“Her control?” Lucien asked. “Will she be safe as we travel?”
“We need you with us,” Kato said. “Your mother explained why. I agree with her demanding the girl’s presence. You won’t focus on the campaign if she’s not there.”
“Her control, Kato. I need to know if she’ll be safe anywhere near humans.”
Kato walked silently for a long time. He’d taken off his sandals and his feet splashed in the water.
“She’s immortal,” he finally said, “but it may be her humanity that saves her. She’s very controlled and shows a strong aversion to killing.”
Lucien nodded. “Some of that will have to be trained out of her.”
“Killing is not in her nature,” Kato said. “I doubt it ever will be. She has always been a healer, Lucien. You were a soldier first. Don’t forget that, because it’s an important difference.”
“But the reality of our world is—”
“Something you can deal with,” Kato said. “At least the violent parts of it. Shield her. If you try to change who she is, you will learn to hate the thing she becomes.”
“I could never hate her.”
“You might if you make her something she is not,” Kato said. “Losing her humanity would change the thing she values most about herself. She would hate herself, and slowly you would forget what you loved about her.” Sorrow painted Kato’s eyes a deep blue. “Trust me, Lucien. I know what I speak of.”
“Fadhil?”
He shook his head. “Not Fadhil. I had learned my lesson by the time I met him. Fadhil was a poet, and I never tried to make him anything else. Even when he wanted to remain human, I respected it. I lost him in the end—we both lost—but if I had forced that decision on him, he would have hated me.”
Guilt and fear sat like lead in his stomach. “Will she hate me, Theio? I took that decision from her. She doesn’t hate me anymore, but when ten years have passed… hundreds of years. Will she hate me then?”
“I can’t tell you that,” Kato said. “But she loves you now. Love her well, Lucien, and she will never regret her immortality. But don’t try to make her a warrior. Her weapon is her mind. Respect that.”
“You chose mostly human lovers,” Lucien said.
“Not exclusively, but mostly.” Kato nodded. “For many years it was a political reality for me. Humans could never be rivals. Could never be a threat to my reign. After a time… I suppose they became a habit.”
“But you were constant,” Lucien said, thinking about the many lovers Kato had taken over his centuries of life. Some of them had become good friends to Lucien. They were mostly human, but while they lived, Kato was faithful to them, even into very old age. “I think I learned constancy from you. Thank you for that.”
“You’re welcome.” Kato put his arm around Lucien’s shoulders. “She’s an extraordinary creature, Lucien. I look forward to knowing her more.”
“Why her?” He let the weight of Kato’s arm settle him. “Why Makeda after so many years?”
Kato kissed Lucien’s temple. “Perhaps the gods knew you were finally ready to meet her.”
❖
“I’m not ready,” she whispered. “Lucien, please—”
“You can do this,” he said. “Hirut and I are both here.”
Gedeyon was also in the clearing with Makeda and Lucien, but Hirut held Makeda’s hand while Lucien’s arms encircled her.
“You’re going to be in closer proximity to humans,” he said. “We need to know how hard it will be. We need to start training you to resist because you won’t have the kind of isolation we were hoping for.”
“Who is it?” she asked.
Hirut said, “A friend of mine, Makeda. She is a good friend and one very accustomed to our bite. She will be calm.”
“I don’t want to hurt her.”
“You won’t.” Lucien tightened his arms and put his cheek against her neck. “I won’t let you. Gedeyon?”
Gedeyon whistled, and Lucien could hear the boat coming closer. He felt Makeda’s body tense as the human scent approached. Makeda didn’t know it, but he’d ordered Gedeyon to have the humans nearer to the island over the past week as they made preparations to leave for Inaya’s territory. He’d ordered them to come closer to shore, even as he watched Makeda’s reaction. He’d monitored her closely, but he hadn’t noticed any loss of control.
“Lucien.”
“You can do this.”
He heard the woman coming through the trees. Hirut left them and went to greet her friend. They met at the edge of the trees, and he knew when Makeda spotted them. A human wouldn’t have heard the high whine in the back of Makeda’s throat, but Hirut did. Her eyes narrowed on Makeda.
“Calm,” Lucien ordered, letting his amnis flow over her skin as he often did when they slept. He reached out and felt his amnis flowing in her blood. “Calm, yene konjo.”
Her fangs remained long in her mouth, but he felt some of the tension ease. Lucien nodded at Hirut.
“Makeda, this is my friend Yohana. She is the one who bakes the bread for us,” Hirut said. “She’s lived here for many years with her family.”
Yohana was a good choice. Lucien noticed her heartbeat never rose. She was as calm as Hirut. Lucien would think them sisters if they were both human. Makeda’s body was frozen in his arms, but he could feel her blood coursing, the tension in her body. The first feeding would be difficult—there was no avoiding it—but her strength amazed him. The fact that she was waiting quietly and not snarling at only two months old was extraordinary.
“She has three children,” Hirut continued, holding on to Yohana as Lucien held on to Makeda. “And she has offered her blood to you.”
Yohana stepped closer and waited for Lucien to nod before she held out her wrist. Lucien reached for it and held Yohana’s hand.
