James and Caleb stared at their Sire as if she had sprouted a second head. In fact, they were starting to believe she had simply gone mad. Even Caleb who supported his Captain, no matter what, was staring at her as if she needed to be medicated and examined for insanity.
"I beg your pardon. You wish us to do what?!" James was the first to speak, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had begun to grow.
"You heard me. There will be no need for me to repeat myself."
"Ly, you can understand our confusion." Caleb said calmly, using his nickname for Lyria. "It was mere hours ago that you had a Black Spot marring your skin. A Spot that was placed upon your hand by the same man you now wish to ally yourself with."
Staring out of the window of her chambers, Lyria placed her forehead against the cool glass of the pane (not that she felt the temperature of it all that much). She found it rather annoying that Lucien Whitelock reacted to shocking news better than her own trained Second and Third.
"How could you be so stupid as to reveal what we are?!"
Ever the hothead, James' voice was beginning to raise along with his temper. For centuries Lyria had berated them about the importance of keeping the secret. James had accompanied her, and often participated in hunting down those that had revealed the secret. And now, here she was loosening her tongue to the first human male that she found attractive in over three hundred years.
"It was not intended!" Lyria's control snapped and she whirled on her family with fury blazing in her eyes. "Unlike you, James, I do not feed on everything that flutters their eyelashes at me. I was starving and we fought. He was too close to me and I was unable to control the urges before he broke free and saw my fangs."
"Why did you not just compel him to forget?!"
Slumping in a chair, Caleb rested his head against his hand as he knew the argument was soon to spiral out of control. Butting heads was what the Captain and her Second did best and it was one of the reasons why James was Second, not Caleb - Lyria enjoyed when people fought back against her, challenged her.
However, at this moment in time, Caleb could tell that James had taken it too far. Questioning Lyria when it came to important decisions, especially regarding the crew, was never a good idea. It had been proven many times over the years that she was always right.
"Why did I not just compel him? Jeez, James, I must have forgotten to do that." Lyria spat sarcastically. "Over the centuries of being a Vampyre , I suppose it must have slipped my mind that I was able to control the minds of humans. What a wonderful idea, James. I will just compel him to forget about us when we meet later. I am forever grateful that you reminded me of a skill that I taught you!"
Caleb could hear the sound of a hand hitting the back of someone's head and buried his face further into his hands when he heard James' growl of pain, and annoyance, at the sarcasm lacing their Captains tone.
"If you actually listened to me once in a while you would know that the reason I allowed him to retain the knowledge of our species was because I compelled him to never breathe a word of it to anyone outside of our crew. Because we need him to defeat whatever evil is out there. I have no clue what is destroying the sea and ships but it scares me. I am terrified! Now, if you have a problem with working with the crew of The Mermaid's Revenge then feel free to stay on board. We would better without you anyway!"
And with that, Lyria stormed out of her own chambers, grabbing her cloak on the way out, and slamming her own door loudly behind her.
Removing his face from his hands, Caleb looked up at James who was staring at the closed door with an expression most flabbergasted. Whatever was going on with the ocean it must have been highly serious if it frightened Captain Blackwood enough that she was harsh to her own Second in command.
________________________________________________________
Out of spite, James had remained aboard The Crimson Rose as his Captain left to go meet with Lucien Whitelock. Caleb accompanied her and in the absence of her Second, Lyria had requested the company of Lucille - small and stealthy and most importantly, a shadow; hiding in them, hearing from them, spying in them. Lucille was the best spy Lyria had and she was grateful to have her by her side at a meeting this important. Even if she did feel the absence of James.
Strolling onto the main docks at exactly noon, Lyria noticed Lucien was stood by his vessel, two men flanking him. One of them was the tall man with the scarred arms who had attacked Lyria the previous day. Winking at him as she approached, she smirked at the exaggerated eye roll she got in response. The man on the other side of Lucien was smaller than both of them men he stood with and his large hat and bowed head meant Lyria was unable to catch a glimpse of his face; she didn't see the unknown man as much as a threat though because he seemed slighter than Lyria herself.
