Undertow by K.R. Conway (1st book in trilogy)

Prologue

Barnstable Harbor, Massachusetts

October 14, 1851

Killing Jacob Rysse would not be an issue.

Dying in the process, however, was more difficult for Elizabeth to stomach.

She didn’t fear death, for sacrifice was both expected and inevitable in her race. She was a fighter after all and the carnage left behind by Rysse and her own family was nothing new.

But leaving behind those she loved was more painful than any form of torture she had known. Her infant son would never remember her, the Captain would mourn her, but Christian? Christian may very well never forgive her.

He would quickly figure out that she was not at the blacksmith’s as they had agreed to meet. She had left him, instead, a letter and her necklace among the sawdust tables of the shop. In it she had written out her instructions in the same sweeping lines that had conveyed so much between them during the rebellion.  What she asked of him was simple: protect the house, protect the necklace, and protect their secret. He would do it for her, just as she now was about to do for him and for the child.

Rysse was hunting her family and had succeeded at killing most of her kind. By taking him out, she was protecting them all. Christian would understand that hopefully. Eventually.

Her well-laid plan would draw Rysse in, and his perfection as a murderer should ensure her success.

He wanted her power.

He believed she would trade it for revenge.

He was about to die for his ignorance.

She hurried towards the harbor docks and though it was well past midnight, the moon opened the world before her. The harbor was glassy and black, strewn with fishing vessels and whaling ships whose masts seem to scrape along the stars. Soft wooden moans escaped the ships as they rolled lightly in the water and Elizabeth shifted her heavy skirt that scuffed the cobblestone street. 

As she reached the fountain at the center square, Rysse stepped out of the shadows. He was as she remembered him: tall, stunning, and dangerously seductive. His dark eyes and ebony hair were useful to lure his victims, making him irresistible when it came to women. Unfortunately, few women ever lived long enough to realize their terrible error. On the rare occasion he left one alive, she would inevitably take her own life within a matter of hours.

He needed to die. Elizabeth would make sure he did.

“Mrs. Walker. I must say I was most pleased to receive your message, though meeting me alone . . .” Rysse shook his head in mock disapproval, “Overconfidence seems to run through your family’s bloodlines. I was sure you understood that such a trait is a distinct disability in my presence.”

Elizabeth watched as Rysse strolled towards her, his eyes skimming over her form-fitting corset and raven hair. His roving gaze disgusted her, but she didn’t flinch.  Rysse closed his eyes and breathed in her essence like the most exquisite bouquet. His close proximity lit Elizabeth’s nerves on fire, but she forced herself forward as Rysse became instantly alert, tracking her movements cautiously.

His lips curved into a flawless grin. “It is truly a shame at your family’s fixed desire to be eliminated. But you, I’m sure, may harbor your own delight in their demise,” he purred while watching her carefully, as any enemy would. Elizabeth forced a neutral expression as she buried her rage and Rysse took it as confirmation that she was, indeed, like him.

Elizabeth drew herself up straighter. “I do not recognize such a thing as family anymore. Surely you know this. Tonight is solely about you and me,” she lied, a hateful edge to her voice.