Immortality Stolen (The Mortal One Series Book 2) (21 page)

Chapter 22

“Tonight is not going to be easy,” Nico said to me.

I stared at him.
No shit
.

“This is your chance to really meet some of the vampires of Tuscany and show that you are more than just my pet. That you belong here at my side, not two steps behind me.”

I didn’t even know what to say to that. Basically, I had to prove that my life had purpose beyond being Nico’s pet and wife. Why was that not enough?

We were supposed to go down to Costin’s where there was a full meeting of vampires and explain what happened in Paris. We had to talk about the necromancer, the zombies, and Olivier. Because I knew the necromancer and Olivier better than anyone else and had been labeled as ‘sensitive’, there was input required from me as well.

Costin apparently did this every now and then. He required meetings where all of the vampires would gather in one room and discuss something that happened. It was his way of securing power and ensuring people were aware of what was going on.

The reason Nico was apprehensive was because these meetings usually involved some level of discipline. If Costin felt that someone did not follow protocol or went against orders, he wouldn’t hesitate killing them. Ending their existence without any kind of trial. The sovereign was the judge, jury, and executioner.

“Your mind is going in circles,” Nico said, coming up on my side.

I nodded. “Just a little.”

“You have to talk to me or let me in.”

Will Costin kill us?
I could handle any other outcome, but I needed to make sure we weren’t going there only to be killed because of what happened.

“Is that why you’re so nervous?” Nico embraced me. “We are not being killed. We followed protocol. We did as asked. This is merely a briefing.”

“But you said that Costin has killed at these meetings before.”

“I did. But this is not one of those meetings. This is simply to tell people what happened. The vampire that killed the officer two nights ago has been killed and that is something I need to share with the group. This ensures that everyone knows they cannot act of their own accordance in a situation that is being handled by the sovereign, the second in command, or anyone else that the sovereign has appointed.”

“Okay.” Somehow knowing that I wouldn’t be losing my life made me instantly more accepting of this meeting. I hadn’t known that Nico killed the vampire who killed the officer. That made me feel a little better, too.

***

“Thank you for coming,” Costin greeted us. He leaned in and kissed me on both cheeks and gave Nico a hearty handshake.

It was all about putting on a good show for the other vampires. They would see that Costin was doing his job and that we were doing ours. Politics. I got it now. What Costin was doing was the equivalent of kissing babies at a press conference.

After a few basic introductions, Nico took the podium and talked about what had happened in Paris. There were zombies. A necromancer was hired to put them down.

“What happened to the officer that was on the scene, following the zombies?” Costin interjected.

“One of the vampires in Paris killed him without being asked to do so,” Nico spoke matter of factly.

Costin nodded. “What happened after that?”

“I killed the vampire who acted out of his own volition and the officer’s body was disposed of.”

“Good,” Costin said.

I sat next to Antonio, to the right of the podium. We were not part of the general audience since we were the pets of the men running things. He held my hand to keep my nerves intact.

“Does anyone have questions about what transpired in Paris?” Costin asked.

Violante stood up and I forced myself to swallow. She never had innocent questions. She was a bitch who looked to cause trouble. She glared at me as she flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

“I heard Dylan vomited on the scene?” Violante asked.

How would she even hear about that? The only ones there were Nico and I and the vampires from Paris, which meant she had friends from that region. It could have also explained her desire to want to go and be a part of the event.

Nico stared at her. “Is there an actual question, Violante?”

“Did she vomit?” Violante locked eyes with him.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Nico shook his head. “We are not sure.”

We did know, but he wasn’t disclosing that it was possible I was a sensitive. We still didn’t know what that meant. The ones who would know what that meant were in Paris and Berlin, which meant that a trip would be in our future at one point or another. I was in no rush to make one because finding out what that meant scared me.

“Maybe your pet shouldn’t accompany you until she can stomach what it means to be with a vampire,” Violante suggested.

“That’s such bullshit,” I whispered under my breath to Antonio.

He squeezed my hand, reminding me that everyone could hear what I was saying. I looked up to see Costin glancing in my general direction as a warning.

You don’t belong with Nico.
The words reverberated in my head and knew Violante was speaking to me.

I stood up and stared at her. “Get the fuck out of my head. Now.”

“What happened?” Nico said, turning to me.

