Author's Note: Surprise double post! :) Enjoy, and for the love of all that is holy, review. Even if it's just something simple like, "nice" or "hated it," I still enjoy hearing what you think about the story. I mean, damn, this is pretty much the only platform in which a writer can get direct, immediate feedback about their work, isn't it? Haven't you ever finished a book and been like, "I wish I could tell this chick how awesome/horrible/ridiculous/amazeballs her book was, and be absolutely certain that she got my feedback."?

I don't even know if that's the right punctuation for that incredibly awkward sentence, but still. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

HELENA

He was here.

He was actually, physically here.

Her companion stood fifteen feet from the ship, frozen in place, glowing in the light of the lamps and torches.

Lena could not take her eyes off him.

Even from a distance, she could see the patchwork of scars and skin that covered his face and arms. She could see the muscles that bulged beneath his dark clothes. She could see the bright, golden glow of his eyes.

She could see the truth of him.

In that moment, Helena became instantly aware of two very important things.

The first was that her companion was not entirely, in the strictest sense of the word, human.

And the second was that she didn't care.

He was beautiful. Everything about him was beautiful. His face, his eyes, his body, everything.

He was magnificent.

He was mesmerizing.

I love you, she thought fiercely. I love you more than life. More than anything. I love you.

I am yours.

"He has come to me," Lilith whispered behind her, voice filled with joy and disbelief. The gun trembled in her hand. "He has come to watch you die."

"No, Lilith," Lena replied quietly. "That is not why he has come."

"Silence, fool," Lilith snarled.

From the dock, Lena's companion tensed. Lilith sighed.

"I am your mate, not her," Lilith said to him, her tone patient and sweet. "I am the one you prayed for, the one you begged your father to create. I am Lilith."

He blinked, but his gaze remained intense and unwavering, and did not stray once from Lena.

"How do you know about my father?" he asked, his voice soft and deep.

"I was there," Lilith replied. "I followed you to him."

He frowned. "If you followed me, then you know that he destroyed the one he was creating to be my mate."

"Yes," Lilith said with a shrug. "It does not matter. I was created long before that. I am your mate. I am the one you prayed for." She sighed. "I have followed you for so very long."

"And what is it that you want, Lilith?" he asked gently.

Lilith sucked in a sharp breath, and tightened her grip around Lena's throat.

"You," she said. "I want you! Come with me, and we will leave this wretched world, and these wretched people. We can start anew, in a place where we do not have to fear the censure of others."

"Where might that be?" he wondered, taking a few slow, careful steps closer.

Lilith pushed Lena forward, to the edge of the ship's railing. "Anywhere," she said eagerly. Lena could see Lilith's grip on the gun loosening as she spoke. "We can go to Africa, or perhaps to India, or America. We can go anywhere the wind takes us, and there we will live together, in paradise, for the rest of our days."

He took another step, further closing the distance between them. He was only eight or ten feet away, now. Almost within reach of the ship. He still had not taken his eyes from Lena's. The closer he got, the faster her heart began to beat, and the faster her breaths came.

So close. So achingly close.

"That's it? You just want me to come with you?" he asked.

"Yes," Lilith whispered.

"Then why did you kidnap Helena?"

Lilith's grip on the gun tightened. "Because she is your weakness," she said patiently. "You believe yourself to be in love with her, and you will not be able to give your heart to me while she still lives." She chuckled, and a whisper of condescension entered her voice. "You do realize that I'm doing you a favor by getting rid of her, don't you? You could never be happy together."

His eyes narrowed, but they still did not move from Lena. She shook her head, very slightly.

Don't do anything rash, she begged him silently. Don't let her get to you.

"Why is that, Lilith?" he asked, his voice dangerously soft.

"Because her family would never approve of you. She is highborn, and her kind are all the same; one day, she will marry an Earl or a Duke, and leave you behind forever."

"I highly doubt that," came a calm, regal voice from below the dock. Lilith sucked in a sharp breath and pointed the gun towards the stairs that led down to the water's edge.

Lena felt her heart jump into her throat.

Oh, dear God, no. She tore her gaze from her companion, and stared down into the darkness below the dock, praying that she hadn't heard true. She twisted her wrists together, trying to loosen the rope that bound them.

No, please, no.

Her mother walked up the stairs and stepped onto the dock, ignoring the pistol trained on her, and moved to stand beside Lena's companion.

"My daughter would never marry an Englishman," Regina said calmly. "She does not care for London at all."

"Maman," Lena said, but Lilith yanked her arm tighter, choking off Lena's words.

"Lady Dubois," Lilith said through gritted teeth. "I see you have come to watch your daughter die." She lifted the gun and pressed it against the side of Lena's head.

