Selena
I stood with my father, side by side as we gazed out across the murky sea. Reason's coat proved effective against the cold, but Brendan had found me some gloves and a scarf to wear too.
“I know it must be difficult to trust me, after all you've been through. But I'm glad that you have.” Brendan smiled at me, his gaze penetrating. I felt as though he were trying to memorise me, his eyes constantly flickering over my face.
Had he missed me?
“My instincts usually serve me well.” I gave him a half-hearted smile.
He floated closer, resting an arm on the railing. “You know...I expected to see your mother in you when we first met. But I see so much of myself in your looks that I feel almost guilty.”
“Why?” I breathed.
His brows knitted together, his gaze turning to the sea. “I haven't earned the right to our resemblance. You have achieved great things, become a fierce woman, Selena. And it can only be of your mother's doing.”
I dipped my head, heat rushing to my cheeks. Now was the time to talk about my stepfather, Elijah. Perhaps Brendan knew about him anyway, but I sensed not. The words burned my tongue, my lips pressed together, fighting them back.
It has to be said.
“Do you know about my stepfather?” I managed, my throat squeezing the words out. Even mentioning him set my pulse racing.
Brendan lifted a brow, turning to me once more.
He said nothing, so I continued, “Do you know why I went to prison?”
Brendan shook his head marginally. “In all honesty...I fear knowing the answer to that question. Perhaps I could have sought the answer out, but my pride was wounded enough as a father.”
My gut churned at his words. Would he be ashamed of me, knowing what I did?
He stepped closer, his expression one of regret. “Forgive me. I do not mean that in the way I see you've taken it. I only meant that, whatever it is you did, would not change how proud of you I am. How honoured I am to be your father. If only by blood.”
An icy feeling crept up my spine as I prepared to tell him the truth. He needed to know. And I had to say it. “Mum remarried after you left,” I said and I saw the pain flash in his eyes, fizzling away to acceptance.
“She did?” His voice was hoarse, broken. The loss of his family shone in his eyes like it was marked upon his soul. Like it was what defined him.
I cleared my throat before continuing. “Mum was lost when you left, I understand that now. But I still blame her for letting Elijah into our lives...” I clenched my jaw, my eyes finding Brendan's which were widened in horror already. “He made our home a living hell...and one day I just...snapped.”
Brendan's lip trembled, his eyes turning cold, absent. And there was something else there that terrified me: guilt.
“Elijah... Elijah Westbridge?”
His name from Brendan's lips was like a punch to my stomach. “You know him?”
Brendan took a step back from me, groaning, “No, no...no it can't be.”
“What?” I reached for his arm, desperate.
He glanced back, apologies shining in his eyes. “He worked at IDAHO. He was one of the guards. I grew close with him, he was sympathetic- he-” Brendan's faced turned ashen pale. “I asked him to check on you and your mother, but I never saw him again. I assumed someone had found out about our friendship, that he'd been reassigned, but-” He took in a ragged breath, gazing at me in horror. “Selena, he was a Siren.”
The words settled over me, but I didn't understand. I had so many questions, all flooding through my brain, begging to be answered. How was it possible my father knew Elijah? And if Brendan had been a prisoner of IDAHO, how was he here now?
“What's a Siren?” I chose the most pressing question, afraid of the answer. The cold wasn't the only thing making me tremble anymore.
“They're Immortals,” Brendan revealed. “Like the Vampires, the Werewolves. Their power, when abused, is one of the most dangerous things of all.”
“What is it?” I gripped his arm, unable to believe what I was hearing. Elijah was Immortal? How was that possible?
“Love,” Brendan breathed. “Anyone who looks upon the face of a Siren will fall instantly in love with them.”
“But-” I shook my head, backing up, my whole life rattling on its foundations. “But I didn't love him, I despised him!” I shouted.
“Oh Selena.” He reached for me but I stepped away. “Children are immune to Sirens.”
Varick suddenly appeared at my side, his expression grave. “Is this true?” he demanded of Brendan, evidently having been listening the whole time.
Brendan bowed his head in confirmation. “I trusted him,” he gasped.
My cheeks were growing stiff from the cold. I needed some time to think, to absorb all I'd been told. In some ways, I was relieved. Mum had been under the spell of a Siren my whole life. And it made it easier to forgive her. Easier to understand. To lay blame where it really belonged: with Elijah.
Varick took my hand and I let him guide me away, leaving Brendan to his thoughts under the canopy of stars.
◐ ☼ ◐
Sleep was easy in Varick's arms, even curled up next to him on a small sofa. Thames had been given the only bed onboard to sleep in, seeing as she didn't exactly have 'sea legs' anymore. And from time to time Kodiak would drift away to check on her.
