Page 21 of A Steeping of Blood (Blood and Tea #2)

He looked ready for his part in this to be over, which Arthie took as another good sign. Though the more seamlessly this went, the more dread pooled in her stomach.

“It’s yours,” Willard said, coming over to them. “Crewless and cargo-less. I don’t know what you’re planning, Casimir, but I want no part in it.”

“You won’t have any part in it,” Arthie replied. “We have a deal, and I keep my word.”

It was too late for him to back away now, and with a grimace, he realized it too.

“Safe travels, if only for the sake of the ship,” he said.

Arthie said nothing as Willard Otis strode away, leaving them to their devices. Good man. Sidharth went to Silas Vane with final instructions as he and his crew boarded the ship.

“Right, Jin—” Arthie stopped, but he wasn’t by her side.

She turned in a circle and spotted him a short distance away, like a scene from a play.

Jin was on the pier, his brow pressed to Flick’s as the sea tumbled beyond them, the wind whipping their clothes.

His eyes were closed, pain crowding the plains of his face.

He pulled away while she watched, and Flick took a tiny step back, as if it physically hurt to do so.

“You’ll be missed, Flick,” Arthie said as she and Matteo joined them.

Flick turned, her eyes bright with tears. “As will you, Arthie.”

They’d come a long way since Flick had walked through Spindrift’s doors and Arthie had recruited her services, knowing full well she had wanted to double-cross them for her mother. Now she was a part of the crew scrambling to take down her mother.

“Keep them safe, Matteo,” Flick said.

Jin made a sound in the back of his throat, and turned toward the ship without a word. It would have appeared rude if Arthie didn’t know otherwise: If he stayed here any longer watching Flick’s tears, he might never board the ship.

“I promise,” Matteo said with a tiny bow, and hurried off to Jin.

When it was just the two of them left, Flick picked up a tiny case. “Oh, and here. A gift for you three. But—open it later.”

“I’ll think about it,” Arthie teased, taking it from her.

It was fairly heavy, interestingly. And then Flick threw her arms around Arthie, holding her tight.

The pitter-patter of Flick’s heart raced against Arthie’s rib cage until she finally pulled away.

“Don’t scout out the tribute site. We’ll be fine.

I’ll protect him. You stay safe, and we’ll reunite at the Athereum. ”

Flick nodded. “Seven days, Arthie.”

Arthie didn’t need the reminder, but she took it as Sidharth returned, silver hair shimmering in the light. He gave her a small salute with another promise to free the vampires housed in the warehouses here in Ettenia, and then it was time.

Arthie paused before the ship, heart lodged in her throat. It was only a ship; it was only the sea. She had a job, and that should take precedence as it always did.

But it didn’t.

A shadow fell over her, and she dropped her eyes to the ground, not wanting Matteo to read her, but read he did.

“You can do this,” Matteo said softly.

Arthie drew a breath and walked the gangway, gritting her teeth as the ground bobbed beneath her and the memories threatened to drown her whole.

“Let’s not forget the satisfaction to come when we surprise the Ram, eh?” he asked.

Arthie cracked a smile at that. If Matteo could go from Wolf to prolific painter, Arthie could brave the seas. And after? The Ram would foot the bill.

The EJC ship was beautiful, more extravagant than Arthie had thought it could be, varnished and detailed.

A beautiful grave . For the ship was one of many the Ram used to transport her unconscious vampires, soon to be weaponized, exploited, and killed for her purposes. No, there was nothing beautiful to it.

Captain Silas Vane and his men untied ropes and loosened sails and set off without a fuss, and as the ship slowly drifted from the port, Flick shrank smaller and smaller.

She waved one last time, and Arthie and the others waved back.

Arthie heard the tremor in Jin’s exhale, but she felt nothing of the sort herself, encased, instead, in a sense of numbness.

The seas were calm, as if waiting with bated breath for Arthie to do as she’d done the last time she stood among the waves.

But she wouldn’t. She was different now. Right? She tried to find comfort in the fact that there were no humans aboard. Not far from her, Jin clutched the railing, staring into the churning waters and looking sicker by the second.

“It helps to not stare at it,” she said, and he began turning his head in acknowledgment before thinking better of it.

Arthie sighed.

Matteo squeezed himself between them with a look to either side. “I knew joining the Casimirs would be an adventure, but I never saw myself leaving Ettenian shores with the pair of you.”

Neither Arthie nor Jin responded.

