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“You know, Larimar, you surprise me.” He pauses for a moment. “Your constitution is quite astounding,” he says, putting his hands in his pockets. “Your willingness to embrace everything. Your devotion to your sister, to the ones you love. You live life to experience it, and you don’t let anything hold you back. You are a ferocious, brave little soul, and I can see why Aragon has fallen in love with you so.”

I have to admit, I get a little choked up hearing him say such things. “I don’t think anyone has ever observed me like that.”

“That’s my job,” he says with a chuckle. “It’s what I do. It’s what I’m good at. But don’t discount Aragon. He sees you too, all of you. That’s why he loves you, and the last thing he wants is to jeopardize that. He’s not worried about you running amok on the ship and hurting anyone—he’s worried you’ll lose all that makes you beautiful. Your soul.”

Heat creeps up on my cheeks. “It would be nice for him to tell me that.”

He laughs. “It’s easy for me to tell you because I’m a casual observer. I don’t have anything at stake. My heart isn’t on the line. It’s hard for Aragon because of the way he is, the ways he has broken and put himself back together. It makes everything that much…harder. But you know he feels that way, you can see it. We all can. And actions speak louder than any of the words I have just spoken.”

I think that over for a moment, staring at the horizon as the sun begins to dip down, the blues of the sky deepening, reminding me of Priest’s eyes, the way they darken with lust.

“One time, a monster at the monastery escaped,” Abe recalls. “We were all so worried. It had happened before, with disastrous consequences, and we thought it would be the same, a trail of blood and body parts left in their wake. But while there was blood…we found something surprising.”

“What?”

“We found the monster. He had bitten a human, turned them into a monster. The beast inside said he had wanted the company. The strange thing was that he didn’t create another monster. He just created a Vampyre. Sure, the man was a little feral, I suppose. Had a voracious appetite, but he didn’t physically transform, and he was in control of himself. He knew who he had been and who he still was. We never did find out if he turned out to be immortal, as one day he left with the monster who turned him in tow, off to live happily together.”

I stare at him. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? Why didn’t you tell Priest?”

“Because neither of you mentioned wanting to turn you into a Vampyre.”

“What about Maren?”

“She doesn’t know.”

I reach out and grab him by the collar, my claws coming out and digging into his skin. “You need to tell him,” I growl. “You need to tell Priest what he can do. You need to get him to turn me into a Vampyre, turn Maren into one too so she can live forever with Ramsay.”

His chin jerks inward as he tries to stare down at my claws holding him. “Do keep in mind that I only have this anecdotal evidence to support my theory. It happened once. I never saw another monster turn a human after that. Monsters usually killed them. It’s never a wise decision to base things on one previous outcome.”

“But now this is a risk worth taking,” I tell him. “Priest has to see that.”

“Then you will have to tell him,” he says calmly. “And I will be the one to back up your claim.”

“Well, we’re doing it tonight then,” I tell him as I start to climb down the mast.

“Just realize what immortality means, Larimar,” Abe calls after me. “It means you still live after the world has burned to the ground.”

“I’ll live on a scorched Earth if it means having Priest by my side.”

I hear him sigh, and then follow down the mast.

I march straight down to the galley where Priest and the pirates have gathered, grabbing a knife from Sedge’s counter as I go.

I have to think fast, act fast. Vampyres move like a blur; they’ll stop me if they have any idea what I’m about to do.

And if I give it any more thought, I’ll lose my nerve.

I have to take the chance.

I have to be the one to do this.

I have to force Priest’s hand.

Above all, I must have faith. Faith in an unknown god, faith in fate, faith that my own strength will save me and see me through, that I’ll come out of this no more of a monster than I already was.

I march through the room, Priest, Ramsay and Thane all turning to see me approach.

Priest notices the knife in my hand, and his eyes widen, mouth dropping open.