Chapter 143 Missing Piece - Craven's POV

Chapter 143 Missing Piece - Craven's POV
I stared at Mira, waiting for an answer, but she never gave me one.

Instead, she looked toward the others, and something passed between them that I couldn't understand. It was the same look I had seen too many times since arriving on the Isle. It was a silent conversation that I wasn't part of.

I was beginning to hate those.

"Why?" I asked again.

Mira's eyes finally met mine. "I left for a reason."

"That's not an answer."

"No," she agreed quietly. "It isn't, but it’s the only one I’m giving for now.”

I opened my mouth to demand more, but Soren stepped between us.

"Craven, we don't have time for this,” he snarled. “We need to go now.”

I glared at him. "You expect me to just accept that you're all coming with me when you haven't told me the truth about any of this?"

"No," he replied. "I expect you to trust us long enough to get Adele back."

I didn't like that answer or any of this for that matter.

Mira was the last queen. Soren was apparently one of her mates. My brother had been one of them too, and somehow, he had never told me. Now the woman I had known for decades was standing in front of me, telling me she had been hiding from my family all this time.

And I was supposed to trust them. But what choice did I have? Adele was out there, and I needed to get her back.

"Fine."

Soren released a breath.

"But if we're doing this, we're doing it my way,” I growled.

One of the men behind Mira snorted. I looked at him.

He immediately looked away.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"Nothing," he muttered.

"That's what I thought."

Brantley was already moving toward the treeline when I turned to follow. The others stayed close behind us. Even as we walked, I felt Mira’s gaze on me.

It was a slithering feeling that I had never adjusted to, even when I was feeding from her. That was how I always knew what she was doing. 

I didn't look back. I wasn't ready to deal with her.

The boat was waiting near the edge of the water when we broke through the last bit of brush, but I stopped before reaching it.

Something was wrong. I could feel it in my bones.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I looked toward the trees. "Wait."

Brantley stopped.

Soren glanced at me. "What?"

I didn't answer. I stared into the forest. Nothing was moving, so I looked at the shoreline.

The wind whispered through the leaves, and the waves rolled against the shore, but there was something about the silence that didn't feel right.

"Someone has been here."

Mira's expression changed. "What makes you say that?"

“Some of your brother’s men were here,” Soren added. “They left a while ago, and I assumed have landed in the Vampire Kingdom by now.”

“They were…here, and you never told me?” I asked, my eyes fluttering as I turned. 

“It didn’t seem important, and you were rather distraught,” he murmured. “But it means we can take off from the Isle without worrying about it.”

I almost called him out. If my brother had left men to watch us, then they probably spied on us as well and took that information back to him.

It didn’t matter, though. My brother would know, or at least should know, that I would come for her.

“Fine.” I glanced toward the boat again, then back at Soren. "Let's go."

This time, no one argued.

Brantley climbed into the boat first, followed by the others. I waited until Mira and Soren were aboard before stepping into the water. The waves pushed against my legs as I waded toward them, and I could feel the others watching me.

I didn't care. I needed to leave and find Adele. That was all that mattered. 

I looked up, noticing that all of the men I had considered brothers since they arrived were staring back at me. 

Well, I guess they mattered too.

Once I climbed into the boat, Brantley pushed away from the shore. The others immediately began working to get us moving, and I turned to look back at the Isle.

It was strange how quickly it had become home.

I had spent decades trying to stay away from everyone. I had built a life where I didn't have to answer to anyone, where I could disappear whenever I wanted, and no one would come looking for me.

Then Adele arrived, and somehow, she had changed everything.

Now I was leaving the only place I had ever truly belonged because I had to get her back.

I looked toward the horizon. Somewhere beyond the water was the mainland. Somewhere beyond that was the vampire kingdom. And somewhere inside it was Adele.

I clenched my hands. "How long again?”

Brantley glanced over his shoulder. "Until what?"

"Until we reach the mainland."

"Depends on the weather,” Darren admitted. 

"How long?"

"Several days." He rolled his eyes. "Three at the fastest. Maybe longer." 

It had already been days, and now it would take even longer. Though part of me knew that, I thought this ship would be faster.

I looked at the side, noticing how crude it was. It was nothing like the Vampire Kingdom’s boat. Regardless, it had been built as best as it could be, considering our circumstances and resources.

I ran my fingers along the edge of the boat, feeling the rough wood beneath my fingertips. It wasn't much.

The boards didn't fit together perfectly, and I could see where several pieces had been reinforced with rope and whatever else they had been able to find. It was obvious this thing had been built by people who had no idea what they were doing, which meant I trusted it about as much as I trusted my brother.

"You're worried," Soren said.

I looked at him. He was sitting across from me, watching the water as though he could somehow see through it.

"I'm impatient."

The sea stretched endlessly around us, and the Isle was already beginning to disappear behind us. I could still see it in the distance, though. The place where I had spent so many years trying to convince myself that I didn't need anyone. 

I was wrong. 

I did need them, and it hurt to admit it, but I couldn’t deny it. Those were my brothers. And Soren, though related, was a better brother to me than my own. 

This was what family was.

And they were going to help me get back the missing piece.