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ONE
eudora
Two months have passedsince meeting Marnie, the supposed daughter of Kragen, the ancient vampire who is both my maker and chief asshole, and Eudora, a powerful sea witch. The two months we’ve bounced between Charleston and New Orleans have been the longest I’ve stayed in one location for two centuries. Thorne, the ship captain responsible for carrying my family across the Atlantic three hundred years ago, has been by my side this entire time, and I’m eternally grateful. Since reuniting, our time together has been racked with heartache and pain, making our time together more stressful than it should be.
Even though I know Kragen is hiding in the swamps of New Orleans, I can’t stop looking over my shoulder, expecting him to be there, ready to drag me back to the bottom of his ship at any given moment.
The distant sound of a door squeaking brings me back to the present. Sitting in an upscale office building in downtown Charleston was not how I planned on spending my day. Who am I kidding? I didn’t have any plans, other than to continue the Netflix series I started last night. I keep that to myself. Thorne needs all the support he can get as he discusses his great-great-great-granddaughter’s estate. Even though they didn’t know each other long, he watched over her throughout her lifetime. Watching her die and not being able to do anything about it was difficult, and he needs all the strength he can get right now.
I sigh, flipping through theBetter Homes and Gardens Magazinefor the third time, not paying attention to anything in front of me. My mind rambles through the insanity of everything that’s happened, ending with the sadness that came with Francis’s death.
“Excuse me, Miss Abernathy?” the young woman behind the welcome desk calls to me.
I look up, having forgotten she’s in the room. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty to look your name up in our system. It sounded…familiar.”
Shit. Is there some sort of a paranormal database that lists every vampire and lycan in the city? I open my eyes wide, urging her to continue.
She clears her throat. “Are you by any chance related to Aaron Abernathy?” I stare at the young woman, not sure how to respond. “It’s such an unusualname around here. I thought maybe you were related. Please forgive me for intruding.”
My father was named Aaron, but he never came to America with us. I called the infant my mother refused to name, Aaron. Could he be the same?
I smile, hoping to ease the woman’s mind. “I’ve researched my family history in the past, and there was an Aaron once. He was alive centuries ago, and I’m not sure he ever made it to America.”
She taps a few buttons on her computer. “Aaron Abernathy. Born June 1710 in Crail, Scotland. It doesn’t seem to list anything else about his birth or death.”
June of 1710 would be my youngest sibling. I fight the tears at the thought of Mama keeping the nickname I called him and naming him after my father. “Why do you ask?”
The door to the office opens before she responds, and Thorne exits with a man wearing a three-piece suit and perfectly coiffed hair following close behind.
“I’ll be in touch, Mr. Rex, should we need anything else from you.” The two men shake hands.
The young woman hands me a business card with her phone number scribbled messily across the back. Is this normal protocol for a law office? Taking the card, I follow Thorne onto Broad Street, where the tourists are covering the paved road. “What happened?” I ask, once we are out of earshot.
“Francis left me everything,” Thorne answers. His voice is full of sadness.
“How is that possible?”
He shrugs. “She must have made the arrangements the day we went to the Outer Banks looking for Kragen.” He stops walking, turning to face me. “I don’t have any need for the money, but it feels wrong to not take it. She worked her entire life for what she had.”
“Aye, I understand. Maybe you can donate it to charity?”
“Maybe.” He wraps a long arm around my shoulders, and we continue to the house we’reborrowingafter a bomb destroyed the three-hundred-year-old home he built and Francis resided in.
My phone vibrates, pulling my attention back to the present with a text from Luna.
Can you guys come to The Claw?
I sigh after reading the lycanthrope’s text. Luna has quickly become the only friend I’ve ever had. I’m excited to see her, but now doesn’t feel like a great time for us to visit. “Luna asked if we could come to the bar.” I hold my phone up for Thorne to read. “If you don’t feel like going, I can tell her no.”
He shakes his head. “No, I could use a distraction.” Luckily the bar isn’t far from the law office, and it doesn’t take long to get there.
Luna is working behind the counter when we walk in. Since she insists on keeping tabs on Thorne, Connor put her to work in the bar, which is the perfect job forher. Her short blonde bob is pulled up in messy pigtails, making her look even cuter than she already is. “Elsie! Thorne! Look who the bat dragged in.” She laughs at her joke. “Get it? Bat dragged in? Because you’re vampires?”
I return her smile. “We just came from a meeting with Francis’s lawyer.”
Her eyes open wide, understanding. “Connor’s in his office.”
The moment Thorne opens the door, the smell of sulfur hits me in the gut. I freeze, refusing to move any further. “What is it?” Thorne whispers.
