“I warned you not to trust pirates.”
“And yet, I trust you,” I replied.
With a quickness that I’d never seen with any sort of magic, he had me pinned against the wall with his nose brushing the skin of my neck.
“And if I can’t stop?”
“I dust and come back.”
He groaned. “And the claiming breaks and we have to repeat it. How many times would it take before it drives you mad?”
“Drives me mad? Why would it drive me mad?” I asked.
He looked at me, and even though the redness, I could see the pain in his eyes. “You don’t know.”
“Know what? Look. Just do what you have to do. It will be fine. Just suck my blood. Whatever.”
“I never wanted this.” He meant it, but his body made him a liar as he pressed closer to me.
“Well, you are a vampire. So, I think it would be inaccurate to say that you didn’t want this, because if their reaction out there is any indication, I’ve got some super-duper bloody smelling blood,” I said, trying to deflect. “Why would I go mad again?”
“Your blood. Human. Fairy. Phoenix. It’s a concoction that frankly has never been made before. Plus, you have a twinge of darkness tied to your bond with the book. You are not just a fine wine. You are the finest.”
“Which means I will probably taste so good that you won’t be able to stop yourself.” He leaned his head past me, and it thumped on the wall above my shoulder. “You are showing tremendous restraint at the moment.” I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I trust you.”
“You can’t trust me to do the right thing in this form. I’m a different man.”
“No, you are a part of the whole man. Pirate, vampire, or businessman.”
“Or Wild.”
“Or what?”
“The vampires are considered part of the Wild.”
The revelation shouldn’t have shocked me. I knew everyone living in Neverland and Wonderland were fairies. I knew Seamus’ mother and brother lived in those realms. Of course, he was fairy. And it only seemed fitting that he was Wild.
“Well, from what I understand through Rafe, I’m a little Wild, too. Not just Winter. Just parts of a whole. They all make me who I am. Just like your parts. And I need you to protect me. I assume these aren’t the only vampires we will face along the way.”
“They aren’t even close to the worst ones we will face,” he muttered.
“You promised to protect me. Just do it.”
He didn’t answer. He just struck. His fangs buried into my neck, and I gasped at the unexpected pain, but once the cut was complete, I felt nothing except for his body pressed to mine and the gentle sucking of his lips on my neck.
He fed for longer than I had expected. His grip tightened on my wrists, and I started to panic.
“Seamus. You have to stop.” I gathered power, but it was nullified by his cane wherever it was. “Seamus.” I tried grabbing his head, but he captured my wrists and held them to the wall. “Fuck, Seamus. Stop it!” A sob escaped my throat. My knees began to buckle. This was going to be a shit way to die.
Then, I caught the light blue glow of his sword reflected in the windows. Of course! His sword was his cane. I kicked as hard as I could upward dislodging it from his side. It slid across the floor, and I pumped fire into my wrists. He jerked away, then I shoved him with a heated blast of air.
He sank to his knees with my blood dripping from his chin. His defeated face made my heart ache. I couldn’t be mad at him. I told him to do it. He warned me. I turned too quickly to run into the bedroom. The blood loss caused my head to spin, and I sank to the floor in a limp puddle of weakness and disbelief.
After a moment, I felt my body being scooped up and laid on the bed. Then, there was silence.
My eyes fluttered open to find Seamus asleep in a chair next to the bed. He wore a crisp white button-up shirt and a pair of black dress pants. Outside, I could hear seagulls, and I wondered if we had made it to port.
I shifted to reach up and feel my neck, but nothing remained of the feeding. Reaching over to him, I gently touched his hand. He jumped awake with widened eyes. The pale golden eyes I was accustomed to seeing.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“I seem to be,” I said.
His brow furrowed, and he pulled his hand from me. “This was a bad idea. I’m taking you back.”
Too quickly, I raised up in the bed. The room spun, and I flopped back down. “No, we have to keep going. I’m fine.” I struggled to sit back up, but my body refused to cooperate.
“We arrived in Neverland an hour ago. I need to meet with my brother so that he can send word to my mother why we didn’t arrive. Then, we are going home. When we get back, I’ll be leaving Steelshore. You have everything in hand there, and I have business elsewhere,” he said without looking at me.
“You are abandoning me, too.” His face twisted in pain. I’d hurt him.
“That isn’t fair, Wynonna.”
“Isn’t it? A little blood, and you chicken out?” I didn’t hold back. He was a big boy, and he could take it. He’d made this decision unilaterally without even asking my opinion. He didn’t care. He was going to do what he wanted.
“It wasn’t just a little blood. If you hadn’t figured out my cane was my sword, I would not have stopped. I cannot take the risk of that happening again. I’ve tasted it now. It will haunt me forever, and I cannot allow it to happen again. I’m taking you home.”
He stood up, and his glamour shimmered back to pirate.
“I’m not going back without finding Callum.” I remained defiant. He would give in to me. I knew that he would.
“You don’t have any choice in the matter anymore, Miss Riggs. The same spells that keep others out, will keep you in.” He touched the door frame, and I saw the wards switch.
I threw the covers off of me and darted for him. But I lost my balance tumbled to the floor. “Seamus!” He slammed the door as he left. “Fucking pirate!”
After dragging myself off the floor, I got dressed and glamoured my outfit to my tastes. I tried everything I could think of to get past the spells, but nothing worked. The door wouldn’t even burn. None of it would.
“Zinnia!” I called out. “Zinnia! Come here!”
I hoped she could hear me. I waited a few moments, and the little pixie appeared outside my window.
“I can’t get in,” she said sadly.
“Can you open the window?” I asked.
“It doesn’t work that way,” she replied.
“I have to get out of here! That damn pirate lied to me. He’s not taking me to my brother. He’s taking me home!” I told her. I hoped that her rebellious nature would find the opportunity to help me intriguing.
“I can get help. Stay right there,” she said before zipping off.
“Not like I’m going anywhere,” I muttered.
I sat down on the bed and thought about Seamus. I’d dragged him into this. For some reason, despite his reservations, he had decided to help me. It had proven to be more than he could handle, which boggled my mind. Seamus wasn’t afraid of anything. He couldn’t possibly be in love with me. There were too many factors that made such a thing impossible. One because he was older than dirt. The other being my mother would skin him alive, which she might go ahead and do once she realized he had drunk my blood.