So why did that feel so impossible?
Dakath pulled back and tilted my chin up, looking over my face. “You seem revitalized. More than I thought possible in such a short time. How?”
“Sleep?” I offered hesitantly. It was that in part, but there was so much more.
“Is that so?” he asked, a hint of curiosity showing in the tilt of his lips, as if finding my statement amusing. Somehow I didn’t think he believed me, but he also didn’t push it, which I was glad for because I wanted to keep the secret between myself and Kolvar for just a bit longer.
“You should be resting,” Elijah said, his voice carrying over the wind. I didn’t like how he still wouldn’t look at me, so I left Dakath’s arms to walk towards the serious Lord. He tensed as he sensed my approach, but his gaze remained firmly fixed on the horizon.
Instead of saying anything at first, I looked out in the direction of his gaze, my eyes widening on the magnificent body of water we were traveling across. Each and every wave crested with silver, the cloudy skies above making the water look almost steel-grey now instead of blue. I couldn’t see anything in terms of land from this side of the ship, and that left me feeling almost giddy. Like I was finally fully out of Malakai’s reach.
“I feel really good,” I promised Elijah, looking up to find him staring at me. When my eyes met his, the heat in his gaze was instantly doused. He nodded sharply and looked back out at the Cursed Divide, but I couldn’t help but smile—he had been looking at me, even if only for a brief moment.
Dakath appeared next to me, and I looked up at him, his warm chocolate-brown eyes filled with a dark heat and affection. I had no idea what I’d done to earn that look, but it caused my face to flush. Luckily, before I could embarrass myself by allowing words to leave my lips, Kolvar arrived on deck.
“Kyella?!” His panicked voice had me turning around as he walked through the same door I had. A smile broke onto my face, causing Dakath to let out a low rumble and place a large hand on my back, which I leaned into. I didn’t know how I was so comfortable with them touching me like this, but my body felt lit up with energy.
Kolvar appeared in front of us in a blink of an eye. I stared at him in surprise, not because of how fast he moved, but because I had been able to track every second of it.
“I didn’t expect you to leave your room.” He examined my face, cupping my jaw. “Are you okay?”
I knew he was asking about my hunger. “Yes. I’m sorry, I should’ve told you—”
“You can go wherever you want, Kyella.” Dakath interrupted, his voice serious in nature as he held my gaze until I nodded in understanding. I could tell he found it important that I understood I had that freedom.
He continued, his tone not changing exactly but underneath it I sensed that he was almost poking fun at the other Lord, “Kolvar is just being selfish because he’s the only one who’s seen you these past two days. Probably wanted to keep it that way for longer.”
“Shecannotgo anywhere she wants,” Elijah rumbled, causing me to tense.What was that supposed to mean? Like, he didn’t want me out of his reach?
Kolvar offered him a look I couldn’t decipher, but it was gone when he looked back down at me. “Are you feeling better?”
“Much better,” I whispered, trying to not overthink Elijah’s words. The idea of having limitations should’ve freaked me out and made me think of the hold Malakai had on me. Had I just traded one prison for another? Would I find out down the road that this was too good to be true, as I had with Malakai?
I smiled as Bailey came onto deck with Rina. Bailey met my gaze and offered me a wave, causing me to leave the boys and walk over. In the dark of the night, I hadn’t gotten to see Bailey fully, but holy crap was she beautiful. Her hair was a soft chocolate brown that hung to her waist, and she had blue-gray eyes that matched her daughter’s, who was staring up at me with wide eyes.
“Rina.” Bailey messed with her daughter’s light wavy hair. “This is Kyella.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said politely with a big smile before her eyes darted around me. “Can I go say hi to Kolvar, Mama?”
“Of course.” She nodded, and I watched as Rina ran off towards Kolvar, who crouched down and gave her a massive smile. My lips tugged up into a similar grin because the little girl was clearly enamored with Kolvar, and I understood completely—it was hard not to be. Especially when he chuckled, the sound warm as he pointed at something in the distance, causing Rina to clap her hands in excitement.
“They’re good men,” Bailey said, breaking me from my trance.
“They seem like it,” I murmured before admitting, “I’m hesitant around most vampyres, but they seem different.”
She nodded in understanding. “I felt similar before Tristan was turned, but when he was, I realized it’s not about being a vampyre, it’s about their soul. Being one of them just gives them an excuse to express and show their true nature.”
I believed that completely now that I had met Tristan and the three Lords.
“Mama!” Rina squealed, drawing both of our attention to something in the distance. “It’s our new home!”
Walking to the other side of the ship, my eyes widened. In the distance was a gorgeous utopia which seemed to be glowing as beams of sunlight broke free from the clouds to shine upon it. There were ships in the harbor, crowds of citizens moving freely from the docks into the city, and despite our distance—I could see a lot of our new home.
The main thing that caught my attention? The massive castle. It was made of beautiful gleaming white stone and vibrant flags that moved in the wind from where they stood proudly on the wall framing the city. Even from here I could sense a vibrancy and life to the entire kingdom. Everything about it was so damn picturesque and perfect…or maybe that was my subconscious reflecting the relief I felt at setting my gaze on this place that was supposedly so different from Malakai’s empire.
My aunt once told me that before you can fall in love with anyone, you must first fall in love with yourself, and I had never had the opportunity to do that since becoming an adult.
Here, I could find who I really was. I was looking forward to it.