Varick held me so tight that I barely felt the rock and sway of the vessel. Sometimes a nightmare would stir me and he'd hold me against him until I found peace again. How I'd ever slept well before he came into my life seemed like a mystery now.
As dawn approached, Varick shifted, evidently hearing something worth investigating. I wriggled free of his hold, murmuring a sleepy greeting before following him up onto deck. I'd not taken Reason's coat off since we'd left Skorpa, but the wind still hit me like an ice blast as I poked my head above deck.
“Hello?!” Brendan was shouting, pointing over the side of the catamaran. “Is anyone out there?!”
I hurried up to join his side, but Varick beat me to it – obviously – leaning far over the railing. He gripped my arm before I could look, giving me a warning stare.
I moved past him, gazing curiously down into the water. The black waves lapped against the hull and soft knocks sounded as pieces of wood floated into the side of it.
“What happened here?” Varick asked Brendan.
“Some ship's been blown to pieces.” He ran a hand through his hair, looking anxious. “I better circle the wreckage, see if there are any survivors.”
Before he could move, a white piece of wood floated by with the name The Swift printed on it.
Varick stiffened. “That's a Helsing vessel.”
My heart leapt upwards. “Do you think they were on it?” I took his arm, gazing into the murky water hopefully.
“Here! Over here!” Voices carried to my ears and I narrowed my eyes on the dark horizon, trying to spot the source.
“Get me a light!” Brendan ordered and Darrell ran to comply, returning with a large torch a moment later.
Brendan flicked it on, guiding the spotlight across the waves. “Hello?!” he called.
“Here!” a girl's voice drifted to us.
Varick pushed me back, looking fierce. “I know that voice.”
“Mercy,” I breathed in recognition, astonished.
Brendan swung his torch in the direction of her voice and a shimmer of blonde hair caught my eye.
Cass appeared beside me so suddenly that I jumped. “Mercy's out there?” she asked in disbelief.
I nodded, watching as Darrell guided the catamaran closer. Mercy was wrapped around someone else's back, clinging to them like a limpet. When her ride lifted their head, I recognised Kite with a jolt of my stomach.
“Oh my god,” I breathed, hurrying to my father's side. “Get her up!”
Mercy's eyes widened like headlamps as she spotted us up on the deck. “You have got to be kidding me.”
I smiled triumphantly and Varick mirrored my expression, casually resting his elbows on the railing, looking down at her. “Nice night for a swim.”
“Get me out of here, this second!” Mercy cried and Kite shouldered her away so she dunked under the water. Mercy came up spluttering, pointing a silver remote control in Kite's direction. “Out - or I'll kill her.”
My father cast out a rope and Mercy caught hold of it. “No need to start throwing threats around.” He guided her to the side of the boat and Varick took the rope from him to haul her up -not so gently – and the sopping-wet form of Mercy was planted before us. She shivered from head to toe, her thin grey coat dripping water over her bare feet. She was turning bluer by the second.
Kite clambered out herself with obvious ease, her dark eyes scouring everyone on deck before landing on me. “Selena Grey.”
“Kite,” I breathed, guilt sweeping through me at the sight of her.
“Thanks for abandoning me.”
“I'm sorry,” I choked as I took her in.
“Tell you what, you take that remote off of Blondie over there and we'll call it quits.”
Varick restrained Mercy with a single arm and Cass plucked the remote from her fingers, crushing it into dust. She didn't put up a fight at all, but that probably had to do with the fact she was outnumbered ten to one.
“Mercy Helsing.” Brendan approached her, coiling the rope up in his hands. “You're now my prisoner.” He smiled.
“We can't leave her in those clothes,” I said quietly, earning myself a disgusted look from Kite. “She'll freeze!” I defended myself.
“Yeah, she'll freeze even better if we dump her back in the ocean.” Cass placed her hands on her hips.
I bit my lip, looking to Varick. I hated Mercy and her entire family, but she was under our command, completely vulnerable. How could we just kill her like that? I'd done terrible things in the past, but all in the name of survival. Now she was placed in front of me...I couldn't go through with an execution.
“Varick?” I said in a small voice. His eyes were dark as pitch as he gazed down at Mercy. I recalled how he'd ripped out her brother's heart without a moment's hesitation. Would he give her the same courtesy now? After all she'd done to him, why would he stay his hand? And why would I stop him?
“We're not pirates,” Brendan growled and Varick shifted awkwardly. “No one is being murdered aboard my ship. Darrell, take her downstairs, give her some clothes and lock her in the hold.”
“Yes sir,” Darrell moved past me, grabbing Mercy's bound wrists.
“I'm not going with him. He'll eat me!” Mercy screeched as Varick shoved her into his arms.
Darrell started laughing as he guided her away.
“Kite.” I turned to her, perplexed. “How did you end up here?”