"No, I have not." Regina glanced over her shoulder, and Lena watched as her father, her brother, and her little sister stepped up onto the dock and joined Regina. Lena couldn't believe her eyes. They all moved forward to stand next to her companion, one singular unit, watching Lilith with steady, stoic faces. "And by the way," Regina said casually, "we do approve of Samson."

Samson? Lena's gaze met her companion's, and he nodded, just once.

So he did have a name after all.

"You approve of him?" Lilith sneered. "You don't know anything about him. He's not even human."

Regina glanced up at Samson. "He looks perfectly human to me."

Samson stepped forward. "Release Helena and Abigail, Lilith," he said softly, "and I will come with you. I will stay with you for the rest of our lives. I swear it."

Lilith gasped softly. Lena felt the barrel of the pistol drift away from her skin. "Jack," she called, "bring the other one out."

Lena heard footsteps as Jack led Abby up onto the deck. Lena could not turn to see them, as Lilith still had her arm wrapped tightly around Lena's neck.

"I will give you Abigail," Lilith said excitedly. "But I'm afraid I must kill Helena."

Insane. She's absolutely insane.

Samson opened his mouth to speak, but then Regina stepped forward and put her hand on his arm.

"If you must kill a Dubois, let it be me," she said firmly. "I will die in my daughter's place."

Silence descended, and for a long moment, the only sound was the quiet whisper of the water against the hull of the ship.

Lena closed her eyes, shaking her head. No, Maman. I will not let that happen.

"No," Lena's father said sharply. He stepped forward, pushing Margot behind Samson for protection. "Take me, baroness. I will die for Helena."

"No, take me," Gregoire said angrily, stepping in front of his father. "I was at the river, too. You can still have one of us. Just not her. Please."

Lilith's grip tightened around Lena's throat. Spots began to dance across her vision.

"Look at them," Lilith whispered sadly. "They would give their lives for you. I was never protected like this." She sniffled, and Lena realized suddenly that Lilith was crying. "I have never known this kind of love."

"I am sorry, Lilith," Lena said softly. And she truly was.

No one deserved life without love.

Then Lena heard something, something very faint and vaguely familiar, something that made a chill run down her spine. She glanced up, and saw that her family was no longer watching her and Lilith; their eyes were trained on a spot behind them.

Except for Samson. He was still looking at Lena with that bright, steady gaze.

Footsteps in the darkness, she thought suddenly.

That was what she heard. It sounded familiar because she had listened for that sound every night since she had first met Samson.

Someone had boarded the ship, to neutralize the second threat.

From the dock, Samson smiled.

Lena moved before she could think, before she had any time to hesitate or tense up. She reached up with both hands, still tied at the wrists, and slammed the barrel of Lilith's gun upwards as hard as she could. At the same time, she let her legs go limp, and she became dead weight. Lilith's arm squeezed harder around her neck, trying to hold her up, but as strong as Lilith was, she could not support Lena's full weight with just one arm. She fell alongside Lena, and when her head hit the deck, her grip finally failed.

Lena caught flashes of movement behind her, and started to get up, but her legs tangled in the fabric of her dress, and before she could stand, she heard Lilith snarl and felt a body crash into her from behind.

Lena flew forward, stumbled, and tried to catch herself on the railing of the ship. Her head slammed against something, hard, and she cursed as stars glittered in her eyes and pain exploded inside her head.

The sound of fighting seemed to come from everywhere around them, but that was mostly due to her confusion. Through blurry eyes, she could see someone struggling with Jack on the other side of the ship, and Abby leaning against the mast, trying to free the ropes from around her wrists.

Lena shook her head, forcing back the pain, gritting her teeth against the bruises. She managed to get the world to stop spinning around her just in time to see Lilith's bright, furious blue eyes come into focus. Her teeth were bared in a wild, feral grin. She reached out and grabbed a handful of Lena's hair and yanked her closer, lifting the gun in her other hand.

Lena curled both hands into fists and slammed them as hard as she could into Lilith's stomach.

Lilith gasped, and dropped the gun.

They both froze, and watched the gun spin to a stop just beyond their reach.

They went for it simultaneously, but Lilith was faster.

Lena felt her heart beating wildly in her chest.

Lilith reached down for the gun.

Stop her! Lena's mind screamed, overwhelming her with panic and adrenaline. Stop her! You have to stop her!

Lena forced her body into action. She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the screaming pain in her head, ignoring the cuts and splinters in her skin, ignoring the stray curls that flew in her face, and she did the only thing she could think of.

She ran straight towards Lilith.

Time slowed.

Lilith picked up the gun.

Lena bent down and slammed her shoulder into Lilith's midsection, as hard as she could.

A gunshot echoed around them, fierce and deafening.

Lena did not stop. She did not hesitate. She pushed upwards, lifting Lilith off the deck, and jumped.

Together they went over the ship's railing, and fell into the darkness.