crew will follow you wherever you lead us.”

  Chapter 14

  A few hours later, all of the crews had boarded the ships, and we set sail. The hardest part of leaving was saying goodbye to the children. Though, Nettie, Maggie, and Timothy remained strong and had all the faith in us, it was hard to say farewell when not being absolutely certain that we would see them again. Alice cried as she hugged them all, and my heart broke for her. The only saving grace was that Nathan was once again staying behind. We trusted him to guard them with his life. He might not be joining us on the front lines, but he had become the protector of our future, and that role was just as important.

  The next island of significance was only a couple days away, and we were hoping to run into some farmers or hunters, but the likelihood of that wasn’t high. If they were nearby, they would have gotten our first call to arms. Still, there was a chance they had missed the summons, or they weren’t in any condition to answer. Whatever the case, we were going to seek them out and ask them to join us. If they were in need of assistance, we would also do what we could to help.

  The crew was tense, and rightly so. It was unheard of for hunters and vampires to work together. Never been done before in their combined histories. It seemed as if I had started a sort of rebellion when I stood up to Prime and attempted to end him. No one had ever gotten as close as I had to deal the most powerful vampire a killing blow. Though it hadn’t worked, it was how close I had gotten that drew them.

  Solomon and Ruth led our small fleet of ships, and I was happy to give them that, because I didn’t know the first thing about finding hunters or approaching them. If we ran into vampires, we had a few to help with that as well.

  Evander had really stepped up and was acting as the go-between for the vampires and us. Catherine was still refusing to speak to him, which would have been entertaining, but the wistful look on his face that I had seen plenty of over the past couple days made me feel bad for him. I had also gotten the feeling over the several interactions with her, that when it came to Evander and their past, there was no coming back from the hurt caused by his betrayal.

  Anyone could see that she still cared about him, but there could be no love for him in her heart without trust. Evander seemed to realize that, too, and kept his distance, even though I knew it hurt him.

  Thankfully, Catherine wasn’t on our ship much. She ran her own ship and had only been to ours a few times to relay messages about which routes they thought would be best for us to take, based on their recent travels.

  I had been meaning to talk to Evander about it and offer my shoulder as a friend, but when we weren’t searching other islands, my days were spent preparing for the coming battle. I worked with Solomon and Jameson in the mornings. Then, depending on the day, I would either spend my afternoons milking my fangs for more venom or learning vampire lore from the books we’d brought from the hunter’s library.

  A decent amount of the vampire stuff I already knew or had come to my own conclusions about, but it was still good to learn and confirm all I could. I had no idea if I would need it in my immediate future.

  Jameson was around, either making himself useful with the ship and its crew or helping me train. My favorite part of each day with him was when we were finally alone in our room. He held me every night while I slept with his dagger securely in hand. Neither of us had fully recovered from Prime being able to pulling me to him while I slept, but so far, the dagger had done its job and it hadn’t happened again. In fact, I really hadn’t had dreams at all since that night.

  After we had been at sea for a few days, with no luck of finding anyone on the other islands, I took a rare day off from learning and releasing my venom. Instead, I took advantage of the early afternoon sun and sat on the deck, basking in the warmth, letting my body absorb the sun’s rays and feeling it touch something deep within me. My favorite thing about finally accepting all parts of myself was that I was different. I gained strength from the sun and wasn’t weakened like most vampires.

  While I sat enjoying the day, someone unexpected came and sat beside me, causing me to blink several times to make sure I wasn’t
imagining him.

  “Evander?” I said his name as a question, looking him up and down. He rarely came out during the day if he could help it, so I assumed whatever he needed was important.

  “Lavinia,” he replied, leaning against the side of the ship and angling his body so he was facing me.

  “What’s going on? Are you feeling all right?”

  “At the moment, I’m feeling rather warm as the sun drains my strength away.”

  “And you’re letting this happen, because…?”

  “I thought I’d see what you enjoy so much about the inferno in the sky.”