“Makeda, you’re going to feed from Yohana,” he said quietly. “We won’t let you take too much, but it’s important to learn how to do this safely. Nod if you understand.”
She nodded.
Lucien licked at the human’s wrist and used a touch of amnis to numb it. Eventually, Makeda would do the same, but until she had more control, he wouldn’t take the chance that the human would be hurt. He held the wrist out to Makeda’s mouth and—
The human couldn’t stop the flinch when Makeda bit down and latched onto her wrist. Lucien held tighter. He counted the gulps of fresh blood Makeda took.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
On the fifth, he tried to ease her off. She’d already fed that night. He would never attempt this when she was truly hungry. But the lure of living blood was too much.
“Lucien,” Hirut said.
“She’s fine. Makeda, enough.” He tried to pinch her nose, but Makeda stomped on his instep. He winced and grabbed her tighter. “Makeda, enough.”
She held on, and Lucien could see the concern grow in Yohana’s eyes.
“Makeda—”
“Enough!” The ground jolted as Lucien heard Saba’s voice. Makeda released the human and turned to Saba with her fangs bared. Hirut pulled her friend away and into the trees a heartbeat later. Makeda lunged toward Saba, but before she could reach her, the ground opened up and swallowed Makeda and Lucien both.
Lucien lay silent in the earth until he heard Makeda begin to struggle. He slowly moved the earth around them until he formed a small cavern, smoothing back the earth and removing any rocks that would scrape against her sensitive skin. He scooted toward Makeda and took her in his arms, creating a cradle for her with his body and trying to ignore the blood smeared on her cheek.
She blinked and rubbed her eyes as if she were waking from a nap. “Lucien?”
“You know, that actually went better than I expected.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Tobruk, Libya
Makeda woke as she did most nights in her new life, with Lucien wrapped around her. She gave herself a moment of peace be
fore she opened her eyes.
Strong arms. A quiet heartbeat. The scent of him filled her senses as his amnis stroked over her skin. His bare chest pressed against her back, and her body heated with his quiet, steady energy.
Lucien surrounded her in the best way. His hold wasn’t constricting as she had imagined it might be. With every moment of her life so strictly controlled, the soft, binding hold he used let Makeda relax when she was with him. He would not let her hurt anyone even if she wanted to.
“Makeda.”
“Hmm?”
“We’ve landed in Tobruk. The others left the plane at dusk. Did you want to try live feeding tonight?”
She’d tried it two other times since the first night with Yohana, and both times Saba had needed to put her in the ground.
“I don’t think so. Not if I have another option.”
He reached behind him to the insulated chest with blood stores. “Here.”
Makeda bit into the corner of the packet and drained the pint of blood before he handed her another.
“That’s the last human blood for tonight, though we have some cow. Inaya will have more at her compound, so you’ll be able to feed before we rest for the day.”
She drained the second pint and sat up to drink the thermos of warmed cow’s blood Lucien handed her. Saba and Hirut had outfitted the plane with low beds and drapes that provided them a measure of privacy since they’d be spending so much time in the belly of the converted cargo plane for the duration of the campaign. The sight of Lucien shirtless and stretched out on the silk-covered pillows made her hunger in entirely different ways. Ways she knew they didn’t have time to indulge.
“So Inaya will have human blood for us?” she asked to distract herself. “Or only live donors?”
“I imagine she’ll have both. She will provide everything we need. It is expected of her as a hostess.”
“Why do I feel like we’ve invited ourselves to a party someone else has to plan?”
“Because we have.” Lucien smiled and stroked lazy fingers over her knee. “Don’t worry about it. Inaya is a very good diplomat, and she understands hosting royalty.”
“And that’s what Saba is to vampires.”
Lucien nodded slowly. “She is.”
“Will we be safe there?”
“My mother’s human guards traveled ahead of us,” Lucien said. “They came two days ago to prepare for our arrival, but we won’t really need them. Saba doesn’t sleep much. She’d wake if there was a threat, and Inaya’s compound is mostly underground.”
Makeda nodded, crossing worries off her mental checklist. “And humans?”
“Inaya knows we have a young vampire with us. I’m sure she’ll remember, though you should be mindful of challenges. She enjoys provocation, and she’ll find you very beautiful.”
Makeda’s eyes went wide. “Oh?”
“Be prepared. She might want to test the newest member of Saba’s retinue, especially once she knows you’re connected to me.”
“How would she know?” It wasn’t that she and Lucien hid their relationship, but they had been isolated on the island. Among friends. She wasn’t comfortable with public displays of affection, and she hoped he would respect that. Skin contact was personal. Intimate. She had no reason to broadcast it to others.
“She’ll smell my blood in you,” Lucien said. “All vampires will.”
“So much for privacy.”
“Did you ever think we had it?” He raised an eyebrow. “On the island?”
She was just going to have to get over her reticence. “I suppose not.”
“It’s not a… repressed court. Just be prepared for that.”
“I thought Saba said something about Ziri being Inaya’s lover.”
“He is, but he’s like my mother and Arosh. Ziri doesn’t expect monogamy. Inaya would be insulted if he did.”
