“What is your problem? What?” She leaned toward him. “You wanted me to have a choice? Well, this is my choice. I want to be a vampire. And I don’t want to wait. This vulnerability—”
“Beatrice, you have no idea—”
“I have a very good idea what I’m giving up. I’m ready.”
He shook his head and began pacing the room. “No.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re not ready.”
“I am.”
He tugged at his hair as he paced. “No!”
“It is not your choice.”
Giovanni knelt by the bed, placing both hands on her cheeks. He could feel her pulse pounding in her neck, and his desperate heart raced along with it. “Don’t I have a say in this? Haven’t I earned that? Why does it have to be right now?”
She shook her head, her eyes pleading with him. “You know why,” she whispered.
“I don’t! If you would just stay with me—”
“I can’t do that, love.” She shook her head, tears building in her eyes. “I can’t live my life under constant protection. I want to be able to protect myself. I don’t want to be vulnerable anymore. I don’t want my mind to be someone else’s open book!”
For a brief moment, he panicked at the thought of Beatrice being forced to give up the secrets she held. His conversation with Stephen had reminded him that if his and Lorenzo’s secret were ever discovered, their lives would both be forfeit to a very powerful immortal. Only one human knew the truth about his father’s death.
Only Beatrice.
And her mind
was
an open book.
Her eyes pleaded with him. “Jacopo, you know I’m right. You know—”
“There has to be another way.” She still had no idea what she would be giving up, and the tears fell down her face.
“There isn’t!”
They were interrupted by a quiet knock at the door. Nima came in, bearing a bowl of broth with a soft smile and a gentle pat on Beatrice’s cheek. She looked between the two of them before she slipped out the door.
Giovanni walked over and secured the room, twisting the locks closed as he heard Beatrice go to the washroom. He heard the shower start to flow, but he stayed in the bedroom, listening to her as she washed the attack from her body.
She thought she knew so much, but as mature as she was, he knew she didn’t truly understand how much her life would change. It was impossible.
He was still sitting in the armchair when she came out, wrapped in a soft white towel. There wasn’t much time before dawn. Beatrice walked over and sat on his lap, curling into his chest.
Giovanni stroked her hair. “How do you feel?”
“Other than a sore throat, I feel fine.”
“Baojia had to pull the water from your lungs.”
“But he did. And I’m fine.”
“You might not have been. This is Lorenzo, please don’t underestimate him.”
“I know who my enemy is.” She didn’t. Not really. She only thought she did. “Don’t be angry with me,” she whispered as she kissed his neck.
His brow furrowed in frustration. “I love you. More than you can imagine. Don’t put yourself at risk. Do you have any idea what it would do to me?”
“I need to do this.”
“You need to wait.”
“I know you think that.”
He gritted his teeth and remained silent. The full force of her attack suddenly hit him, and he clasped her to his chest.
“I need you,” he whispered, peeling off the towel she wore. He needed the pulse of her heart against his chest. He needed the smell of her blood as it rushed through her body. He wanted to see her skin glow in the lamplight as he moved in her.
She met his kiss with equal fervor, gripping his shoulders as she straddled his lap. They made love frantically, face-to-face in the low light of the oil lamps, and she pulled him to her neck, asking without words for Giovanni to bite her and send her over the edge.
“You’re injured.”
“Please,” she whispered. “Please.” With a low growl, he gave in and bit, her warm blood coursing over his tongue as they both climaxed. He held her wrapped in his arms, rocking back and forth as he sealed the tiny wounds and pressed his ear to her pounding heart. He held her and walked to the bed, tucking her into his side as he began to feel the pull of day in his limbs.
Beatrice stroked a hand over his heart, feeling the slow thump as his body warmed with the rush of her blood. His hunger sated, Giovanni’s eyes began to droop, and she sat up, watching him as he fell into his daytime rest.
“I love you, Jacopo.”
He struggled to stay awake. “
Ti amo
. Stay. Stay with me today. Don’t leave.”
“I will stay.” Beatrice stroked his hair, and their eyes met. He recognized the familiar look of resolve. “I’ll never leave. I’m going to be with you forever.”
Giovanni’s lips tried to form the words of protest, but they lay silent in his mind before he blacked out, her flushed face the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes.
Mount Penglai, China
October 2010
B
eatrice watched Giovanni for a few minutes before he ceased breathing, and she knew he would not rise until just before dusk. She left his scent on her skin as she dressed in a pair of loose pants and a T-shirt. Then she left the room, locking it behind her. She ignored the chill in the air when she walked out to the garden and sat in the sun, closing her eyes as the warm rays touched her skin for the last time.
She let her mind drift to the night before. She had been practicing with Baojia, frustrated with her own fumbling attempts to best him.
“Deflect, girl!” He slapped at the blade of her
dao
with an open palm. “Where is your mind tonight?”
Her mind was on Lorenzo, who she had seen walking across the garden as they left earlier to practice outside. As soon as her heart began to race, Giovanni had rushed to her side, arguing with Baojia until the vampire had relented and taken their practice back to Tenzin’s rooms.
“I’m just… my arm is really sore; can we take a break? This full-weight sword is kind of killing me.”
He frowned. “You didn’t take this long switching from the practice
jian
. What’s your problem?”
She lost her temper. “Maybe I’m not an immortal, badass vampire, Baojia! Maybe I just need a fucking break for once. Is that too much to ask?”
He curled his lip in disgust. “You’re acting like a child. I should send you to your room until you have improved your attitude.”
She threw the sword on the ground. “Go to hell! I am not a child, and maybe I have a bit more on my mind than just your dumb sword practice. The last thing I need—”
“You will not treat your weapon in that manner,” he hissed.
