Disclaimer: I do not own Vampirates. All these characters, ships, places, etc. belong to Justin Somper. Also, do not read this if you haven't read Black Heart as this take place… sometime after Black Heart. This fanfiction contains spoilers.

Chapter 1

Grace ran down the corridor, hoping, praying, that this was some sort of bad dream. She could hear him catching up. This couldn't be happening, it just couldn't. She could feel her limbs start to grow weak as she turned the corner and raced up the stairs. She was so close. She could see her cabin door now. Her heart was pounding. She reached a hand forward and grasped the doorknob in her hand. She turned it and pushed open the door, racing into the room. She turned to close the door only to find she was no longer alone in the room.

She let go of the door handle and stepped back as Lorcan walked closer. He closed the door behind him and locked it, slipping the key into his pocket. She backed away, watching as his eyes become unfocused before turning into nothing but pits of fire. She gasped and stepped away from him. Then, he lunged. She was knocked to the ground and lay dazed. By the time she regained control, the front of her shirt had been torn away.

She tried to get up, only for Lorcan to grasp both of her wrists and pin them to the floor on either side of her head. She stared up at his face, looking for any trace of the man she had come to care for, to love. "Lorcan, please," she begged. "Don't do this."

She saw a twisted grin appear at his mouth. He didn't answer but leaned down. She felt a shiver run through her when she felt his cold lips press against her neck. "Lorcan," she gasped. She felt him place kiss along her skin as he made his way closer to her revealed thorax. She closed her eyes, feeling her body start trembling. He pressed his lips to her chest, just over her heart. Then he bit down. Her eyes snapped open and her body convulsed from the sudden pain.

She could feel the way her blood raced from her body. Tears streamed down her face. This wasn't him, this wasn't Lorcan, it couldn't be. He wouldn't do this to her. She could feel herself growing weaker and weaker as he fed. She closed her eyes again as she accepted to her fate.

"Grace! Grace!" Her eyes flew open to find sky blue eyes staring down at her in concern. She stared up at Lorcan, not sure if she was still dreaming. She looked down to see his hands around her upper arms. He must have shaken her awake. She looked back up at him, half expecting to see that fire in his eyes. She only saw worry.

"Are you ok?" he asked, releasing her arms and sitting down on the edge of the bed. She sat up, feeling her hands still trembling.

"Y-Yeah," she said. "Just a bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," she whispered.

He reached a hand forward, gently cradling her cheek against his palm. "You know you can always tell me, right?"

She nodded. She knew that. She trusted him above anyone else. She laid a hand over his on her cheek. Already, the dream was fading from her mind. She smiled warmly and said, "I love you."

He smiled back at her. "I love you too." He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips. These lips weren't cold. Cool yes, but not cold. This was Lorcan, her Lorcan.

XXX

Grace opened her eyes. She was in her room, she could see that, but she wasn't alone. She slowly raised her head… off Lorcan's chest. She blinked and realized she was tucked into his side, one of his arms wrapped around her. She looked down at his hand on her waist and blushed before looking up at his impossibly gorgeous face. She reached a hand forward and brushed a lock of black hair from his face. He turned his head towards her but did not awaken, the hair falling back over his face. She smiled and rested her head back on his chest. She was wide awake but did not feel ready to get up.

She wasn't sure how long she laid there, listening to the quiet sound of Lorcan's breathing, but she finally felt him stir. Glancing over at the port hole, she guessed it was just before dusk. She moved her gaze back to him and saw that he wasn't, in fact, waking up, just moving into another realm of sleep. She leaned up and placed a tender kiss on his jaw.

Finally, she carefully maneuvered out of his grasp, climbing off the bed. She glanced at him to make sure he was still fast asleep before quickly changing out of her night gown and into her day clothes, or rather her night clothes. She slipped out of the room after another glance at Lorcan, stepping out into the hallway. She closed the door behind her, careful not to let much light seep into the room.

She walked out onto the deck, raising her face to the wind. She breathed in deeply the smell of the ocean. As she walked further onto the deck, she saw that it was mere minutes until dusk. She walked over to the front of the ship, leaning over and spotting Darcy, still in her day form, made of wood and paint. But it wouldn't be long now before her friend came to life.

And she was right. Soon, she heard the familiar crash and swish. Then a splash. She watched as Darcy's head popped up in the water. Grace smiled and waved. Darcy waved back at her and swam around a bit before joining Grace on the deck.

"Evening Grace," Darcy said, cheerful as usual.

"Good evening Darcy," Grace said, smiling.

Darcy looked her over before saying, "You're positively glowing tonight and no mistake. Could that have something to do with a certain lieutenant I wonder?"

Grace blushed deeply. "I don't believe that's any of your business Miss Flotsam."

Darcy grinned. "Very well Miss Tempest, but while I'm wondering what exactly has got you in such good spirits, I have chores to attend to."

Grace smiled and watched Darcy go off to ring the Nightfall Bell. She turned her gaze to the horizon. She thought she could see something on the horizon and squinted. Sure enough. There, in the distance, was another ship.