38. Cormac
Cormac
J ade and Aurora sat on the sofa in the solarium. I stood at the window, nursing my whiskey, watching the moon sparkle off the water of the harbor. The rhythmic sound of the waves reached my sensitive ears, reminding me of the heartbeat I had lost. As I brought my glass to my lips, a movement near the water caught my eye as Runa walked along the waterline, her bare feet skimming across the ground, leaving slight indentations on the wet sand. I’d seen her more times in the past few weeks than I could ever remember seeing her before, unless my parents had hidden her visits from us.
My heart pounded as I wanted to go to her, to demand what she knew about us, about why I was still here. I turned to Conall, who was standing next to the drink cart, refilling his glass. I held my own between the fingers of both hands and stole a glance at it before I spoke, my voice uneasy. “Do you think she knows?” I muttered before taking another sip.
“Knows what?” said Conall, coming to my side by the window.
“That Aiden is not the only one who can survive being staked.” My eyes fell to my glass. This was not a power I asked for.
“Cormac.” Aurora’s voice interrupted, causing Conall and me to both turn toward her. She hesitated as I held her gaze, her voice soft yet firm. “I don’t think it’s just you and Aiden,” she said.
I tilted my head and raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
She stared at her drink as if deciding on the words. “I think it’s all of you—something about your blood—just like how it allows other vampires to walk in the sun. It’s a trait shared between you...” She twirled her glass in her hand, staring at it, her face dark before she looked up at me. Our gazes locked on each other, and I knew the truth of her words.
Conall knitted his brows together. “Are you saying instead of one vampire sending the hunters into a tizzy, there are four?”
Rory bit her cheek and nodded. “Maybe five. What about your father?”
I pressed my lips together, wondering how to approach this newfound power. One thing was certain, we needed to keep it quiet and not let it go to our heads. Did my parents know about it? If only I could ask them.
Conall looked at the ceiling, the silence stretching out. “I can’t imagine how Lorcan is going to take this. He hated how Aiden changed.”
“This power does not differ from any other. It is only a gift or a curse based on how you use it, brother.” I sipped my drink, allowing my words time to settle on him.
He pressed his teeth together, anger burning in his eyes. Conall furrowed his brow as he glared out the window, watching Runa. “Why is she here again?” He took a drink before cocking his head. “What do you think she meant when she said she could find Father?”
I took a sip of the whiskey in my hand and glanced at Jade and Aurora, sitting huddled together like sisters, sipping on their wine. The whiskey burned as it trailed down my throat, reminding me I was alive again, but apparently, we were done with that conversation. My voice lowered as I dropped my chin. “I can tell you where I think they are.”
Conall shifted his weight to his other foot, his eyes narrowing. “How?” He clenched his jaw tight before continuing. “Have you heard from them in the past twenty years?”
I shook my head, turning to look out over the water—the water that would eventually lead to my family. My heart longed for us to be reunited. “I haven’t. I haven’t heard from Lorcan, either. But when Amara did the spell, it showed me where they were. Given the way my blood was fanning out, I believe that someone is near the Faroe Islands and the other is in Australia.”
Conall furrowed his brow. “Australia, huh?” A smile played on his lips as he took a drink. “Any idea where?”
“The eastern side, somewhere in New South Wales, it appeared.” I felt the burn of the whiskey again as I emptied my glass.
Conall’s eyes seemed to find Runa on the beach as she stared over the water. The air thickened between us as he raised his glass to his lips before he spoke. “We may need to find Lorcan.”
I glanced at my youngest brother from the corner of my eye. It was good to be standing here with him at my side in our family home. “I don’t disagree,” I replied, uncertainty tinging my voice. A weight settled on my shoulders, as I knew Lorcan’s assistance was not guaranteed. “But when we do, we’ll need to make sure he wants to help us. And then to find Mother and Father.”
Conall did not respond, so I turned toward him. His fingers gripped the glass, anger darkening his eyes, his jaw clenched. Suddenly, he drained his drink before he turned to the fireplace and threw it, shattering it across the marble. The sound of breaking glass echoed around the room. Rory jumped closer to Jade as a gasp escaped her lips.
Rage flashed in his eyes, his fists clenched, trembling as though he were about to strike out. His breath was ragged as he shook his head before growling. “How the hell could they do this to us? They learn that something is different with Aiden and fucking disappear without a word. They knew. They knew it was us all. What are they hiding?”
I took a step toward him. “Brother,” I said, keeping my voice calm. I placed a hand on his shoulder. It trembled beneath my touch. “You need to calm down. We want nothing like what happened before to happen again.”
“And why not? Apparently, I can’t be killed. Even if I wanted a way out of this existence, I couldn’t find it. Why is this happening?” he yelled, small flecks of spittle flying from his lips.
I shook my head and tightened my hand on his shoulder. “At the moment, brother, I’m not worried about the why. I’m just worried about how to stop it.”
He twisted out of my grip, glaring at me. “And what are you going to do if you can’t, Cormac? The great Cormac O’Cillian, always wanting to help, always wanting to take care of his brothers, his family. But where has it gotten you? Where has it gotten us?”
I shook my head, understanding his anger. What had happened that our parents didn’t tell us about? My throat tightened, not wanting this fate any more than he did. But it was ours, and we had to figure out what it meant. My brothers and I had the same blood. Blood that allowed vampires to walk in the sun, and blood that allowed us to heal, even from a mortal wound. “I understand you’re angry,” I said softly, calmly. “We will find Mother and Father and learn how this became our destiny. We also need to find the Cure and stop our brother from his descent into madness.”
Conall looked away and crossed his arms over his chest. “Are we sure it’ll stop him? How do we even know it’s the truth?” His voice was softer now, yet still laced with frustration.
Rory sat forward, her gaze fixed on my brother. “It took an act of magic, of sacrifice, in order for us to find the Cure. If it hadn’t, we would have been able to go to Scotland and do a simple locator spell, which we thought would happen at the beginning. But it isn’t. Something larger is at play here. I’m with Cormac—I don’t know what it is, but we’ll have to figure it out.” Her voice carried the conviction of the High Priestess.
I turned back to my brother, my voice firm and filled with the authority of the eldest. “Do not go out tonight, please,” I asked. “You feeding in anger is never a good thing. If the thirst comes, there’s plenty of blood-laced whiskey. I’m sure Dani or Joshua can find you anything your heart desires. We don’t need any deaths.”
Conall clenched his jaw. “And who are you to command that of me? Why do you think that’s your place? We should just fucking join Aiden in his lunacy.” His fists tightened at his sides as he glared at me before he turned on his heel.
I heard the door to the beach close as my brother left. My drink fell to my side as my heart tightened. There was nothing more I could do except hope. Following him would only enrage him further, causing more mayhem. In the end, he would be back. A small sigh escaped my lips as I wondered how many bodies I would have to help him hide tomorrow.