Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Yet, I could see her as a Vampyre, sucking the blood out of humans like a creature of the night. It would suit her. I think it would suit all Syrens.
I wait until the drinks are flowing and Priest starts to win a few rounds of the game, which assures me he won’t suddenly quit, before I excuse myself and disappear down the ship. I find Abe exactly where I thought he would be: on deck, up in the crow’s nest. He’s taken quite a liking to observing the sea from that height, probably studying us all scurrying below him like ants.
“Abe!” I yell up the mast. “Do you have a moment?”
I see his red mop peer over the side. “Want me to come down?”
“I’ll come up!”
I’ve never climbed the mast before, but I figure it can’t be hard. One hand over the over.
But halfway up, I have to pause, my muscles shaking. I’m still gaining strength again, this body is still new, and I’ve actually never climbed anything before. I have to take a few deep breaths before I continue up, calming my shaking nerves and muscles.
Finally, I reach Abe on the tiny wooden platform, my heart hammering in my chest. I bet the Vampyres don’t expend this much effort. Everything they do is effortless.
“Afraid of heights?” Abe asks me as I lean back against the mast, away from the railing.
“No different than staring down into the abyss of the ocean,” I say.
“Even though swimming and falling to your death are completely different?”
I give him a dirty look. “I’ll try not to think about the difference.”
He stares at me with amusement. “What can I do for you, Larimar? I assume this is about Aragon?”
“Can you turn me into a Vampyre?” I ask, not caring if I’m blunt.
He doesn’t look surprised at the question. “You’re asking if I can?”
“Priest. You. Anyone on this ship.”
“You want to become one of us? Because I think you’re already an honorary member of the Brethren.”
“I want to live forever,” I tell him. “I don’t want to lose Priest. I want to be by his side for all eternity.”
He scratches at the dark auburn hair on his chin and looks off into the sunset. “Yes, I suppose love does that to people.”
“Can you do it?”
“You’ve discussed it with Priest?”
I pinch my lips shut and nod.
“And I assume he’s against the idea.”
“He says I would become a monster. Would I become one?”
“Well, you can see why he might think that. That’s what happened to him.”
“And in your experience, is that what always happens?”
He stares at me for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.
“You know, Larimar, you surprise me.” He pauses for a moment. “Your constitution is quite astounding,” he says, putting his hands in his pockets. “Your willingness to embrace everything. Your devotion to your sister, to the ones you love. You live life to experience it, and you don’t let anything hold you back. You are a ferocious, brave little soul, and I can see why Aragon has fallen in love with you so.”
I have to admit, I get a little choked up hearing him say such things. “I don’t think anyone has ever observed me like that.”
“That’s my job,” he says with a chuckle. “It’s what I do. It’s what I’m good at. But don’t discount Aragon. He sees you too, all of you. That’s why he loves you, and the last thing he wants is to jeopardize that. He’s not worried about you running amok on the ship and hurting anyone—he’s worried you’ll lose all that makes you beautiful. Your soul.”
Heat creeps up on my cheeks. “It would be nice for him to tell me that.”
He laughs. “It’s easy for me to tell you because I’m a casual observer. I don’t have anything at stake. My heart isn’t on the line. It’s hard for Aragon because of the way he is, the ways he has broken and put himself back together. It makes everything that much…harder. But you know he feels that way, you can see it. We all can. And actions speak louder than any of the words I have just spoken.”
I think that over for a moment, staring at the horizon as the sun begins to dip down, the blues of the sky deepening, reminding me of Priest’s eyes, the way they darken with lust.
“One time, a monster at the monastery escaped,” Abe recalls. “We were all so worried. It had happened before, with disastrous consequences, and we thought it would be the same, a trail of blood and body parts left in their wake. But while there was blood…we found something surprising.”
“What?”
“We found the monster. He had bitten a human, turned them into a monster. The beast inside said he had wanted the company. The strange thing was that he didn’t create another monster. He just created a Vampyre. Sure, the man was a little feral, I suppose. Had a voracious appetite, but he didn’t physically transform, and he was in control of himself. He knew who he had been and who he still was. We never did find out if he turned out to be immortal, as one day he left with the monster who turned him in tow, off to live happily together.”