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“I led a quiet life with my grandmother, in a small town just outside of Leeds. I’ve never resented her for it, but I have always longed to travel.
I want to see the world. I want to have experiences. I want my obituary to be more than a single line. I want to live.
Before today, the only time I’ve been on a plane was when I was four on a one-way ticket to the UK.”
My verbal tailspin comes to an abrupt end, and I take a long sip of my drink as if that will erase my words.
I’ve been so concerned about ending up a prisoner to the vampires when I’ve been a prisoner my entire life. Whether it was Grand-Mère’s intention or not, I lived my life according to her for over twenty years.
“Say the word and we’re outta here on the next flight.”
“What about Finn? And Sebastian?”
He sighs. “I guess we can’t leave them behind, can we?”
“We could always take a vacation,” I suggest.
“It’s a date. It’s been a few decades, but I know the island from coast to coast. In fact, that’s where I found Finn.”
“When did—”
“There ye are.” Finn appears at our table as if summoned by the mention of his name.
“Here comes the killjoy to ruin our fun,” Rune grumbles.
“We are supposed to be meeting Sebastian so we can prepare for tomorrow’s new moon, not introducing Josie to the seedy underside of the city.”
I wave away Finn’s concerns and flash him a smile. “I’m kind of enjoying the seedy underside of the city. To be fair, I haven’t seen much else of it, but I have seen the inside of a lot of dungeons . So far, this one is my favorite—and I consider myself a bit of an expert.”
It’s weird, but I’m feel like I’m seeing the real New Orleans—the city my family helped settle.
I’m not ready to leave yet.
“What do we need to prepare for? Don’t we just go out into a field, stand under the new moon, and see if sparks fly?”
Finn chuckles. “In theory, aye. That’s all we need to do.”
“Then why make things more complicated than they need to be?”
“That’s what I’m sayin’,” Rune says, backing me up.
I laugh. Rune is really growing on me.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
FINN
“Promise me something?” I ask Rune when we’re alone, taking our time walking up the stairs back to our respective quarters after saying good night to Josie.
“I don’t know, Finn. A promise is a pretty big thing for you.” He catches my eye and sobers. “Okay, shoot.”
I swallow. “I want ye to promise that no matter what the outcome tomorrow night, we remain brothers.”
“Seriously?” Rune pauses on the concrete landing between floors, facing me. “That’s what you’re worried about?”
“How could I not be? We both witnessed how much Sebastian changed because of a unity bond. Who’s to say the same thing won’t happen to us?”
Rune shakes his head. “Never gonna happen.”