Beatrice gasped when Baojia rushed to her. He stood, glaring into her eyes as he flipped the
dao
up with his foot, grabbed her hand, and slapped the handle into her palm. As the sword flipped in the air, it caught a finger, and she winced as she felt the blade slice her skin.
Baojia grabbed the sword from her hand immediately and brought her palm up to his face, his eyebrows furrowed in alarm.
“Beatrice, I…” Immediately, he brought her finger to his mouth and licked at the blood as it trickled down her hand. She saw his tongue flick out, piercing a long fang, and he sealed the wound in a matter of seconds.
As soon as he had, he froze. His eyes lifted to hers, and she saw his fangs grow longer in his mouth. Her breath rushed out of her body as she felt the soft caress of his amnis spread over her palm and tease the skin of her wrist.
“Stop,” she whispered. “Let go of my hand.”
But he didn’t, nor did he move. Baojia stood inhumanly still, and his eyes never left hers. For a brief moment, she could imagine falling into them, and she pulled away, stunned by the rush of her own pulse.
“Stop.” She wasn’t sure whether she was talking to him or herself.
“I’m sorry, B.”
“Forget about it.”
“I most certainly will not.”
She flushed in embarrassment, furious at the idea of Giovanni or Tenzin walking in and seeing them in such proximity. “Really, forget about it. All of it.”
“Beatrice—”
“I’m done practicing for the night.”
“We’re not finished here.”
She huffed out a breath. “Yes, we are.” She reached down and grabbed her
dao
, then tried to walk past him, but his arm shot out and grabbed her wrist. She felt the creep of his energy again when their skin met, and she wrenched it away.
“Don’t! Don’t touch me.”
“B, just listen—”
“I’m done. Got it? You…” She was still blushing, and she couldn’t forget the intimate feel of his tongue and the teasing caress of his amnis. “Just forget about it.”
“You cannot deny that there is something—”
“Shut up!” she shouted. “What? You getting tired of the donated blood? Need a little refreshment? I’m not a fucking appetizer.”
He blinked in surprise, but anger quickly overtook his features. “You arrogant little—”
“Leave me the hell alone! I’m going for a walk.” She continued toward the door. “Don’t worry. I’ll take my precious sword.”
“Get back here, girl!”
Beatrice turned, gave him a bitter smile, then flipped him off, noting absently that the finger he had healed was the one now raised in ire. She continued walking backward, straight out the door. She turned down the hallway and out to the gardens, ignoring Baojia as he called her name. She heard him call for Tenzin’s guards, so she ducked down a corridor she had seen the servants using.
She followed it toward fresh air. With the lack of windows in the palace, it was hard to tell which way led outside, but she felt a gust of cool air waft across her heated face, so she followed it, eventually opening a door that led to the outer perimeter of the palace grounds.
She saw a path leading through the forest that surrounded the compound, and a few monks were walking in the grey hours before dawn. She followed them, but soon got lost in the dark maze of the shifting bamboo. Following the sound of water, she came upon the creek that fed the streams that cut through the gardens. Heaving a sigh of relief, Beatrice began to follow it back to the palace gardens.
“A beautiful woman carrying such a weapon. What is the world coming to?”
She whirled, gasping when she heard his voice. She immediately raised her sword. Lorenzo only smiled and stepped into it. Lifting a hand to prop the heavy
dao
on his shoulder, he laughed.
“There, now you’re quite safe. You can chop off my head if I threaten to harm a hair on yours. Feel better?”
“What are you doing here?” She debated whether to try chopping off his head, or at least trimming the hair he seemed so fond of.
“Do you think you could? Chop off my head?” His full mouth pouted in concentration. “I’m not sure you could. You might not realize how much strength that actually takes. There are all these pesky bones and tendons. It’s harder than it looks. I should know.”
“Would you like to be my test subject? What do you say, you bastard?”
“I just want to talk. Since you seem to be the most rational of your little group, I thought I’d give you a try. You see, my attempts to reason with my father have failed.”
“Gee, I can’t imagine why.”
Lorenzo shrugged. “I can’t either. I tried to explain that I no longer wished Stephen any harm, or you for that matter, and he just ignored me. I think he’s still blinded by his desire for our father’s books. That vampire is quite single-minded when his attention gets focused on something.” Lorenzo gave a lascivious smirk. “Of course, you probably know that by now.”
She swallowed, struck by something Lorenzo had said. “What do you mean? You’ve said over and over that you wanted to torture and murder my father. And me. Why would I believe that you no longer want to hurt us?”
He cocked his head. “You’re a very perceptive woman, Beatrice De Novo. Look into my eyes, and see if you believe me. I do not wish any harm to come to you. Nor do I have any interest in your father. All I want is—”
“The book.”
He smiled. “I knew you would understand. All my interest in you and your family will cease if I get my books back. That’s all I want. Well—” He smiled. “I’d be lying if I said that was
all
I wanted.” He let his gaze rake over her body.
She snorted. “Right, like
that’s
going to happen.”
“I deeply regret not tasting you…
really
tasting you the night I had you on my boat. That was foolish of me. Tell me, do you plan on turning, Beatrice?”
She couldn’t help the smile that flickered across her face at the thought of being as powerful as the monster across from her.
“Ah, I see you smile. Excellent idea, if you ask me. And refreshing. So nice to see a human that’s not attached to breathing or breeding. Very forward thinking of you.”
“I don’t really give a shit about your opinion. I really doubt that comes as a surprise.”
He chuckled. “Enough chatting. It’s quite addicting talking to you, you know. I do love good banter. But I’ll return to my original point, I promise to leave your father and all your relations in peace as long as I get that manuscript and the journals.”
“And what about Ioan? What about him?”
Lorenzo merely shrugged. “Was he your lover? Your father? Your child? Leave Ioan’s vengeance to his family; it is no concern of yours.”