Page 69 of Eternal Craving

“But I?—”

“At seven o’clock tomorrow night, you must be in The Captain’s Table Inn.Wait for further instructions.”

“I don’t think I can make the port, even if I leave right this minute.”

“What shall I tell the king?” Sunaria asked, rising from the chair.

Felipe flinched. “There must be some mistake.”

“This is your message to His Majesty?”

Felipe’s gaze met hers. “Tell His Highness that my utmost discretion is assured.”

She gave a deep bow. “The throne expects nothing less.”

This wasn’t the plan, it couldn’t be. My glorious vision of killing him, of silencing the monster once and for all, had been undone by Sunaria’s blinding pride. He would never fall for a charade like this.

I told her this as we hurried down the hallway. She turned and pressed me against the wall. “You speak of us as though we are cursed, as though this life, this power, is something to mourn. I’ve tolerated your doubts, indulged your hesitations, because I wanted to give you time to understand. But now you must realize that we are not bound by the limits of men. We are their evolution, their reckoning. By day we rest, yes, but when the night comes, we awaken as superior. We are desire. We are strength. We are everything humanity longs to become but fears to embrace. And I demand you see it – seeus –for what we truly are.”

I leaned down and kissed her hard like a punishment, causing her to glare at me. Her words resonated with a truth I prayed I could believe.

“The Santa Maria?” I kept my voice low, relenting to her wisdom.

She stroked my cheek gently before turning and proceeding down the hallway.

“I hate being back here,” I said.

“I can only imagine.”

Within minutes, we’d found the nursery. Six-year-old Ricardo slept in a corner bed and appeared well cared for. In the other corner, his nanny snored lightly, a young girl of twenty years or so. On the floor, near the foot of Ricardo’s bed, lay a broken wooden soldier splayed out. Someone had tried to rip its head off. Ricardo’s penchant for violence left no object safe.

Sunaria nudged me toward him and, with one hand over his mouth, I picked him up. He immediately began squirming in my arms and then bit me.

The nanny stirred.

“Go,” Sunaria whispered.

With Ricardo in my arms, I flew out of the window and landed on the lawn behind the far wall and knelt beside him, trying to calm his wails. My hand pressed against his mouth. “I’m taking you to your mother.”

He calmed down a little.

I eased my hand off, ready to ram it back if needed.

“Mama’s dead,” Ricardo sobbed.

“Why do you say that?”

“Papa told me.”

“Well, she’s not. She asked me to bring you to her.”

Ricardo made me unbearably uncomfortable. If it weren’t for the fact I adored my sister, I’d have shoved him back into the house. Sunaria came up behind us several minutes later.

I felt relieved to see her. “What happened?”

“The nanny won’t remember,” she whispered. “I gave her a ‘little drink.’”

“What?”