His body shook. Was he laughing? He leaned in to speak to me again. “Wrap your arms around me.”
I locked my arms around his back, feeling his smooth skin and rigid muscles. His strong arms lifted my body, squeezing tightly. The ground suddenly disappeared from beneath us. And at that moment I realized Caden’s intention. We were jumping through that giant, ferocious waterfall.
The torrent of water hit us, beating down on every muscle in my shoulders and back and effortlessly driving my hands apart. Thankfully my bare feet were touching hard ground before I had a chance to panic.
“You can come out now,” Caden whispered.
I pulled my face away from the comfortable nook I had located in his chest.
“I figured it was best not to tell you what we were doing,” he explained, looking sheepish.
“Good call,” I muttered, allowing only a fleeting scowl. I can’t be mad at you.
He smiled—such a sweet, genuine smile—then nodded to something behind us. I turned. And squinted at a sea of silver, thousands of metallic, ropelike vertical strands glowing brilliantly in the darkness of a wide tunnel. They swayed gracefully back and forth as if being coerced by a gentle breeze that never touched my skin. They had to be at least three feet high, growing in round clumps right out of the bedrock.
Stepping forward, awe slowing my feet, I reached out to touch one of the strands. It was soft and pliable, like yarn. My eyes widened. I knew what it was.
15. Sea of Merth
“This is how Merth grows?” I whispered, turning to Caden.
He shrugged. “Guess so. None of us have ever seen it like this before. It’s next to impossible to find. The Council’s been hunting for it since the war. We knew Jethro had some, but didn’t know where he got it from. It’s why he was so territorial about this place. I’ll bet there are groves of this stuff in these mountains.”
The mention of the Council reminded me of Rachel. “So … will Rachel tell the Council about it?” And about me?
Caden sighed loudly. “We’re not telling her about this.” He closed the gap between us, his expression serious. He reached up to delicately touch my cheek. The gesture made my heart begin hammering erratically in my chest. “She’s not going to tell them about you. I’m making sure of that.” I caught the sudden twitch in his cheek, like he was trying not to wince.
“What’s wrong?”
He dropped his hand, moving away from me. “Being around this much Merth is painful. But I wanted to show you. If we can figure out a way to get some out, you should take it back with you … for protection.”
I suddenly remembered. “Sofie asked me to bring back as much as I can. I don’t know why,” I added when I saw his questioning look.
His jaw tightened. “What is that witch not telling you?”
Probably as much as I’m not telling you, I thought guiltily. Watching him wince in pain just so he could show me a way to shield myself from him and his kind, my need for secrecy and protection vanished instantly. “I can bring you back with me,” I blurted.
Caden’s eyes widened in alarm. “What? You said—”
“I lied! But I’m telling you now. There is a way to take you back.”
“How do you know?”
“Sofie told me.”
Caden sneered, his doubt obvious. But then he must have had a thought, because his face turned grim. “Take who back, exactly?”
They really don’t miss anything, do they. I swallowed. “Well, that’s the problem; I don’t know how or who I can bring back—”
Caden cut me off. “Don’t say a word to the others about this.”
“Because I may not be able to bring them back with me?”
“Yes, exactly. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“But if I can figure out how, then you can come back with me.”
“No!” Horror made it a shout. I jumped back, and he softened his tone. “I mean, it doesn’t matter if one of us goes or all of us go …” He chewed his lip as if deliberating what to say. “We haven’t been exposed to human blood in over seven hundred years,” he began, then paused to clear his throat, which had turned hoarse. “That necklace disguises what you are here, right?” I nodded. “But you said that, in your world, it’s useless. These vampire friends of yours can smell your blood, sense your emotions, all that.”
Again, I nodded and his jade eyes locked with mine, turning hard as he spoke again, slowly and deliberately. “What do you think will happen when one of us is exposed to the scent of human blood—a scent that drives us to kill with more intensity than you could ever possibly imagine—for the first time in seven hundred years?”
I pursed my lips, beginning to understand where the conversation was going.
He didn’t stop there, though. “And which human will be in close proximity?” His left eyebrow arched, and I swallowed. “You wouldn’t stand a chance. You’d be dead before you knew what was going on.” Caden grimaced.
“But you could control yourself, couldn’t you?”
“No, Evangeline.” Caden shook his head, dismissing my faith in him. “You don’t understand how powerful this need for blood is.” He stepped away from me and began pacing. “When Amelie was still human, she had a boyfriend. They’d been dating for three years. She loved the guy. He was a bit of a wanker in my opinion, but … I’m her older brother so I’m supposed to be hard on boyfriends. Anyway, when she was turned, she made the mistake of going to see him. I don’t know what she was thinking. Well, I do. She wanted to see him. She had to see him.”
“What happened? Was he scared off?” I asked.
“No … Well, he might have been if she ever had the chance to tell him. Between her thirst for his blood and her overwhelming desire for him, she couldn’t control herself.” Caden looked down at his hands. “She killed him. Drained him of every last drop of blood.”
I gasped. “Poor Amelie!”
Caden barked laughter, shaking his head at me. “Poor Amelie? What about poor wanker?” He sighed, stopping in front of me. “Amelie lives with that guilt every day, as strong now as it was seven hundred years ago. I couldn’t live with myself if I did that to you.” His fingertip brushed my cheek, raw pain momentarily flashing in his eyes.
I swallowed and—I don’t know where the bravery came from—timidly moved my fingertips up to touch his, where they rested on my cheek. Or tried to, anyway. My hand was trembling enough to mimic a Parkinson’s patient.
