Vowed (The Vampire Journals, #7) - Morgan Rice Page 0,38

to the ocean.

“I’m afraid that will be for you to discover. The wheels of fate.” Caitlin was horrified. What had she done?

“It’s not Caleb, is it? I won’t have to give him up, will I?” Aiden shook his head.

“No. But it will be something equally precious to you.”

Caitlin wracked her brain, with another pang of dread. Still, she would give up anything to have Scarlet back, and she was prepared to pay any price.

“Tomorrow is your wedding day,” Aiden pronounced. “A very sacred time in the vampire universe. It was destined for you to know this about Scarlet before you two exchanged your vows.

When the wedding is over, the next morning, you must resume your mission. Find the fourth key as soon as possible. Something dangerous is happening in the vampire world. There is an urgency. Do not delay.”

Caitlin watched as Aiden closed his eyes with a look of concern; clearly he was sensing something terrible on the way, watching some awful future unfold.

“What’s going to happen?” Caitlin asked in a whisper, almost wishing he wouldn’t reply.

Aiden merely shook his head.

Caitlin turned and looked at Caleb, and they exchanged a look of mutual concern. Then she looked back at Aiden. And to her complete shock, he was gone.

Vanished.

Caitlin and Caleb looked at each other, dumbfounded.

Caitlin’s mind was spinning. She felt overwhelmed by the implications of it all. Scarlet, their daughter. Back from another time. Her vow. The threat of her losing something precious.

Tomorrow, her wedding day. Resuming the mission. The trouble brewing in the vampire universe.

Her mind spun.

And then, to make matters worse, Caleb suddenly looked at her gravely, and she could see in his eyes that he had something he was afraid to tell her. Her heart started pounding. She didn’t know how much more she could take.

“I received a visitor,” Caleb said, clearing his throat, “right before I came to you. Sera. She came back in time looking for me.”

Caitlin’s heart was thumping in her chest, as her mouth went dry.

No, she thought. Not now. Not with only a day to go.

Caleb shook his head. “I sent her away. I promise you. You have to trust me. I thought you should know. I also thought you should know that she cursed us, vowed to tear us apart. I do not fear her. But I do fear for Scarlet. We must watch her very carefully.” Caitlin had to walk. It was all too much for her, and she felt her blood running cold. Now this.

Caleb and Sera. Why had she visited him? Did he still have feelings for her?

Caitlin couldn’t help but think of her dream the night before, of Blake. Of his lingering in her consciousness. Did Sera linger in Caleb’s consciousness, too?

Caitlin desperately needed time alone, to process all of this. She didn’t want to say anything, for fear that she would regret it. So she clutched Scarlet, still sleeping in her arms, and suddenly turned.

“I need some time alone,” she said.

With that, she took three big steps and leapt into the air, flying over the island, into the horizon, and far, far away from Caleb.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Caitlin walked along the sandy shore, holding Scarlet’s hand, the ocean waves crashing just feet away. It was a desolate and bleak shoreline, stretching as far as the eye could see, the dark gray sea blending into a horizon of gray clouds. The colors matched Caitlin’s mood. As always in her life, just when everything seemed to be so going so great, things took a sudden and dramatic turn for the worse.

She supposed that she should be grateful. After all, Scarlet was alive. That, really, was all that mattered. And she was more grateful for that than she could ever express. In fact, Caitlin squeezed her hand more tightly as they walked, afraid to ever let it go.

Just as she was reeling from the trauma of the event, from Aiden’s pronouncement of a terrible loss yet to come, she also had to hear this news about Sera. Caleb’s timing was terrible, though at the same time, she did appreciate his not keeping it from her. At least she had managed to wisely hold her tongue this time, and give herself time to cool down. She was proud of herself for not saying something she would regret, or taking hasty action, or rushing to blame Caleb for the situation.

Now that she was away from him, breathing the salty ocean air, walking with Scarlet, her head was beginning to clear. She was starting