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  Obsidian Horizon

  Blood of the Sea, Book Three

  Heather Renee

  Lela Grayce

  Obsidian Horizon © Copyright 2019 by Heather Renee and Lela Grayce

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, alive or dead, is purely coincidental.

  For more information on reproducing sections of this book or sales of this book, email [email protected] or [email protected].

  ISBN: 978-1799250630

  Editing: Jamie from Holmes Edits and Stephany Wallace

  Cover: Covers by Juan

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  Connect with the Authors

  Acknowledgments

  About the Authors

  Also by Heather Renee

  Also by Lela Grayce

  Dedication

  To anyone fighting an inner battle to become who they were meant to be…

  Embrace your true self.

  Chapter One

  Patience was something I always thought I had plenty of, but during the few weeks following our fight against Prime, I learned I actually had very little. My skin crawled with the urgency to head back out into the open sea to find Prime. The longer we waited, the more time he had to prepare, though it was a double-edged sword. Our group needed more time to grow and train. If we left before we were ready, it could cost a number of lives. Nevertheless, the darkness that stirred inside me pushed me forward like never before, and I wasn’t sure how long I could wait for us to be ready.

  It had been three weeks since we rescued Jameson from Prime’s ship and just over two weeks since we arrived back in Port Valor with Ruth and some of the other hunters. Word had been sent to additional territories, calling all available hunters to the island with us, but it was slow moving. It could take weeks for some of them to be notified, and we didn’t have that kind of time.

  My abilities had grown far beyond anything I had expected or hoped. I was faster and more lithe than should be possible. I was able to tap into my vampire side without the darkness taking over my emotions like before, but I had yet to try the compulsion since using it on Evander.

  Truth be told, I was afraid of that power, afraid of how controlling others would change me.

  It took me a while to admit out loud, but when I did, I felt stronger than ever. I refused to let it make me weak.

  Jameson and Solomon had done a tremendous job of making sure that the Sea Witch’s prophecy went the way we wanted it to and not how Prime preferred.

  “Nia!” Nettie’s sweet voice called from behind me.

  I turned to find her running toward me, blonde curls bouncing as she raced along the grassy hill in front of the vast estate we occupied.

  Getting down on one knee, I opened my arms to her. “Good morning, pretty girl,” I cooed. “You’re up early this morning.”

  The sun had just begun to cast its fiery rays across the ocean as I finished up my morning jaunt along the island. Since we arrived back at Port Valor, I began each new day with three passes around the entire island. With every run, I strived to beat my last time, and had almost doubled my speed over the past two weeks.

  “Timmy had a bad dream and woke me up,” Nettie answered after a brief hug. “Aunt Alice is with him now and sent me to come find you. She said Henry needs your help with Maggie.”

  My chest clenched as I scooped her up into my arms, squeezed her tightly, and tried to get my emotions in check. If Henry needed my help with Maggie, then it wasn’t good—the young girl had become increasingly agitated as time passed. Once she no longer had to fear for her brother’s safety, the drive to protect him lifted, and her vampire abilities showed themselves… in all the worst ways.

  Alice and Henry had done their best to keep her under control and let her stay with the other kids, but after Maggie broke another child’s arm and tried to bite him, we knew we had to do something. Ruth had prepared a special room for her while we tried to figure out how to help her. The hardest part was Maggie was only ten years old. She didn’t know how to control herself, and she was more stubborn than any of us could have predicted.

  “I can’t breathe,” Nettie’s voice squeaked, bringing me back to the present.

  “Sorry.” I pulled back, softening my expression and setting her down once more. “Thank you for coming to get me. I’ll go see Henry now. Do you want to walk back to the house with me?”

  The smile lit up her innocent face. “Yes! Then, I’m going to help Humphrey with breakfast. Whenever I help, he lets me pick the biggest pancake.”

  She tugged on my hand, urging me forward, and I gladly followed her. Nettie’s joy brought a smile to my lips. When we initially returned, Nathan had told us how much she struggled to adjust after our group separated, but she had finally made some new friends, and Humphrey had taken a liking to her. He was an elderly man who loved to cook. He couldn’t fight, but he insisted on doing his part to help our cause. He could be cross at times, but Nettie had warmed his heart, and it was interesting to watch them together.

  When we entered the house, Nettie informed me that Henry and Maggie would be found downstairs. Then, she said goodbye and headed toward the kitchen.

  Screams reached me before I opened the door to the basement area, and I cringed. Quickly entering the room, I followed the noise to find Maggie slamming her head against the stone wall. Cracks ran up to the roof, and blood coated the area in front of her. She was yelling, crying, and then laughing in rapid succession.

