Page 100 of A Steeping of Blood
“Sit down, lad,” his father said, taking up a seat on the cot and patting the space beside him.
Jin did as he was told. He always had when it came to his parents. He had always been able to trust them, which was a privilege that not many children received.
But what did it mean now that he knew what they’d done? He still trusted them. He still thought them to be well-intentioned people who wanted the best for vampires—but that wish hadn’t come without a cost. They had dirtied their hands; they had killed.
He felt the heat of his father beside him, heard the rushing of his blood more than the sound of his breathing. Before he could stop himself, he leaned into that warmth, resting his head on his father’s shoulder.
“I searched for years and years,” Jin whispered as his father pulled him tight against him. His mother came and wrapped her arms around them both.
Jin felt the rumble of his father’s laugh. “You always were tenacious. Though, in my experience, it was in regards to that sweet tooth of yours.”
Jin couldn’t laugh with him. “But when we reached Ceylan and I thought you had sided with the Ram, I”—he pulled away to look at them both—“hated you.”
“I see,” his father said, his features giving away nothing. “And do you still?”
Confusion pinched Jin’s brow. “Well, it’s not quite as simple, but no.”
“Then I don’t see why you’re looking so dejected.”
That, Jin could laugh at, and his father smiled before his eyes dropped to Jin’s teeth. More notably, to his fangs. Jin stupidly closed his mouth, trying to will them away.
They knew he was a vampire. The captain and his men had madesure of it back on Ceylan, but Jin thought it had to be said anyway. He needed to get the words out of his system, out there in the open so his parents could decide if they still wanted him.
“I’m—”
“When did it happen?” his father asked first.
“Under a fortnight ago,” Jin said. “You just missed the live version of me.”
“There isn’t a difference between the versions to us,” his mother said, tilting up his chin. “What does matter is that someone killed my son.”
She did not know how much those words meant to him. How high their effortless acceptance lifted his heart.
“Leaping to murder, Ma? I could have tripped over a knife.”
She clucked her tongue. “I taught you better than that.”
“It was the Ram.”
Both his parents were startled at the new voice, but Jin only sighed, peering past his mother to give Arthie a look.
“Have you ever considered knocking?” he asked.
“No,” she said. Matteo stepped in after her as though this was her office in Spindrift.
She was about to make herself at home in the single armchair when Jin’s father swept her into a hug. Arthie stiffened.
“You saved my life,” he whispered.
“Both of ours,” Jin’s mother said.
Arthie pulled away with a shrug. If she was going to sayI needed you alive, Jin was going to slap her. “Saving the lives of your family is what I do.”
He couldn’t not smile at that.
His father gave her a wistful smile of his own. “Ourfamily. You’re Jin’s sister, are you not?”
The waves crashed against the side of the ship. Muffled voicesfrom above deck and below echoed like White Roaring’s streets outside of Spindrift. Arthie remained silent. Jin saw the way her chin dipped a fraction, the way the right of her cheek twitched as she contained a gust of joy. She wasn’t calculating her next words, nor was she angry—she was shocked.
