Caleb was being disconcertingly silent again, and I began to grow worried again that I might be overwhelming him with my ramblings. I realized he might not have lived anywhere but that frozen island and in that bleak castle for centuries. It would be a shock to his system coming to live with us rowdy lot in The Shade.
I reined myself in and stopped bombarding him with so many thoughts at once. We reached our boat and climbed on board. Micah was resting in a corner, an empty salad and pizza box by his side. Night had fallen, and he was back in his wolf form.
“How did you like the food?” I asked.
“I finished it before I transformed, so it was all right. I wouldn’t enjoy it as a werewolf though. Not after Rhys fed me human flesh. I don’t think anything will be able to beat that.”
I gasped. “He fed you human flesh?”
“Yes. To give me strength for the journey.”
I gulped, feeling wary of Micah for the first time. I hoped that once we got back to The Shade he wouldn’t be craving to satisfy this newfound taste. Rhys had told me the moment they tried human flesh, they craved it nonstop. Micah must have noticed my discomfort.
“Don’t worry, it’s not the type of urge Caleb would get if he drank your blood. It won’t be too much of a struggle to control. I’ll just have to suck it up.”
“Good,” I said, exhaling in relief. “Because I was beginning to like you.”
Micah chuckled and retreated to his room.
Caleb was already sitting in the control cabin, navigating the boat out of the harbor. While he was busy, I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and hair, changing out of the shirt and shorts I’d found in one of the closets and back into the night robe I’d worn the night before.
I returned to the control room.
“How long do you think it will take us?” I asked.
“If nothing goes wrong, maybe eight hours,” Caleb said. “I’ll have to keep checking our course throughout the night. The waters around The Shade can be particularly rough at this time of year…” His voice trailed off as he breathed out, running a hand through his hair.
It pained me to see how nervous he was. I wasn’t sure if there was anything more I could say to ease his discomfort.
“I don’t want you to feel pressured—”
He stopped gazing out at the sea and fixed his eyes on me, his expression resolute.
“No,” he said. “I’ll try this.”
He stood up, closing the distance between us and running his hands down my arms. I shivered as his mouth found my neck. Leaving a trail of soft kisses, he raised his mouth to my ear.
“I’ll try this for you, Rose.”
Chapter 29: Rose
“I’ll try this for you, Rose.”
It was Caleb’s way of letting me know that he wanted me. That he was willing to walk down my path, and see where our story might end up.
He didn’t know how much those few words meant to me. He’d given me the reassurance every part of me had been craving since I’d reunited with him again. The rush that ran through me was overwhelming. The doubts that I’d been harboring ever since I’d reunited with him had lifted from my chest, allowing me to breathe freely for the first time.
I wanted nothing more than for him to hold me in that moment. Hold me and never let me go. He seemed to sense my need as he picked me up in his arms and walked with me to our bedroom. Locking the door, he laid me down on the bed. I knelt as he held my waist and balanced me against him. Closing my eyes, I kissed his lips. Softly, then fully. I wanted to lose myself in him.
As I started unbuttoning his shirt, he held my hands and shook his head. “I need to stay in the control room. I don’t want to risk getting lost… But you should get some sleep.”
He kissed me deeply again and pushed me back until my head rested on the pillows, his weight pressing me down against the mattress. He tucked me beneath the sheets before heading toward the door.
I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep, but after an hour of tossing and turning, I gave up. My mind was far too alive to have any hope of sleeping. I climbed out of bed and left the room.
“I can’t sleep,” I said, as I approached Caleb behind the controls.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re not there.”
“You’re going to be tired tomorrow,” he said, pulling me onto his lap. One arm supporting my back, the other resting over my abdomen, he began rocking gently from side to side.
Nestling my head against his chest, I looked out at the dark waters. I wished I could disappear into him. Become one. Never part. The idea of him leaving me now was so painful I didn’t want to think about it.