“She is speaking into my head again and we have already had words with her to not do that,” I said. Some of the vampires were staring at me, but I didn’t care. This was worth throwing a scene over. She had no right to do that shit.

“Violante,” Costin said. “What did you say to her?”

“I don’t know what the crazy bitch is talking about,” she said.

Who’s the crazy bitch?
I let the thought come right to the surface on purpose so everyone could hear it.

“Since Violante has forgotten what she said to you, why don’t you share,” Costin said, staring at me.

“She said I don’t belong with Nico.”

Violante stood her ground. She didn’t say anything, she simply stood there, staring forward at Costin and Nico. It’s as if she was challenging them, waiting for them to say she was wrong.

“Violante, you are out of line,” Nico said.

“Am I?” She asked.

I hated her so much. As long as she was in Florence, my life would never be easy. Her hatred towards me was because Nico chose me over her, though according to him, she was never even in the running. It was a two hundred year old crush that needed to be laid to rest.

“You were not in Paris. There were zombies being brought before us. The stench of death was overwhelming. Any mortal would have lost it. She was stronger than most would have been,” Nico spoke, defending me.

“I don’t doubt it was a gruesome scene. As vampires, we can handle this,” Violante said.

Costin cleared his throat and approached the podium, dismissing Nico from the conversation. “Enough, Violante. You are saying that you have an issue with Nico having a pet. May I remind you that I have one as well?”

Oh shit. That caused a gasp out of a few vampires because everyone knew she couldn’t create a comeback for that one. Without her admitting that she was pining for a man that she could not have in front of almost all of the vampires in Tuscany, she could say nothing.

She did not answer Costin. She simply sat down and crossed her arms over her chest.

Dylan 1, Violante 0. It made me smile. Antonio squeezed my hand because he knew it, too.

“Does anyone else have questions?” Costin asked. It was more of a challenge because he wanted to be done with this meeting. Anyone with half a brain would know that it would be futile to stand up and ask any more questions.

No one else asked questions. They sat and did a collective shake of their head.

I was a little surprised that no one asked about Olivier. No one asked details about the necromancer. It was more cut and dry than I had assumed, but I wasn’t complaining.

The vampires quickly cleared out of the space and the only ones remaining were Antonio and I, Costin and Nico, and Violante.

Costin looked at Violante. “You’re excused.”

“But - ,” she started.

“You’re excused,” Costin said again.

She stood there, staring at him. She was pleading with her eyes to be able to say something more.

“You need to learn your place. You are a part of our inner circle here, but you are not my second in command,” Costin spoke.

Violante dropped her head in submission, turned, and walked out of the room.

I glanced over at Nico. He seemed unaffected by what had just gone on and I was thankful for that.

“Why didn’t we talk about the sensitive aspect?” I asked after everyone had cleared out.

“We do not know what it means and do not want to alert anyone to potential problems until we know for sure and until you have become one of us,” Costin said.

“Oh.”

“Do you have any more questions?” Costin asked.

I shook my head. Nico would answer more of my questions when we got back to the apartment.

“She really hates you,” Antonio said to me.

“Yeah,” I said.

“She is a good person,” Costin said, defending her.

I wanted to yell at him and ask why he always did that. He always said that she was a good person. Nico never said anything bad about her, either.

“You look confused,” Costin said.

“Yes.”

“Go ahead. Speak openly.” He didn’t do that often. He was always quick to remind people that he was the sovereign and they needed to show respect.

I took the opportunity to speak my mind. “Why does she always get a free pass? She has shown me nothing but hatred since I arrived in Florence.”

“She is strong. She has been around for almost three centuries and knows a lot and a lot of people. Her weakness is Nico and it always has been,” Costin said.

I didn’t know what to say in response to that.

“Perhaps things will improve once you become a vampire,” Costin said.

“About that,” I said.

“Yes?” Nico asked.

“I would like to wait. Not a long time, but I want to wait some more, like Antonio, to do some research.”

“To find out what it is to be a sensitive.” Costin read between the lines. What he said was a statement, not a question.

“Yes,” I said.

“Granted,” Costin said with a slight bow of his head.

“Thank you.” I glanced over at Antonio and he smiled. He had been the one to urge me to ask the question. He knew it would work, but the question had to come from me and no one else.

Nico reached for my hand. “Let’s go home,
mia mortale
.”

Epilogue

“I’m going to be what?” Nico asked. He stared at Costin as the three of us sat in Nico’s living room.