Matteo sighed. “Good talk.” Then he peered into the sloshing waves. “It’s a pity vampires can’t swim.”

That piqued Jin’s curiosity. “They can’t?”

“Supposedly,” Matteo admitted with a shrug.

“I’ve never tried it myself, but I can see why it’s not recommended.

One, there’s no cover from the sun, and I know there’s no sun at night, so that brings me to point two: Swimming has been known to do wonders to heart health, increasing blood flow to arteries and the like.

Excellent for humans, not so much for vampires.

The better our systems work, the faster we run out of blood and can potentially starve. ”

“Which won’t kill you—us,” Jin said. Arthie had resigned herself to never hearing that tone in his voice again. That curiosity, that deep-in-thought interest. She thought it had crashed and burned with Spindrift.

Matteo shrugged. “Well, one might argue that the inability to die is worse than death. Imagine being suspended in a state of being barely alive. To drown endlessly or starve without end. Regardless, don’t get any ideas.”

Arthie’s mother once said that to be Ceylani was to be one with the sea that cupped the island in its jeweled blue palm. Arthie had learned how to swim before she could walk. Could she still be considered a Ceylani if she couldn’t wade the waters beneath the heavy weight of the sun?

“We need to discuss our next course of action,” Arthie said, quieting her unending, spiraling thoughts.

“On the island? I thought we didn’t know what to expect,” Matteo said. “Oh, she’s looking at me like I suggested she ought to start walking on her hands. Jin? Assistance, please.”

“Arthie always has a plan. She doesn’t cross the street without one,” Jin explained, before realizing he had just aligned himself with her and turned his head away again.

She barely stopped her eyes from rolling.

“Forgive me, darling, for I have transgressed,” Matteo said, lowering his head.

“The sun’s getting bright; I’m going below,” Jin said, rubbing at his exposed skin. The burn was a gradual thing, a discomfort that slowly shifted into an itch. It was no different than the living being afflicted with sunburn, only for a vampire, that process was sped up.

Jin paused at the hatch.

“Well?” he asked coldly when neither Matteo nor Arthie moved to join him.

Arthie didn’t know why she was watching Matteo so closely, why she was hoping he would be disappointed to not have time alone with her.

At last, his lips jutted in the slightest pout. Arthie prickled with pleasure.

He said he wanted to tease her? Two could play at that game.

She brushed past him, making sure she swept a finger across his middle, dipping to the button looping his trousers in place, underestimating how excruciating it would be for herself, as every part of her ached for more.

A strangled sound escaped his throat before she yanked up the hatch and followed Jin below deck.

“I don’t even want to know why you’ve got that grin on,” Jin said tiredly when she stepped through the cabin’s doorway. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, half bathed in shadow.

Matteo followed her in and sank into the chair that was bolted to the floor, ignoring her. “This place”—he paused and cleared his throat—“forgive me, this place is almost as lavish as my house.”

“Your modesty is unmatched,” Arthie said, unable to hide the gloat from her tone.

“I try,” Matteo said.

“Right, so our plan,” Jin said pointedly.

“What plan? We have a list of unknowns, no?” Matteo asked. “We don’t know where your parents even are.”

“We do,” Arthie said. “Flick and Jin discovered last night that the Ram recently finished construction of a fortress on the island, along with a sanatorium where the vampires are being delivered.”

After a moment, Matteo spoke slowly, as if treading a dangerous line. “And, you might have considered this already, but do we know which side the Siwangs work for?”

“The right one,” Jin snapped. “Ours.”

Matteo didn’t brush off Jin’s anger. No, his voice was gentle when he spoke. “You’re not new to this, Jin. You know anyone can change sides.”

Arthie wondered if he spoke of Laith, or Lady Linden, who was revealed to be the Ram. Arthie remembered he had painted for her too. Whatever his reasons, Arthie was at once struck by how different he was from that first moment she’d stepped through his doors.

“Don’t question my parents to me,” Jin said through gritted teeth, but Arthie recognized the undertone to his words. He had asked himself the same question, and he was already afraid of the answer.

“It doesn’t matter,” Arthie said. “If they’re on our side, they’ll assist us. If they’re on hers, we’ll use force. Regardless, we will not only rip out a crucial cog of her operation, we will end it.”

Jin was still trying to convince himself that they weren’t what his gut was saying they were. “They were recognized by the Eagle long before the Ram came into power. They’re well-known in high circles. Trusted, even.”