"I admire your promptness." Lucien greeted, bowing slightly in an effort to seem respectful.
All night he had tossed and turned with the knowledge he had obtained about the crew of The Crimson Rose. All night he had wished he had someone to turn to about the existence of Vampyre's but his mouth had been unable to form the words, and he had refused to seek out the woman stood opposite him.
Staring at her, and her two companions, Lucien could decipher small signs that set them apart from humans; their unnatural stillness, the grace and fluidity of their movements, the paleness of their skin despite the days spent under the sun, but most importantly, the way they took everything in without moving an inch.
The blond man could tell that Lyria had already sized up his men, observed everyone coming and going, and spotted every escape route - despite having only been on the deck for mere seconds.
"I admire yours. I must admit I am amused at your eagerness." Lyria teased, stepping forward slightly.
Her companions (a man and a woman) stayed behind, eyes never leaving Lucien's Second and Third, and their surroundings. Of course she had women in her crew, Lucien thought, she had Vampyre's so why not women?
"Are we to draw up the terms and agreements of our alliance this fine morning?" Lucien asked, willing to get the conversation over with so he could steal Lyria away and badger her with questions about her species. Fear swirled in him but it was as if the fear did not belong to him; he was afraid but he was not allowed to be.
"I do not see what needs to be discussed. We figure out the bastard behind this, we put a stop to him, and any treasure discovered along the way is given to those who lost their ships during this terrible time."
The tone of her voice allowed no room for arguing or negotiation, and the intensity in her eyes promised pain to anyone who tried. Even if some part of him hated her for the feud that had existed between them for years, Lucien could not deny the part of him that admired the woman and the reputation she had made for herself.
A powerful woman whose name was whispered with nothing but fear and respect. No one created dirty rumours about her, her crew, or her innocence. No one would dare.
"A pirate with compassion?" The tall man scoffed. "Do not think you can trick us so as to keep the riches for yourself."
Controlled anger danced across her hazel eyes, sparking the gold hints in them and when Lyria turned her gaze upon him, Lucien could have sworn he saw his Third flinch.
"A Third with no control of his tongue?" Lyria imitated. "Do not think you can speak to me that way and not face the consequences."
This time, Lucien knew his Third flinched - he even took a step away from the woman. A cough came from Caleb as he tried to disguise that laughter that burst from his lips, and even Lucille snorted quietly enough that only Lyria and Caleb could hear.
"Do not threaten my crew." Lucien seethed, dislike taking over admiration.
"You do not scare me, Lucien. You are no threat to me."
"Do not test me, Blackwood."
"Get Tomas in line then. And there will be no need for bloodshed."
She knew his name. Somehow, the frightful woman knew his name. Tomas took a slight, discreet step back again. However, the small woman stood behind Captain Blackwood noticed and shot him a smirk. One that sent chills down his spine and heat to his member.
"Two days time. We will be setting sail. Will you be accompanying us or shall I forget about your help?" Lyria snapped, the discomfort of anger unsettling her.
"We shall sail with you. And then what?"
"And then we shall go from there. Wherever the wind takes us."
"Wherever the wind takes us." Lucien agreed, clasping Lyria's hand tightly.
Tension still existed between the two of them after their spat and they stared at each other with such intensity that Caleb let out an uncomfortable cough, causing them to break apart.
Nodding to her Third and Lucille, she dismissed them with a look and turned back to Lucien with an expecting look. Turning to his own Second and Third, he commanded them to return the ship and prepare the men to set sail in two days time.
The brunette watched as they left and kept her eyes trained on the small Second; on the way he walked, his mannerisms, and how he carried himself.
"You never told me your Second was a woman?"
Lucien froze.
"How'd you know?"
"I'm centuries old. I can tell these things."
"I beg of you not to tell anyone else. No one can know that she is a woman. Not even your crew."
"Only if you explain why I should keep it to myself?"
"Out of the kindness of your heart."
"After the words you just said to me." Lyria said incredulously
"Please, she is my sister."