  “I smell a lie. Try again.”

  He sighed heavily while a ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “The truth is I was bored.”

  “I thought you had things to attend to, and that’s why I had a rare afternoon off.” My forehead furrowed as I tried to figure out his behavior.

  “Just having a rough time of it,” he offered evasively.

  “Well, I’m listening. Tell me what’s going on.”

  He turned the opposite direction, gazing out into the ocean, and I was sure he would get up and walk away without answering me, but he finally turned back to face me.

  “I never thought I’d see her again, and now that I have, I can’t stop thinking about what I did. We’re fighting against Prime to eradicate vampires, and I know what will happen once we succeed.” His green eyes met mine, filled with more emotion than I had ever seen in them. “I know we need to stop him, but I keep picturing myself crumbling into ash. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, but at the same time, I’m accepting this is where I’m supposed to meet my end.”

  Evander’s unexpected openness and the depth of emotion he expressed took me aback. He had always been polite—except when he was pushing me—but I had never seen him this vulnerable… this human.

  Taking a minute to get my thoughts together, I thought of a proper response. He could have gone to someone else, but he came to me. I mulled that over for a few seconds, wondering why he would want to talk to me about this. I wasn’t a vampire in the same way he was. Though, I supposed I had a chance of dying as everyone else did. Except… would I die?

  I had died before, quite a few times, but with everyone else, there was no chance they would come back to life. Nevertheless, I wasn’t sure if I would return if I was killed as I was now. That was a sobering thought. I had gone about living as if I couldn’t perish, which was both truth and lie, because there was no guarantee that I could survive dying again since I had fully transformed into my true self.

  “I’ve died a few times,” I began, not sure where I was going with it, but speaking from the heart. “The first time I died, it was after I had been bitten and was left to burn in my aunt and uncle’s house. I remember knowing that I was going to die, but with what my life had been back then, I was accepting of the fact that it would end. After I found Jameson and the others and they became my family, I suddenly had something to live for, to fight for. If I die facing Prime, I will do it knowing that I did everything in my power to protect the people I care about, trying to rid the world of a man who would kill us all without remorse.”

  “I’ve never had anything worth fighting for,” Evander confessed. “I’ve always just accepted my lot in life and tried to make do with what I had. Sometimes, I orchestrated things so they worked in my favor, and other times, I just did my best to stay out of the way. Since meeting you and seeing Catherine again, I’ve realized that’s no way to live, even for a vampire.”

  Silence fell around us, except for the sounds of the crew and water lapping against the side of the ship. Both of us were lost in our own thoughts. Mine were about the people I loved enough to die for, and Evander was probably regretting the things he had done in his past.

  We sat there and watched the sun sink lower in the sky, toward the distant horizon. At some point, Jameson joined us, sitting behind me and wrapping his arms around me while I leaned into him. Soon after, Alice and Henry sat with us, too, followed by Solomon. The silence danced between us while we watched the sun set, and I let out a contented sigh. At least for an hour or so, we were all gathered together.

  It was a pleasant experience, and I hoped that it helped everyone, not just Evander. Our futures were uncertain, but if we took moments like that to appreciate our lives and each other, it would make the uncertainty bearable.

  The boom of a cannon sounded in the night, jolting me awake and sending Jameson to his feet faster than I could blink. I scrambled off the bed and scurried into my training clothes that were within easy reaching distance. While Jameson pulled his shirt on and grabbed his dagger from the bed, another explosion sounded, followed by the whistle of air, and then a splash as the ball crashed into the sea.

  We raced out the door and were on the deck in mere seconds. Solomon was on the upper deck, looking at the ship while Evander barked orders at the crew. Another cannon fired, and as it splashed into the water beside the ship—close enough that water rained down on us—the order was finally yelled for battle stations.

  I ran up the stairs to the upper deck, with Jameson on my heels, and turned to see a ship behind us. The sails were white, but they flew a pirate’s flag with the skull and crossbones embroidered on it. I had never seen the combination in all of my dealings with pirates over the past several months.