  Stepping closer, I placed my hand on Henry’s shoulder as he fought Maggie’s strength. “Let me.”

  “Thank you.” His head fell forward.

  Henry was strong and had come a long way in his training, but he wasn’t vampire resilient. Maggie outpowered him significantly, even with her small size.

  “Maggie, it’s Lavinia.” My hands gripped both of her shoulders as I stopped her from smashing her face once more into the wall. “What’s wrong? What do you need?”

  “Where is Timothy?” she screeched, turning toward me with wild red eyes and a gash on her forehead that was already healing.

  “He’s with Alice. If you want to see him, you need to calm down. You’ll scare him like this, and I know you don’t want to do that.”

  “I heard him scream. He needs me.” Snarling, she yanked out of my hold and raced for the door.

  Henry braced himself in front of the exit, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. We both hated what came next. Maggie charged him, but he managed to stay on his feet as I sped forward and restrained her again before she could cause him any harm.

  “Calm down!” My voice boomed through the room.

  She twisted and bucked beneath my hold, trying to bite and hit me—attempting to free herself and go to her brother—but I didn’t waver. As much as it hurt me to keep her like
this, I knew it would hurt her even more if she harmed someone in her current state. Henry stepped forward with a set of chains and, together, we tied her arms behind her back before setting her on the bed and locking the manacles around the metal frame.

  Tears trailed down my face as I took a step away from the helpless child. Anger stirred just under the surface of my skin. Prime had done this to her. He had made it so she might never have a quality life. Every time we had to restrain Maggie, the drive to kill him—once and for all—increased exponentially.

  Henry stood sentry next to me, and we waited for her to calm. Almost a half-hour later, Maggie finally cried herself back to sleep, whispering about how sorry she was for being a monster.

  “Thank you,” Henry breathed as we stepped out of the room.

  “You and Alice don’t have to do this alone, so I’m glad you asked for me. I know you both volunteered to take responsibility for them, but it doesn’t mean we aren’t here for you.”

  His shoulders sagged in defeat. “I know. We’ve grown to care for the children more than we imagined, and it makes everything all that much harder to witness.”

  I grasped his arm, trying to offer comfort. “We will figure out a way to help her. She won’t always suffer like this.”

  As I said the words, I tried to believe them myself, but it was hard. I was new to the vampire world and had no idea how we could fix Maggie’s erratic emotions, but I knew none of us would ever stop trying.

  We parted ways, and I went in search of Jameson. He had been in a meeting with Solomon when I started my run, and I hoped he was done. Nothing soothed my frayed emotions like his strong arms around me.

  On my way to our room, I peeked into the kitchen to find Nettie with flour on her nose and cheeks, flicking some of it at Humphrey. He grumbled at the mess she made, but I saw a glimmer of the smile he tried to hide.

  When I arrived at the door to our room, a fleeting shadow underneath the door called my attention, and my ears picked up the sounds of heavy footsteps pacing within the room. My lips curved up as I turned the handle.

  Jameson was holding his dagger in one hand and a book in the other when I walked in. His eyes found mine as the door clicked closed behind me, and the smile he cast my way never ceased to take my breath away.

  “How is Maggie? I saw Alice and she mentioned you were helping Henry.” After setting the items down, he took several steps my way.

  “Not good. We had to restrain her again before she left the room or hurt herself even more.”

  I took a stride toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist as he pulled me close. A deep, calming breath made its way through me, taking in his scent—rain, trees, and honeysuckle. It had taken me months to remember the sweet fragrance of honeysuckle, but when we arrived back in Port Valor, some of it grew near the house, and I was finally able to identify the name of the aroma that had evaded me for months.

  “I wish we could do something to help her,” he whispered against my neck.

  The sun’s rays shone through the window and seeped into my skin as I pressed against Jameson, reminding me of another development that had come about: the sun made me stronger. For most vampires, it made them tire much quicker and, depending on their age, weakened them considerably. The newer the vampire, the faster their energy faded against the sun.

  Thankfully, it didn’t seem to bother Jameson or Solomon, but it didn’t increase their stamina like it did mine. For me, the sun had played a huge role in my training, allowing us to spar outdoors often. It was just the three of us, which was fine with me; I was able to focus far better when I didn’t have people gawking at me.

  Today was our day off, though, and I was in no hurry to leave Jameson’s arms. I still ran on our rest days, but I had no desire to leave our room again, especially while being back with him in that moment—so long as nobody truly needed us.

  His fingers traced down my arms, leaving a trail of shivers as he went along. Leaning my head against his chest, I closed my eyes and let the steady beat of his heart calm the uneasy feeling within me.