Costin was stoic. “The sovereign of Paris.”

Nico was silent. The rise and fall of his chest was enough to say it all as he tried to think of what to say about what was announced.

“That means we’re moving?” I asked.

“It does,” Costin said.

To Paris. I let it sink in. That meant learning French. And having Nico and Olivier in the same city all the time. The rise and fall of my chest began to match that of Nico’s.

Costin looked at the two of us. “Will one of you fucking say something?”

Nico spoke first. “Honestly, I thought the sovereign position would go to Pablo or someone.”

“You are my right hand,” Costin said.

Nico nodded. “Which is where I assumed I would stay.”

“It is time for you to have your own people,” Costin stated. “Honestly, opportunities don’t come often and you should be thanking me.”

“Thank you,” Nico said, but it wasn’t a comment filled with much gratitude.

I didn’t say anything. There wasn’t much I could do about a move because of being tied to Nico. If Nico went, I went, that simple. Florence was gorgeous and the city had been good to me, but Paris held a lot of mystery and intrigue. It was a beautiful city. But did I want to live there? That was really the question.

“So if Nico won’t be your second, who will be?” I asked.

Costin shrugged. “It has not been decided.”

Nico shook his head. “And who will mine be?”

I could have answered that, but didn’t dare. Costin was bolder than I was.

“Olivier, I imagine,” Costin said.

Nico stared at him. “Olivier? Really?”

“He has proven to be a friend through all of this. He has gone out of his way to protect your pet, too.”

I bristled at the term.

“He is a friend because he wants to fuck her,” Nico said.

Costin laughed. “Well, it looks like it will be an interesting time for you in Paris.”

“Why do I feel as though I am being exiled from Florence?” Nico asked.

“You are not. This is an opportunity. If you do not want it, I will give it to Violante.”

“Violante?” I spit out. “As a sovereign?”

“She has been around for almost as long as Nico. She knows what she is doing, despite having blinders for Nico. Honestly, separating the two of them has something to do with my decision,” Costin said.

I thought about it for a moment. If Nico turned down the position, Violante would go to Paris and that got her out of my life.

Nico saw the wheels turning in my head. “What do you want, Dylan?”

I bit my lip. I didn’t want my opinion to be what helped Nico make this decision. If it backfired, I didn’t want it to be a divider between us. If he turned down the position, there may not be another opportunity. That was the thing with vampires. They lived forever, unless they were taken down by an enemy. Someone would have to die in order for him to get another opportunity like this.

Costin and Nico were both looking in my direction, waiting for me to make a decision. I reached over and grabbed my wine glass, taking a sip and feeling the Chianti work its way down my throat.

“I don’t want to make this decision for you,” I said.

Nico nodded. “I’m not asking you to make the decision for me. But I’m asking not as my pet but as my wife what your preference is.”

Honestly, there were reasons to stay and to go. I wanted to stay because my Italian was better than my French. I had Antonio here to be a mortal friend. Then there was Yankee Bar. Moving meant giving up my job as a bartender and hanging out with humans on a nightly basis. But if we went, there was the chance that Nico and Olivier would learn to be friends. And Olivier would be able to tell me all sorts of things about being a truth seeker and what the hell it truly meant that I was a sensitive as he called me.

I shrugged. Making a decision on the spot was hard. “This is a good opportunity?” I asked Costin.

Costin nodded. “There are a limited number of sovereigns in the world. The question is do you want to be number one or number two?”

“Dylan?” Nico asked. He didn’t want to make this decision on his own.

“What do
you
want?” I asked.

Nico closed his eyes for a moment. “I want my, what is it that you say? My cupcake?”

I laughed. “You want your cake and you want to eat it, too.”

Costin looked at us. “I do not know what that means.”

“I want to be in Florence and I want to be sovereign,” Nico said. “Which I know cannot be.”

“You can be in Florence or you can be sovereign,” Costin said.

“I know,” Nico said.

Nico has never known anything but Italy. He traveled extensively, but his home was always Italy. I moved around a lot as a kid, but was always American. Now I was Italian. It didn’t bother me at the core like it looked like it was bothering Nico.

“It’s a good opportunity,” Costin said. “If it was not, I would keep you here.”

Nico nodded. “I know.”

“So?” Costin asked.

I stared back and forth at the two of them. “So?”

“
Mia mortale
, we are moving to Paris.”