He abruptly grabbed my hand, panic marring his gorgeous features. “Oh God! You’re freezing! Why didn’t you say anything?”
I was freezing, I realized—but that wasn’t why I was trembling. Either way, I wasn’t going to admit it.
“Let’s go.” He tugged me after him, his jaw taut.
“Go” meant jumping through the waterfall again, something I didn’t exactly enjoy, but I was easily mollified by burying my face in Caden’s chest again. Once through, he swung me up into his arms with ease, cradling me like a small child. “There’s another way,” he murmured and began running down an unseen tunnel—completely dark—at warp speed.
It took only minutes to get back to the others, but my teeth were chattering uncontrollably by the time we arrived. Caden leapt into the natural hot tub where we had started, me still snug in his arms. At first the shock of the heat felt like a million tiny prickles against my skin, and I winced with the sting. When I saw Caden’s pained expression, though, I fought hard to smooth my face.
Caden refused to let go, holding me tightly as he apologized repeatedly, “I didn’t realize how cold the air was for you. I forgot about—I’m an idiot!”
“It’s ok–k–kay, I’m warming up–p now,” I said between chattering teeth, trying to ease his conscience.
“No, it’s not okay! You’re stiff as a board!” he exclaimed.
A burst of laughter escaped before I sucked it in. It was the feel of his bare, muscular abs against my ribcage and something else against my hip that was preventing my body from relaxing.
“I should have known better,” he continued. “It’s bad enough that you have to worry about being attacked by vampires, now you may die of hypothermia.” His hand furiously rubbed his brow.
“Thanks for showing me th–the Merth. It’s b–beautiful, even though it’s d–dangerous to you,” I continued, attempting to distract him.
He heaved a huge sigh, then frowned at me. “You’re allowed to get angry.”
“It won’t accomplish anything,” I answered, smiling at him. “B–besides, it was fun.” I averted my gaze shyly.
“Which part, being pulled down a pitch black, underwater rabbit hole, or being pummeled by a waterfall?” he retorted sarcastically.
The truth was, I had already forgotten about those minor distractions; my mind still reeled from the feel of his body against my back as he pulled me through the murky abyss and his strong arms as they held me tightly, protecting me. I wasn’t about to tell him that, though. “All of it,” I answered instead.
He muttered something incoherent, rolled his eyes, and shook his head at me.
My rigid muscles finally started to unlock.
“Good God, Caden. Her lips are blue!” Amelie had stealthily swum up. Her normally raspy voice sounded condemning, and she glared at her brother in disapproval.
I defended him. “It’s okay! I’m fine.”
Amelie rolled doubtful eyes. “Did he show you the Merth, at least?”
I nodded, another surge of guilt souring my stomach at the thought that I was keeping my secret from her when she was so willing to share theirs.
“Cool, huh?” Amelie threw a mysterious glance at Caden, then dove under the water and swam away.
I sighed, wishing I could read them like Sofie could read me. My teeth had finally stopped chattering, but my fingertips, when I reached up to scratch my nose, were shriveled. “I need to get out.” I held my wrinkly hand up in front of Caden’s face, scrunching my nose in disgust.
“Wait right here.”
Caden’s arms slid out from around me. I watched his chiseled body as he leapt out of the water and disappeared down the tunnel. He returned thirty seconds later with the plush red blanket under one arm and several large chunks of wood tucked under the other. He had a vibrant fire blazing in seconds. Hoisting me out of the water, he wrapped me in the blanket and led me over to sit next to the flames. He slid in directly behind me, his legs stretched out on either side, and began rubbing my arms and back.
Although I didn’t mind the doting, I knew I was taking advantage of his unwarranted guilt. “Thanks. I’m good now.” He ignored me, continuing to half dry, half warm me. “Really. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“We should change those bandages on your hand, too,” he murmured.
“Oh, to be invisible …” I mused sarcastically.
He pulled me back toward him until I was close enough that his inner thighs touched my hips and his chin hovered over my shoulder. I was sure I felt warm breath tickling against the nape of my neck. But he doesn’t need to breathe, does he?
“Are you still cold? You’re trembling,” Caden murmured.
“Nope, I’m good,” I muttered, heat crawling up my cheeks. The opposite, actually. I squeezed my eyes shut and focused on my breathing.
I heard a lid pop and opened my eyes to see Caden rifling through a medical kit. It was enough to distract me from Caden’s inadvertent torture for the moment. I raised a querying eyebrow.
“I found this earlier in my bag, along with a note. Courtesy of your maternal vampire, I gather?” He grinned.
“Seriously?” I frowned. “What’d the note say?”
“That I should keep an eye on your stitches because you’d be preoccupied. She didn’t say with what.”
You. I’m preoccupied with you, dummy.
Caden gently unwound the bandages. It had been three days since the attack. I think. It was getting hard to keep track of time. The cut was healing nicely, the old woman’s stitch work impeccable. Caden held my hand tenderly in his, inspecting the wound from several angles. Then, ever so lightly, he drew a circle around it with his index finger. “Does that hurt at all?” He turned his face slightly so his mouth was next to my cheek.
“No,” I squeaked. How can he not know what he’s doing to me!
Sighing, he began wrapping my hand up in new bandages.
“Cannon ball!” Bishop yelled in warning. I looked up in time to see him plummeting from atop one of the highest boulders. He splashed into the lake, sending an enormous wave radiating outward. Luckily we were out of range.
I gasped. “The rocks!”