  “Where are the other ships?” Jameson asked, prompting me to glance around, and I noticed we were alone.

  Our armada of ships was nowhere to be found.

  “We decided to split up to check out the next string of islands. Most of the waterways were too narrow for the bigger ships to pass through, so it made sense to separate at the time,” Solomon answered.

  “Can you tell if they are vampires or just everyday pirates that have somehow escaped Prime’s notice?” I asked, staring at the vessel. With all the noise from the crew, I couldn’t make out anything beyond that.

  “There are heartbeats, but not nearly enough to run a ship,” Evander informed us, grabbing the wheel as the crew member left to find his station.

  “How long ago did we separate? Maybe the other ships will hear the cannon fire and come to our aid,” Jameson yelled over the sound of another cannon explosion.

  “That’s what we are hoping for,” Solomon called back, withdrawing his dagger and holding it as the blade glowed a yellow hue in the predawn light. “We separated a couple hours ago, spreading out mainly to cover more ground, but not far enough that we couldn’t offer aid if someone needed it.”

  “We need to evade them as long as possible, buy the others more time to get here,” I urged, grabbing the railing as Evander turned the wheel sharply, narrowly evading another cannon blast.

  “Can we fire back?” I asked once our sails were unfurled to full mast and caught the wind.

  “If we can get the ship turned sideways, or if we can somehow get behind them,” Solomon offered, gazing around into the soft light.

  “If they aren’t under Prime’s thrall, and are indeed pirates, they will bow to Catherine. Terrible luck they came after us instead of one of the other ships,” Evander added, spinning the wheel again and making me stumble.

  “Can we move a cannon to the back of the ship?” Jameson asked, catching me before I could fall.

  “Nowhere to put it,” Evander grunted as he wrestled with the wheel once more.

  “Our best chance is to evade them for as long as possible. If Catherine doesn’t show up, then we’ll have no choice but to turn and fight,” Solomon admitted, his voice tense while his grip on the dagger tightened.

  “Why don’t we just do that now?” I asked, my protective instinct kicking in now that those I cared about on board, and myself, were in danger.

  “Because I’d hate to be on the receiving end of Catherine’s wrath if we fight them and they turn out to be under her,” Evander confessed, glancing at me, and a shiver ran down my spine.

  Catherine was on our side, but there was a ruthl
essness about her that made the hair on my nape stand on end. I was grateful for her help and was extremely glad we were allies, because I’d hate to be her enemy. I didn’t think I was her favorite person because of my friendship with Evander, but she could shove it for all I cared. Everyone had the chance to change. It was too bad Evander’s came too late to save their relationship, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t all be friends.

  The ship suddenly rocked violently, sending Jameson against the railing. Pain radiated from my hip as we slammed into the unforgiving wood. My advanced healing would have it back to normal in no time, but it didn’t stop the initial pain.

  “Are we hit?” Jameson hollered, drawing me closer to him, a red tint expanding in his eyes.

  “It grazed us,” Solomon called back, looking over the side to inspect the damage. “A direct hit will do significant damage. Stay ahead of them, Evander.”

  “I’m trying,” he grunted while holding the wheel steady. The veins in his forearms popped out as he strained against the ship.

  Cannon fire split the air much louder than all the other shots, and the blast came through the lower deck, sending shattered pieces of wood in all directions. A large splinter flew toward Evander, lodging itself in the left side of his chest. He crumbled to the deck, blood staining his shirt.

  Jameson surged forward and grabbed the wheel before it could spin out of control, while I crawled to Evander’s side.

  Blood seeped through my fingers, and I hoped the others would arrive before it was too late.

  Chapter 15

  Without pause, Solomon crouched on the other side of Evander and ripped open his shirt, so we could see his wound better. We made quick work of removing the shard from his chest in hopes his healing would kick in, sooner rather than later. Once the bleeding began to slow, Solomon stood up to check the rest of the ship.