“Don't you know?” She snorted a laugh, looking out at the sea. “Thought you were the ones who booby-trapped us, seeing as we followed his tracker all the way out here.” She jerked her head at Varick.
“Jameson,” Varick breathed in realisation, starting to laugh. “He dealt with the tracker...damn, I wish he was here to see this.”
I couldn't fight a smile as Cass looked out at the wreckage. “Bloody wolf boy,” she muttered, a grin dancing around her lips.
I moved to embrace Kite, hoping to clear the air between us, but as I slid my arms around her, she stiffened. With a cry, she threw me onto the deck, falling atop me, her fangs slicing into my throat.
I screamed in shock, trying to push her back, my fingers tangling in her sopping hair. She began to rise, but it wasn't me who'd removed her, it was Varick. Forcefully, he gripped Kite's neck, twisting violently, blood still dripping down her mouth. She looked wild, flailing in his strong hold, a complete animal.
“Stop!” I screamed, cupping my neck as I scrambled to my feet. I grabbed Varick's tense arm, trying to ease his grip on Kite's throat.
Varick met my eye and the fury in his expression faded a fraction. He turned, slamming Kite against the wall of a cabin and snarling in her face, “You ever drink from her again – even touch her - and I won't hesitate to kill you.” His body was rigid, his arms rippling with tension. If Kite had still needed to breathe I was certain she'd be turning blue by now.
Varick released her at last and she slumped against the wall, looking to me, her eyes wide and ravenous. “She smells -” She clutched her throat, turning to Brendan. “And him...” She covered her nose with her hand.
Brendan shot Varick a concerned look. “Put her in the hold with Mercy. If she's going to feed, I'd rather it was on a Helsing's neck.”
Varick grabbed Kite's collar and manhandled her below deck even though she barely fought him.
Kodiak looked pained as he gazed at my bleeding neck, now pooling into my collar bone. He moved forward, his arms stiff. I took a wary step back, but he lifted his wrist to his mouth, slitting it open and offering it to me.
“Here,” he rasped and I raised my brows in surprise.
“Oh...thanks.” I bent my head to drink his blood, but before I could even get close, someone whipped me into the air.
“Varick!” I cried as he carried me away, tucking me under one arm as he took me below deck. “What the hell?” I snapped as he planted me on my feet in the cabin.
“You're clearly not getting the message, sweetheart.” He curved his hand around the back of my neck, slamming his body against mine. “No one else drinks from you.” He tugged up his sleeve with his teeth, piercing his skin then pressing the small wound to my lips. “And you don't drink from anyone other than me.”
I nodded, my eyes locked on his as I drank his blood, the searing pain in my neck easing to nothing. Strange as the process was, I couldn't help but blush as Varick dropped his arm, the action strangely intimate. “Thank you.”
A low growl escaped his throat and the sensation rumbled through my entire body.
“We have Mercy,” I whispered, trying to distract myself from the fire that seemed to have started at the base of my spine.
“Yes, and what will we do with her seeing as you don't wish to kill her?” His words were full of bitterness and I tried in vain to rationalise my feelings.
I sighed, dropping my eyes. “I thought I wanted revenge. Now she's here...I just don't know if I can go through with it. I don't want to execute someone. That just feels...wrong.”
He ran his thumb over my bottom lip before he pressed his mouth to the same spot, chasing the cold away at once. “Admittedly...even I have my reservations about killing Mercy.”
“Why?” I asked, my voice small.
“Because...she's a victim of circumstance in some ways. And the things she has done will never amount to the crimes of her family. Ignus's death was justified, but perhaps Mercy doesn't deserve that fate.”
I nodded uncertainly. “So if it was Abraham we'd caught and not her..?”
“He would be dead already.” Varick pressed his forehead to mine. “Forgive me, Selena, but I will only stay my hand this once.”
I nodded, knotting my fingers into his shirt. “I know...I understand.” I bowed my head. “I don't know what's come over me.” If Abraham was at our mercy now, I knew I wouldn't be lenient. So why did I hesitate when it came to his daughter?
Varick's finger curved beneath my chin, tilting my head back up. “Your humanity is the reason I love you. If you killed without thought or feeling, you'd be as damned as them.”
Flowers blossomed in my belly at his words but I had to stamp them out as footsteps sounded down the steps. I ducked around Varick, finding my father there, looking curious.
“How long have you two been- er...”
I cleared my throat, suddenly shy as Varick grinned down at me. “Not long,” I answered, my voice too high.
“Hm, well a fine couple you make.” Brendan smiled, his eyes creasing at the corners.
“You'd be amongst the first to approve,” Varick said, folding his arms as he turned to him.
“Yes well, diversity is kind of my...thing.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You'll see.”