The Blood Boss by Davidson King
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jayce
On the cusp of the end, spiraling into the pits of darkness, and waking to realize death was just the beginning, is trippy. I never felt the dagger pierce through my chest, even when I knew it was going to happen. I felt the fear consuming Cain, and I wanted to take it away.
When he held me in his arms and I listened to the screams of war raging all around me, all I could think about was the sadness Cain had in his heart for me. And then he asked me for forever, and there was nothing more I wanted than to be with him for all the days.
But now, my throat was on fire, and I was convinced I’d fallen into the depths of Hell. “Water!” I croaked.
“Cain!” someone shouted, and suddenly I had an eyeful of the man who was in my thoughts.
“Open your mouth, Jayce.” I did, thinking I’d get the refreshing taste of water, but instead I got…blood.
It was heavenly, quenching my thirst and putting out the fire in my throat. I gripped Cain’s wrist and sucked. When he pulled away, relief flooded over me.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“Like I died.” I patted my chest searching for the wound but finding none. “I think I actually did die.”
“You did.” Emil laughed. “But now, you’re all merfolkpire.”
“I’m what?” I didn’t understand what the hell Emil had said.
“I guess it would be merfolk godpire?” He nodded. “Yeah, has a better ring to it.”
“Go away, Emil.” Cain shook his head but smiled down at me. “Do you remember me asking if I could turn you? How it would save you?”
I remembered. “Yes.”
“Did I make a mistake?”
Like a thud in my chest, I felt the worry that encapsulated him. “No.” Wanting desperately to see him smile, I added, “But under no circumstances can Emil call me a merfolk godpire.”
Success—he laughed. “I will make it law.”
A wave of burning pummeled me, and Cain was ready with more blood. “You will need to drink from me for a while until the cravings and burning abate. Drinking from me will help with the bloodlust.”
I listened as I drank, wondering if I would drain him, but he was ready with an answer to that. “I have plenty, you can’t kill me, Jayce.”
For the rest of the week, only Cain and other vampires entered the rooms to care for me. On top of the blood cravings came aches and pains as my body adjusted to being a vampire.
“In time you will feel no pain; you have my word,” Cain had promised a few nights later when I’d groaned while walking to the shower.
“I hope so, because an eternity of this would suck…no pun intended.”
Sure enough, the pain subsided, the cravings felt muted, and I was able to walk the estate without every step being excruciating.
“Sibell’s here,” Margarite announced one afternoon when Cain and I were in the library. I’d been taking advantage of speed-reading and was going through twenty books in an hour.
“Send her in.” Cain sat on the sofa beside me.
Cain had kept anyone who wasn’t a vampire away from me until he was convinced I wasn’t going to maul them. My parents called and I had trouble explaining everything, so was relieved when Sibell called and offered. Now, she was here, and I hoped I had myself under control.
“It’ll be fine.” Cain gripped my hand, reading my feelings.
Sibell entered, a hesitant smile on her face. She was tentative, and I suppose I couldn’t blame her. I knew my eyes were lighter, but still brown, and I didn’t appear different on the outside.
“Hello, Sibell, please come in. Margarite will bring tea.” Cain gestured to the wingback chair.
“How are you feeling, Jayce?” She settled in the chair, an expectant look on her face.
“Alive-ish.”
She chuckled. “You appear to be well.”
“I am, thanks. And thank you for talking to my parents. I honestly have no idea how to explain everything that’s happened. When I think about it, it’s like reading one of the fairy tales my mom read to me as a kid. It’s almost not believable.”
“It’s difficult to explain something to people when they weren’t there. They both understood what I told them, but…”
“What is it, Sibell?” I inched forward, aware of Cain’s hold on my hand.
“Your mother was devastated. I do feel that in time she will come around, but they blame themselves so much for all of this.”
Sitting back, I tried to put myself in their shoes, but as hard as I tried I couldn’t, because I had no regrets. “I came here to pay a debt, Sibell, and what I found was forever love, found family, loyalty, compassion, and my truth. If they want to take credit for that, they can. I know if I didn’t step in for them, I’d have never fallen in love.”
Cain squeezed my hand. “Perhaps in time, we can invite them over and they can see for themselves how happy you are.” Cain kissed my fingers, sending tingles through my body.
“I think time is exactly what they need,” Sibell agreed.
Margarite came in with tea, and the awkward silence became unbearable as we drank. A heavy question weighed on my mind, and perhaps it was why this meeting felt so out of place.
“Sibell, may I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Rogos mentioned something to me about having the power of the moon. Cain mentioned that Aecor knew nothing about it. What’s the truth?”
Sibell placed her teacup down with a sigh. “The truth is that I don’t know. Sadly, Rigil’s family, his people so to speak, distanced themselves a great deal when he fell in love with Asherah. If after his death they gave you that gift to protect you, they kept it a secret.”
“Even from me, though? How would I know to use it if I didn’t know I had it?”
“Maybe Rogos’s information was bad; perhaps someone wanting to hurt me or for whatever reason told him.” Cain rubbed a hand across my shoulder.
“But he mentioned Sibell. Spoke her name, saying she never told me the whole story.”
Sibell shook her head adamantly. “I’m sorry, Jayce, I don’t have the answers you seek. I knew very little about your father, but we can find out, I’m sure.”
Defeated, I sat back. “I feel like a mutt.”
Cain chuckled. “A mutt, why?”
“I’m a little bit of everything. All my life I was fine being a human, and that’s actually the one thing I’m not.”
Sibell lifted her teacup to her lips with a small smile. “I always knew you’d be unique.”