Page 38 of Eternal Obsession

“What? No. This is about Emily?”

“Not now,” he snapped.

I stood my ground. “Alex’s intended is pregnant.”

Lord Artimas looked tense. “I know.”

“And you blessed this marriage?”

“Lord Theron⁠—”

“I don’t care. Alex is your son, and you have forgotten that. This life has hardened your heart. I will not allow you to marry him off in this way.”

“Jadeon,” my father replied softy, “if you do not find your brother, your defense of him may well prove fruitless. Lord Velde may have already killed him. Alex was used, and now that Velde is in⁠—”

I reeled. “What are you talking about?”

“Lord Velde is not the Spanish lord he appears to be,” he said. “Your brother Alex has befriended a—” Lord Artimas glanced at the boy. His gaze fell upon me again. “Alex ensured this man’s entry into our home,” Lord Artimas added gravely. “This cabin boy has informed us that when he sailed aboard the ship The Blue Rose on its journey from Spain he met Lord Velde, a passenger aboard this vessel. He commissioned the boy to unlock the captain’s door with the payment of a gold coin. Lord Velde murdered the ship’s captain. The boy witnessed the murder.”

I wanted to bolt, to go and find Alex, but Father clutched at my sleeve.

The cabin boy was directed to stand in the center of the room.

Fearfully, he said his name was Samuel and recounted his story before the imposing gathering. The boy stated he had hidden from view within the captain’s cabin on many nights in order to have a warm, dry place to sleep. On that fateful night, he had witnessed the gentleman actually bite the neck of his master, and then, like an animal, drink his blood.

Although the cabin boy had attempted to warn the navigator and other crewmembers, they had not believed his story. Adding insult to injury, they had taken the coin the man had given him. Samuel continued to explain that while on land leave his ship had docked in the harbor. He had recognized Lord Velde with a stranger in the old Marazion Inn, and had soon discovered the name of the other gentleman to be Alexander Artimas.

I pulled away and headed for the door.

“Wait,” my father snapped at me. With a pointed finger at Samuel, he said, “Continue.”

On recognizing the man, Samuel had informed his uncle the innkeeper. His uncle immediately informed Father Edward De Mercy. This time the boy’s story was believed and he was brought to the castle in order for Lord Artimas to question him further. Samuel was reassured that these men found his account credible. He was thanked for his bravery but sternly warned that he should never speak of it again.

It was in the boy’s eyes, having seen an unspeakable horror. Now, he was partly reassured that his story was taken seriously.

But his nightmare wasn’t over.

Not until Lord Velde was captured and held accountable. Not until the man was dead. I wondered how he must have seemed to him, if he had any idea of what he had encountered. The boy was lucky to be alive.

Samuel’s uncle escorted him toward the door.

I almost tripped on the boy on the way out.

“Be warned,” my father called after me. “If you see Velde, do not approach him but send word. Guard your thoughts. He will kill you if he realizes that you know his identity.”

As I withdrew, Father ordered his men out and directed their search.

I recalled Athena’s words at my initiation ceremony.

He is coming for you, she had threatened.

I should have listened.

Chapter Eighteen

ORPHEUS

Alex and I strolled along the sprawling candlelit corridors and perused his father’s fine paintings.