  Soft lips found their way to my neck and up behind my ear, and I was rapidly becoming mush in his hands. My body yearned for his touch, but something had held me back from taking our relationship further. I was afraid of the enhanced emotions I knew would come by consummating our relationship, and how it might change me once more.

  My last major change had happened when I was severely overwhelmed, and the prophecy from the Sea Witch had me second-guessing every decision I made. Unfortunately, that included the ones revolving around my relationship with Jameson, but every time he touched me as he was in that moment, it broke through my defenses a little more.

  His hands slid under the shirt I wore, and he tugged me closer. Each day, he took things a little further. He knew I needed his patience, but he didn’t let me run from my fears, either. I hadn’t outwardly expressed my thoughts to him about why I always pulled back, but he seemed to understand without me needing to say the words.

  I pressed my lips against his as he explored the upper half of my body with candor. My custom training clothes made his actions easier and less awkward than trying to get through one of my corset dresses, letting me lose myself in his touch for just a few extra moments.

  “I love you, Lavinia.” The deep tenor of his voice reverberated against my heated skin. Then, he straightened my shirt and pulled back ever so slightly.

  When a cool breeze hit my skin from the loss of his touch, I opened my eyes to find his azure ones staring at me and a smile on his face.

  “I love you, too. Now, what is the smile for?” I asked, giving him a grin of my own.

  “Am I not allowed to just be happy to have you in my arms?”

  Rising to my tiptoes, I pressed my lips to his. “Yes, you are, but I need to go wash up after my run, so you’ll have to survive without me somehow, for the time being.”

  His lower lip jutted out, and I nipped at it before withdrawing from his arms. I turned back to find him grinning at me, dimples on full display, and my heart softened even more.

  It had been several months since my life was turned upside down by vampires, but I tried to remember the positives. If it hadn’t happened, I would have been forced to marry Pierce, and I would have never known the kind of love I had found with Jameson.

  As much as I missed my aunt and hated being on the run all the time, I had also gained a lot in the process: friends who I had chosen to call family, a father whom I had previously thought to be dead, and love stronger than all the evil in our world. Remembering those things made it easier to get up each day and fight for the safety of others.

  I still hadn’t resolved things with Solomon entirely, but I had made more of an effort to get to know the man he had become. He very much wanted to be my father again, but we were both different people, and it was going to take time. Thankfully, he understood that, too.

  As I stood at the wash basin, wiping the soft wet cloth across my arms, I heard a knock at our door and groaned. People rarely came to see us on our rest days and, if they did, it normally meant something had gone wrong. We hadn’t even had breakfast yet, and I was already seeing the day go downhill.

  Hearing Nathan’s voice, I quickly finished cleaning up and changed into a simple linen dress with capped sleeves and no corset. Training days were great, because I was able to wear loose trousers and a shirt custom-made for the women who were training without feeling out of place, but I missed my dresses on occasion.

  When I entered the room again, Nathan was standing by the door watching Jameson flip through the book I had seen him reading earlier—a pinched expression marred his face.

  “What happened?” I asked Nathan since Jameson seemed solely focused on finding something within the book.

  “Ruth thinks a dagger could lead us to the Obsidian Caves, but everything she has tried with hers hasn’t worked. I told Jameson that I thought if we could find a dagger for you to bond with on your own, you might have th
e best chance of finding the caves, since the Sea Witch has spoken to you directly.”

  “But, we don’t have any other daggers,” I reminded them.

  Ruth had thought there were more, but Prime had gotten his hands on the last of the supply Solomon had hidden, and I was never able to sneak back into his treasure vault to get them.

  Jameson’s head snapped up, and his determined eyes met mine. “We’re going to make you one.”

  Chapter Two

  My head tilted to the side, wondering how in the world that could be possible without the Sea Witch. If there was a way to create a hunter’s dagger without her, then I was certain the process would have been discovered by now. It seemed like something that would have been tried many times over as the vampire population grew and the hunter count dwindled.

  “How is that possible?” I asked, genuinely curious and a bit skeptical.

  “I haven’t figured out all of the key items needed to forge it,” Jameson confessed, “but each of the books I have read gives a little more information than the last, and I think if I can just find the right pieces from each manuscript, then we can make it happen.”

  “Where are you getting these books?” Approaching the table, I picked up and examined the item in question, a red leather-bound tome with cracks on the spine.

  It was smaller than the average book, and it reminded me of a journal. I used to keep one when I was younger and living with my aunt and uncle. The writing was cramped and hard to decipher at first glance, but after a moment of concentration, I was able to understand most of the words.