I hoped everything would work out in The Shade and he’d want to stay with us.
The next few hours passed in mostly silence. Caleb continued holding me, and every so often I’d reach up to kiss him, hold him closer, but most of the time I was busy playing scenes over and over in my mind, fantasizing how our return would work out. More than anything, I realized, I wanted to see my parents accept Caleb. Approve of him.
It had been painful keeping my feelings for him a secret for so long. I wanted him to stop being my dirty little secret. I wanted to tell my parents, and my brother, what I felt for him. What I hoped he felt for me. My heart was bursting just thinking about it.
As the horizon began to lighten, I looked down at the clock. Five fifteen AM.
“How much longer?” I asked.
“Perhaps an hour.”
I lifted his hands away from me and stood up, walking out onto the deck and placing my hands over the railing. Mom. Dad. Ben. Grandpa. Auntie. Uncle. My heartbeat quickened, excitement coursing through me in anticipation of seeing them again. I felt like an impatient child, walking back to the control room to check on the clock every five minutes, as though hoping time would speed up.
There was a yawn. I turned round to see Micah padding over to me on the deck. He joined me in staring out at the ocean.
“How did you sleep?” I asked.
“Very well. What about you?”
“I haven’t slept at all. Wha—what happened to your tail?” It was the first time I’d examined him closely in his wolf form. There was a dark stump where his tail should have been.
Micah growled. “Rhys sliced it off.”
“Oh my God.”
“He healed it. Doesn’t hurt any more.” Micah shook his head. “Anyway, who are you most looking forward to seeing when we return?”
Still eyeing his wound, I said, “My family. What about you?”
“Kira,” he said, without a moment’s hesitation.
“Who’s Kira?”
“She’s one of the wolves who came with us to The Shade, and a friend of mine… but I’m trying to gather the courage to ask her to be my mate.”
“Ohh.” So my suspicions were correct. Rhys had fed me a pack of lies. “Why haven’t you already?”
“She doesn’t know that I’m in love with her. I suppose I’m worried how she’ll take it.”
I felt a pang of guilt as his words reminded me of my best friend. Griff. I missed him so much. I hoped he’d been doing okay in my absence. I still couldn’t shake the pain I felt for having turned him down. I hoped that he would find someone else so he could stop thinking about me.
I hoped that Kira wouldn’t friendzone Micah the way I’d done Griff.
“You should ask her as soon as we get back,” I said. “I don’t think you should delay it any longer. You’re a great guy, Micah. You’ve nothing to be afraid of. Just tell her how you feel and she’ll either say yes or no. At least you’ll have done your part.”
“Thank you, princess. You know, I think I will.” He paused. “By the way, I still haven’t asked you. Do you know what Rhys used me for?”
I gave him a grim smile. I was about to answer when Caleb swore behind us. Micah and I whirled around to see him gripping the wheel so hard his arm muscles bulged beneath his shirt.
We hurried
over to him. “What?”
“Something has gone wrong,” he said through gritted teeth. “The boat is swerving off course. Way off course.”
“What do you mean?” Micah asked.
“It’s stuck on starboard.”
My heartbeat doubled as I tried to help Caleb—as if my help would make a difference. Micah was still in his wolf form since the sun still hadn’t emerged from the horizon, so without his grip, there was nothing he could do to help.
Caleb stared at the two of us, his face lined with worry.
“Something very strange is going on,” he breathed.
No sooner had he said the words than footsteps climbed the wooden stairs behind us. A tall woman with long light blonde hair emerged from the dark staircase, wearing a flowing green gown.
She smiled faintly at us, her blue eyes sparkling. “It’s not all that strange,” she said.
Chapter 30: Caleb
I had a split second to make a decision. Trust this witch enough to hear her out, or flee while we could. But trust and witch weren’t two words that belonged together in a sentence. At least, not in my world.
