I slipped away from Bastian and the other vampires and dropped below the dock. I took off my jacket and shirt, before diving into the freezing water.

I swam quickly darting through the waters as if a shark. When I’d first concocted my plan, I worried how my night vision would react underwater, but it was just as good. The bay floor was carpeted in green seaweed broken up by the occasional island of rocks. It was quiet down here, and I surprisingly found it peaceful. Peace was something I could use more of. If I had more time, I’d stay here for a while.

Scanning the murky area ahead, I searched for Victor. Hopefully, a current hadn't latched onto him yet. When my lungs began to burn from lack of oxygen, I resisted the urge to inhale, reminding myself that I didn't need to breathe. It was much easier to hold my breath when water wasn’t pressing against my mouth and nose.

I reached where I had dropped his body and examined the area, but didn’t spot him right away. Dirt and debris clouded the waters. I spanned out and circled wide eventually locating Victor’s body drifting toward shore. I hooked my arm under his armpit and chest, and power-swam us over a hundred yards until I was sure we were nowhere near the docks. I surfaced near a drainage pipe that led to Ironwood and dragged him to shore.

He looked a mess, stab wounds all over his chest cavity. Anyone who saw him right now would believe he was dead. Was that how I had looked?

As I drug him across the beach and toward the tunnel entrance, I thought about his transformation. I didn't doubt he would survive, especially knowing we shared the same blood now. I wasn't sure before but felt he had a better chance than others, simply because he had come out unscathed from injecting V proteins.

The hour was growing late. I picked up Victor and carried him into the tunnel. I had only ever seen one other transformation from human to vampire on the Bisou Islands. It had taken almost thirty-six hours for the man to rise. Roman had said it had taken me twenty-four. I suspected Victor would be the same. By then we would be in Louisiana, and I could have help. A rising could be tricky if one didn’t have the proper support.

When I entered Ironwood, Oz jogged over to me. "You did it. You actually did it!"

"Is the coffin ready?"

He nodded and followed me into my home. A second, simpler coffin had been filled mostly with dirt, leaving just enough space for Victor to lie in. I placed him inside, and with Oz's help, we buried him.

"This is so jacked up," Oz said, as he dropped a fistful of dirt over Victor's face. "And oddly satisfying."

Emma came into the room and leaned into me. She stared down at Victor's partially covered body. "He was kind to me."

Oz dumped another pile of dirt onto his face. “He almost killed me.”

“I think Victor wore many faces,” I said. “But in the end, the most important face showed itself.”

The sudden tightness in my throat made it impossible to swallow. I couldn’t think about how he was my father. Not now. Maybe not for a very long time.

“You’re doing the right thing.” Emma lifted on the tips of her toes and kissed me on the cheek. “I need to finish packing. Rebecca said the Ames de la Terra sent a private jet to transport everyone in the next couple of hours to Rouen. They sound like a good group of people. It will be a nice change.”

“Will you and Oz be okay getting us onto the plane?” This was the only part of the plan I hadn’t liked. There was no good way for me to travel during the day except by coffin. Another strange facet to our relationship.

“We’ll be fine,” Oz said, patting the dirt hard where Victor’s face once was. “This is one adventure Amy and I are looking forward to. I’ve always wanted to go to Rouen.”

“Don’t worry,” Emma added. “Just rest. You have a big day tomorrow with the funeral and all.” Her voice cracked, and her eyes teared.

“We all do.” I pulled her to me and hugged her tight. I wasn’t looking forward to Roman’s funeral, but it was just one more step on my path of redemption.

She let me go and briefly kissed me, giving my hands a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll see you soon.”

She and Oz left the room.

I stared unblinkingly at the coffin full of dirt, Victor buried inside. He might be hard to control as a newborn vampire. I wasn't looking forward to it. I hoped Samira had some tricks up her sleeve because I had to worry about managing myself. I closed the coffin lid.

After zipping up my suitcase, I placed it on top of Victor’s coffin so Oz would know to take it. There was only one other thing I needed to grab, but I planned on keeping it on me. It was too valuable.

I walked to the table near my bed and picked up the small vial. The cure. I didn’t plan on taking it, but it would serve as a reminder that I had been given special abilities to help other people. I needed to stop seeing them as a curse. Roman had taught me that.

It was cool to the touch as I shoved it into my pocket. I stepped to my own coffin, the lid open. Hopping inside, I thought of my first night upon returning to Ironwood. Killing Victor had been my only goal. I had become so obsessed that I had lost my way and hurt people in the process. It was time to make things right.

I reached up and pulled the lid down over me, trapping me in a dark cocoon. The time for heroes and monsters was over. The city needed something different. They needed a powerful vampire, one with the ferocity of a monster, but with the heart of a hero.

And so I shall rise.

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