Caitlin charged Blake now, with her bamboo sword, and went to finish him off. He lifted his Shield as she struck furiously, left and right, slashing and jabbing. She tired him down, beat him back, blow after blow. He final y col apsed to one knee, holding up the Shield. And Caitlin was but a blow away from winning the match.
But suddenly, she was distracted. She saw someone standing in the distance, amidst the crowd.
And despite al of her composure, al of her training, her jaw dropped wide open in shock, as she dropped her sword in mid swing.
Everyone in the crowd turned to see what she was staring at.
A boy stepped out of the crowd and walked towards her, also in shock.
He walked right up to her, reached out his arms wide, and hugged her.
She hugged him back, and felt her eyes wel up with tears.
It was her brother. Sam.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
As Caleb flew away from his home, from Caitlin, his heart was breaking. He had seen the hurt on her face, and the last thing he had ever wanted to do was hurt her. He had never imagined he would ever leave her side. There was nothing he wanted more than to stay there, and be with her.
In fact, he had been preparing to propose to her.
But the news of his son was just too much to handle. It was not about Sera—if the message had come from anywhere in the world, he would have dropped everything and raced to see his son. Sera was, in fact, the last thing on his mind.
But Jade was overwhelmingly on his mind. He stil felt crushed by guilt for letting him die back in Venice. He would do anything—anything—to have him back. And if that meant having to interact with Sera, even briefly, he would do it. And if that meant having to leave Caitlin’s side, at least for now, he simply had no choice. As much as it pained him, he could not stand the idea of not seeing his son ever again.
Caleb flew along the coastline, watching the landscape change, watching the rol ing hil s turn to meadows then to forests, then back to hil s again. He remembered, of course, where Sera’s place had been, in a medieval vil age far in the South of France. It had been her stronghold for centuries, and he knew he would find them there.
He flew faster, wanting to race back to Caitlin, and excited to see his son alive again. He wondered how it was possible. How could he possibly be alive? He was sure that once he was dead, there was no bringing him back. After al , his son was stil not a ful -fledged vampire. He could not be resurrected.
He thought of the year. 1789. Only two years prior to the last time he had seen him. He wondered if that was it? Maybe it was because he had gone back such a short time? Maybe that meant that his son was stil alive, just two years younger. That would seem to make sense.
But it was his understanding that for a human, if one changed the future then one changed the past—and thus one’s dying in 1791 would wipe out their 1789 existence.
Meaning, Jade could not be alive now.
Caleb was confused. He couldn’t figure it out logical y, but he didn’t real y care. He just wanted to see Jade again.
Caleb dove down, lower, circling the shoreline, and final y spotted it: Sera’s Castle. It was stark and dramatic against the coastline, with spires reaching up into the sky, riddled with courtyards and terraces.
As he expected, Sera was there, below, standing on an upper rampart, looking up to the skies, watching, waiting for him. She lit up with a huge smile upon seeing him.
But Caleb was already annoyed. He did not see Jade by her side. And the last thing he wanted to do was smile back. He could tel by her expression that she was already fantasizing that this was more than a visit. It was the way she looked at him, like they were already together again.
Would she ever change?
Caleb dove down and landed on the rampart, about ten feet away from her, and she immediately walked up to him.
“My love,” she announced, triumphantly, opening her arms wide to embrace him.
But he scowled back at her, and held out a palm, stopping her from approaching.
“Sera,” he said sharply. “This is not about you and I. This is about Jade. You said he is alive.
Where is he?”
Caleb felt that he had to be firm. He did not want her to enter into any more of her fantasies of their being together.
Sera, ignoring his question, sighed.
“You pretend you do not care for me. But that is only because you care about me too deeply. I can feel your desire. It is like a beacon, cal ing to me.”
Caleb shook his head.
“You stil live in a fantasy. We are over. Now, where is my son?” he asked, more firmly.
But she just shook her head again.
“You and I, we always had so much potential. You were just afraid to let yourself feel your true feelings for me.”
Caleb stepped closer and grabbed her by the shoulders.
“Sera, I’m not playing games anymore.
Where is he!?” he demanded.
She looked him right in the eyes, then slowly smiled and turned, heading down a spiral stone staircase.
“Fol ow me,” she said, her back to him.
Caleb fol owed her down the staircase, through the lower courtyard of the castle, his heart beating with anticipation to see his boy again. He wondered what he looked like, how old he was.
He fol owed sera as she walked into a huge, master bedroom, with gigantic windows facing the ocean. But he did not see any sign of him.
As soon as he walked in, she closed the door behind them.
She walked over to the huge, four-poster bed, sat on the corner of it, and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt.
She looked up at him and smiled seductively.
“Caleb,” she said, “you know why you’re here.”
Caleb looked at her, puzzled.
“What are you talking about?”
“You know as wel as I do,” she said. “Stop playing games.
You know that Jade is not here.”
Caleb felt his blood go cold. He could barely speak.
“Tel me where he is,” he hissed.
She stood up, smiling wider, her shirt unbuttoned, and walked closer to him, laying one hand seductively on his shoulder.
“Stop playing dumb,” she said. “You know that our son is no longer alive.”
With those words, Caleb felt as if he’d been stabbed in the gut. He reflexively pushed Sera back, away from him.
She looked at him, shocked that he would push her away.
He felt his anger overflowing, as he realized, at that moment, that he had been tricked. He felt like such a fool.