I threw myself at Rose, scooping her up as I raced across the deck and dove into the sea. I hoped that Micah would follow my lead. I held Rose close as I kicked down hard. But I couldn’t risk staying under water for long. Her human lungs weren’t capable of holding in oxygen for a tenth as long as mine could.
When Rose’s arms tightened around me, I surfaced for her to gasp for breath. I threw a glance back over my shoulder. We were still in close proximity to the boat, the witch still standing on the deck. I was relieved to see Micah’s shadow swimming beneath the water alongside us, a few meters away. I allowed Rose five seconds to recover before I dipped under again.
But this time, as I tried to push us deeper, my legs froze. As much as I tried to kick, they wouldn’t budge an inch. When Rose began to grow restless again, I had no choice but to surface. This time when I raised my head above the water, we were but three feet away from the hull of the ship. The beautiful witch looked down at us. My heart raced and I struggled to kick down again, but it was useless. I looked around for Micah, hoping he could take Rose, but I couldn’t see him. Perhaps he too had been paralyzed somewhere, engulfed by the rough waves.
Rose’s grip around my neck tightened, her whole body trembling. I held her tighter, trying to let her draw strength from me even though I was barren of it myself.
Chills ran down my spine as the witch began to speak. Her voice was calm and smooth, almost melodious.
“After all the trouble I went to trying to keep you two safe—first diverting the warlock, then protecting you on your journey back—I would have thought you’d at least have the courtesy to hear me out. Don’t you want to know who I am and why I’ve done all this?”
I glared up at her, though I kept my mouth sealed.
“My name is Hermia Adrius, sister of Thalia Adrius, present ruler and Ageless of The Sanctuary. I’m here to guide you to safety. You cannot return to The Shade.”
“Why not?” I growled.
“It’s no longer safe. The island’s protective spell collapsed under pressure of the black witches. They’ve now taken over. You must come with me if you want to survive.”
Rose stopped breathing, every last drop of blood draining from her face.
“Even if your words are true, why would you want to help us?” I spat. “You owe us nothing. Why should I trust a word that comes out of your lips?”
“Because it’s in our interest to protect Rose Novak. We don’t want the black witches getting hold of her… Just come with me, there’s no time for talk. There’s a hidden gate to The Sanctuary only a few miles away. We’ll go there now.”
Before I could even realize what was happening, an invisible force jerked Rose and me away from each other. Our bodies levitated in the air, as if controlled by puppet strings.
“No,” I shouted, struggling even as I was raised higher into the air.
Hermia drew us both back onto the deck. As soon as we both landed on the floor, I crawled over to Rose and held her. I glared back at the witch.
“You just need to trust me on this,” she said. “It’s for your own good.”
She began to walk up to us. I was sure she was about to touch our shoulders and vanish us to their hidden gate.
But I wasn’t going to give up this easily. As she raised her palms, I extended my claws and slashed at her. She vanished, but not fast enough to avoid my claw cutting a deep gash in her right palm. I felt her blood on my hand as I picked up Rose and ran back into the interior of the boat, along the corridor and through to the other side of the deck.
We weren’t far away from The Shade now. If we managed to make enough noise, maybe, just maybe, one of those vampires or werewolves would detect us. I wasn’t willing to jump in the sea in case my legs became paralyzed again the moment we hit the water.
“Mona!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. “Anyone! I have Rose Novak! Help!” I opened my mouth to yell again, but choked as hands closed around my neck, crushing my larynx. I forced my head backward, expecting to see the blonde witch. But while I saw a witch, she wasn’t blonde.
Two witches with pale skin and dark curly hair stood over us, both dressed in black. They looked alike enough to be sisters. The witch gripping me by the neck was a few inches taller than the other.
I could tell just by looking at them that these were a different breed of witches to Hermia. The breed of witches I’d spent most of my life with. These were black witches. The same witches who’d stolen Annora away from me were now attempting to steal Rose.
Gasping, I lashed out again and managed to graze one witch’s chest. She let go and jerked backward. I crouched down in front of Rose, shielding her.
