Page 66 of Vampire's Breath

“Yes, well, that will happen to the people who threaten the establishment, won’t it?”

“I guess,” I sighed. I leaned back in the chair as the ferry rocked beneath me. History pressed down, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I had just indulged some older woman’s conspiracy theory, or if there was a shred of truth to the tales.

The woman cleared her throat. “How do you plan on getting out to Wyre?”

I frowned. “I’m sorry?”

The woman chuckled. “Wyre—where Lyons Hold is. You’re on your way to Mainland. You’ll need another ferry to get to Wyre.”

My stomach twisted as people shuffled past us toward the dining room. “I thought… I thought Orkney was just one island.”

She shook her head. “No. But there is a ferry that will take you. You can get a cab from any hotel.”

“Thank you. I didn’t know that.”

“Just be careful of the faces you see wandering out here. Remember, the finfolk like to be left alone.”

I smiled. “I think I can do that. How do you know when you’ve found one of them?”

“They all have their coats. Coats they’re born with that grow along with them. They allow them to survive in the cold of the sea—to turn into the seals and play along the shoreline.”

The way she spoke, as if it were an undeniable truth, sent a shiver across my skin. I wanted to dismiss it as local superstition, but something about it settled in my heart. These tales swathed Lady Isobel’s story, making it hard to deny that at least she had believed them. What had made her go mad like this? I hesitated. “But certainly, some of the seals are just seals.”

“And some humans are just humans—and not vampires.”

A low groan vibrated through the ferry as the wind pressed against the hull. I glanced around the cabin, wrapping my arms across my middle.

The woman’s gaze never faltered, holding on to mine until I had to suppress a shiver. She tilted her head as if about to ask a question before settling back into her chair and closing her eyes.

I stared into the nothingness before me as the sounds around me fell quiet.

Passengers who wanted to roam or have dinner had made their way out of the cabin. The only ones left were like the woman beside me, whose chest now rose and fell with the quiet rhythm of sleep.

I bit my lips together. Some humans are just humans—and not vampires. I knew I had to accept Lady Isobel saw a certain truth in these stories, but did I?

I rubbed my thumbs on my biceps, drawing myself back to reality. It wasn’t unusual for aristocratic families to reuse the same names, so the fact that a new Cormac and a new Lorcan existed shouldn’t surprise me. An ache spread inside my chest as his name echoed in my mind.

The ferry lurched beneath me, and I caught myself on the armrest, my pulse hammering in my throat.

As much as I wanted it, there would be no rest on the ferry. I stood to make my way to the cafeteria, the woman’s odd story still churning in my thoughts.

I bit the inside of my lower lip because I knew the truth. It wasn’t her story that didn’t let my mind settle. It was my heart, the shadows of Lorcan, the knowledge that, as much as I tried to run from him, it felt like he would never be far away.

Lorcan

Ipaced back and forth in the jet’s narrow aisle, my muscles restless. There wasn’t enough space to move or stretch my legs. A hollowness consumed my chest—not just my chest, but my entire being. Where could she be? The incessant drone of the jet’s onboard power systems gnawed at my ears.

I had listened to it for hours as I stared at the ceiling of the ridiculous metal tube, one meant to be in the air, not sitting on the ground. We had returned from Kirkwall several hours ago. Although she didn’t need the sleep, Zadie wanted it. It made her feel more human. At least they decided we could sleep on the jet instead of trudging to a hotel and wasting more time. I grasped my phone in my hand. There wasn’t a single call—neither Patricia, Amy, nor the one I wanted most of all, from Briar.

I stepped into the galley again, a slight creak under my foot.

“Lorcan, if I open the door and toss you out, would I be able to sleep?” Joshua’s voice came from the nook beneath the storage area, where the seat converted to a bed for him. I heard him roll over and rustle the blankets.

I ran a hand over my face and closed my eyes, sighing, before turning toward the curtain that afforded him some privacy. “I’m sorry. I can’t stop wondering if she’s all right. Gods, if Aiden finds her first…”

The partition separating the bedroom from the sitting room sections of the plane slid open, framing Conall in the doorway. “Wearing a hole in the carpet will not find her.”

I folded my arms around my middle, pressing in, my stomach a mess of nerves and fear. “No, but what will?” I took two steps toward him, a flicker of hope in my chest. “Have you heard anything?”

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