Davina (Davy Harwood #3)

A brightness filled her eyes. She asked him, “It’s because of them?”


He nodded, leaning forward to brush his lips over her forehead. “Yes. Right and wrong, guilt and sadness, those are all human emotions. You’ve spent too much time near them with Davy before and now this one.” He moved, adjusting her so his back was to Kates. He was blocking Jiyama from looking at her, and he pressed another gentle kiss to the Mori vampire. “They are a unique species, wracked with silly emotions. It’s like a cancer to them, one that they don’t realize is something to be expunged. They almost worship these sensations.”

Her hand lifted up and grabbed onto his arms. “They do?” She was pressing her forehead tight to his lips. Her entire body was against his.

“They do. I didn’t realize their ‘humanity’ could infect you.”

“Humanity?”

“Hmm mmm.” He nodded, clasping her to him still. “It’s their sickness. I’m plagued with it too, but once I have The Immortal thread in me, I won’t suffer from it anymore.”

“You think Davy suffers this same sickness?” She pulled back, leaving enough space to look up at him.

Lucan paused, sensing there was more to her question other than curiosity. He frowned slightly, still holding her head in his hands. After a few beats, he asked, almost gruffly, “Why do you ask?”

Her hand fell to his chest, and she stepped to the side to see Kates again. “Davy said they were friends. If she is sick as well, I can’t imagine what she would feel knowing what we have done to this human.”

His frown deepened. “Why are you saying this, Jiyama?”

She stepped completely away from him. Her hands fell from his chest and balled into fists around her long sleeves once more. “The Immortal was good. I knew that as soon as I touched her. I don’t know what this ‘sickness’ is that you’re talking about, but it was different for Davy. I remember that. She was like honeyed blood. She was alluring to me. I had to go back and experience her again, but it wasn’t her blood I wanted.” A stricken wonder entered her gaze. “I wanted to give her my magic. I wanted to help her, and I haven’t been able to get that out of my head. I keep thinking about our time with this one.” She stepped forward and touched the table near Kates’s leg. “I don’t think she would be happy with what we did. She cared about this one. I knew that when I touched her. Lucan,” she looked back to him. “I don’t think we should have done what we did.”

“No, Jiyama.” He shook his head and moved once more so he was between her and the table. His hands lifted to her head again and he cupped her cheeks. “You’re sick. That’s all this is.”

“I don’t understand the sickness, but I remember how I felt when I helped The Immortal—”

He cut her off, saying, “And that will be me soon. I will become The Immortal. Remember? You will be helping me again. You can experience the same feeling with me, too.”

“You want to become a vampire once again.”

“No. I’ll have to stay as a human if I become The Immortal.”

She shook her head. “The Immortal will only go to a female. That’s what they said—” She broke off, her eyes wide and startled. She jerked backwards from his touch. “I—”

A deathly stillness came over Lucan. He cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. “They said? Who is they?”

She took another step backwards.

He took the same step toward her. “Who have you been talking to, Jiyama?” His tone was so soft, eerily soft.

“The child.”

“The child . . .” He stepped back, his thoughts whirling, but then it clicked. He took Talia’s child with him. She had been given to a Mori family to be raised. It was decided that he would not raise her and he had forgotten about the child till then. Then, it began to click with what else Jiyama had said. “You’ve been to the child’s home?”

She nodded. “I was curious, Lucan. I wanted to know more about The Immortal and about Davy. I was not used to this feeling, wanting to know but not having the answers given to me. The child is still human. I thought she could explain more to me.”