Two black witches against a vampire. I had no chance. They knew it. I knew it.
They drew closer again, like hyenas closing in on prey.
“You’ll rue the day the two of you injured our brother,” the taller witch hissed.
Julisse and Arielle. The two remaining sisters of Rhys. I’d heard talk around the castle that they were two of the most formidable female witches of our time, but I’d never met them before.
As they both held out their palms, a burst of light blinded me. It was so bright, it seared through my brain. I staggered back against Rose, clutching my eyes. I forced them open even as they burned.
Through a veil of shimmering light, I caught sight of Hermia standing on the roof of the boat. Her uninjured palm was outstretched as she glared down at Julisse and Arielle, who appeared to have been blinded by the light as well.
I grabbed Rose once again. I had no time to contemplate whether my legs would still be paralyzed. We had to flee while Hermia distracted them. I dove into the water, thanking God when I found I was able to kick down.
I didn’t know how far I’d get with Rose now. It wouldn’t be long until those two black witches finished off the white witch. Even though she was from the Ageless’ lineage, she would be no match for them.
We managed to get about a mile away when the black witches approached the boat’s railing, scanning the waves for us. I ducked down quickly, hoping they hadn’t spotted us. But they would soon. The brilliant flashes of light had stopped. That meant they’d killed Hermia or she had fled for her life. I actually had expected her to fold before now—I knew how much it took out of a white witch to launch an attack on a black witch like Rhys or his siblings, the most advanced witches of our time.
We weren’t far away enough for them to miss us, especially now that they were moving the boat toward us.
I tried not to think about getting caught. I just focused on protecting Rose. If they were going to pry Rose from me, it would be from my dead hands.
I ducked down, daring to swim a little deeper this time, and stayed there until Rose once again struggled against me. But this time, as I tried to surface, I couldn’t. And it wasn’t because my legs were paralyzed. Far from i
t. A powerful suction began pulling me downward. It happened so fast I couldn’t react.
The next thing I knew, my body dropped through what felt like a hole, my elbows banging against a hard metal surface.
There was a grinding sound of metal. I sat up in a pool of water, realizing that I could breathe normally. Fluorescent lighting surrounded us. My eyes were still sensitive from Hermia’s spell, and the bright lights clouded my vision again. I squinted, and turned to Rose next to me. She’d sat up too, coughing and gasping for breath as she rubbed her eyes.
Once my pupils adjusted, I thought I might have finally discovered what lay in wait for the undead after death.
Chapter 31: Rose
I thought I was hallucinating. That I was suffering from shock. That I’d swallowed too much sea water, or was oxygen-deprived. But when Caleb said her name, the cold truth sank in.
“Annora?”
She stood over us. The water in the metal chamber we found ourselves in came halfway up her legs. Her long dark hair hung damp down her shoulders, her eyes wide and glassy as she stared at Caleb. There was something different about her eyes. They seemed warmer in color somehow, no longer the harsh grey they used to be. And her skin was a little less pale.
Caleb stood up, the top of his head grazing the metal ceiling. His hands were shaking.
“I-I thought you were dead.”
Her lower lip trembled as she looked up at him, tears filling her bloodshot eyes. “Annora is dead, Caleb,” she whispered. “At least, the one you’ve known for the past century.”
“What?”
“I don’t know how it happened. But Lilith… she did this to me. When I woke up, I was without powers. No stronger than a human, the way I was before I first turned into a vampire. And I felt—” Her voice broke and she began sobbing. Annora hadn’t looked me in the eye once yet. She was so consumed with Caleb, I might as well have not existed. “I felt you,” she continued, gasping for breath. “I felt nothing but you. And what a fool I was to let you go. How blind I’ve been all these years to not see that all I’ve ever wanted was right in front of me… you, my love. I felt that I might die when I realized you’d gone. I didn’t understand—” She was rambling like a crazy person.
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