Makeda grew silent, knowing the question she wanted to ask would betray the growing depth of her dependence on Lucien.
“I do,” he said without prompting. “Expect monogamy. I expect constancy and faithfulness from my lovers. I do not share.”
“I see.” Her jaw ached as her fangs pressed against her gums. He expected faithfulness, but did he have the same expectations for himself? Just thinking about Lucien with another woman made her want to snarl.
“I take after Kato in that. I can’t ever imagine wanting to share your attentions with another.”
“You didn’t want to share my attention with my next-door neighbor,” Makeda snapped. “Even when you were indifferent to me.”
“It’s rather obvious at this point that indifference wasn’t the problem, don’t you agree?”
She ignored the reminder of their antagonistic past. “If you expect faithfulness from me, then I will expect it from you.”
“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.” He sat up and leaned into her side, running the tip of his tongue from her bare shoulder up to her neck. She shivered when he bit down with his dull front teeth. He wouldn’t break the skin, but he would leave a mark. “I expect you to tear my skin off if I ever look at another woman the way I look at you. I expect you to bite me. Hard.”
“You like it when I bite you.” Her voice was rough and desire lay heavy in her belly.
Lucien reached down and cupped her between her legs. “You wouldn’t make it feel good. Not if I disrespected you.”
“Lucien, we don’t have time—”
“Take me right now,” he said, “before we enter her reception hall. Bite me and make it obvious. Keep your distance in public. Ignore me if you will. But take me now, put your scent on me, and leave your mark on my skin.” He bit at her neck again. “I want it. Let them whisper behind their hands in our presence. Let them speculate what we are. I want them to know I’m yours.”
“You want me to mark you like property? Hang a sign around your neck?”
“Some signs are more pleasurable than others,” he said, stretching out beside her and licking his tongue along her thigh. “As for you, I plan to make you scream so loudly no vampire in North Africa will question my claim on you.”
“You can try.” Her blood was already running.
Lucien smiled against her skin. “Oh, Dr. Abel, I do so love a challenge.”
❖
If the guards who escorted them had heard anything—and Makeda had a hard time imagining they hadn’t—it didn’t show on their faces. She and Lucien were escorted to a vintage Range Rover and driven out into the desert east of the port town. The moon was full and the sand rippled around them, the land a vast, empty wilderness with no one watching but the stars.
She saw the lights in the distance and watched the low walls of Inaya’s compound come into view. The car dipped under a sand-colored wall before a dull thud echoed behind them. Makeda turned and saw that a heavy metal gate had lowered as soon as they passed.
Lucien sat beside her, her bite still red and angry just under the line of his freshly shaven jaw. He wore a crisp linen shirt with intricate embroidery around the collar matching the elaborately decorated caftans both Saba and Makeda had been given for the evening. The flowing garments suited him even with his pale skin. He raised an eyebrow when he caught her staring.
Makeda spoke in Amharic. “You look very handsome tonight.”
“Do you like to see your mark on my skin?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
They didn’t touch, but she could feel his amnis alive within her. It was as if he was still moving inside her. Possessing her.
The driver spoke and Lucien answered him in fluent Arabic.
“We’re being taken to Saba’s quarters,” he said. “The formal welcome dinner will begin in an hour.”
“Will negotiations—”
Lucien reached out and put a finger on her lips, glancing at the driver as he did.
She understood immediately. There was no way of knowing if their driver understood Amharic, which was related to both Arabic
and Hebrew. Even a cursory understanding could be enough to put them at a disadvantage or reveal them before Saba had planned.
When they parked, Lucien helped Makeda out of the car while still keeping his distance. It was exactly what she’d wanted, but she found his sudden reserve unnerving.
“Makeda!” Kato’s booming voice greeted her as soon as they walked in. He walked over, resplendent in a long djellaba of deep blue that matched his eyes. He kissed Makeda’s cheeks in greeting before he led her to an interior courtyard covered by a high ceiling painted with blue sky and drifting clouds. Gold and emerald-green stylized birds darted across the false sky, mirroring the mosaic birds and flowers on the floor. Lush plants with fragrant blossoms lined the walls, and an orange-tiled fountain bubbled in the center of the courtyard.
“This is amazing,” Makeda said, gaping at the gold tiles and silk-cushioned furniture.
“Inaya spares no expense for her guests,” Saba said. “Nor does she need to. Her wealth has only grown since her takeover of the canal. Soon she will be one of the wealthiest monarchs on the continent.”
“Of course, she came from wealth as well,” Kato said. “I knew her sire, and he was a generous father.”
Lucien seemed unimpressed by their surroundings. He was quietly speaking with the unfamiliar vampires in the entryway while Kato offered her some rose water to wash her hands and face.
“You’ll meet Inaya soon,” Kato said, lowering his voice. “Saba has already sensed Ziri’s presence in the compound, so we’ll likely meet him as well.”
“You expected that.”
“We did.” Kato glanced at Saba. “Did Lucien receive any communication from Ireland?”
She shook her head. “It’s too soon to know.”
“Very well.”
“Are you nervous about our reception here?”
“No.” Kato shrugged massive shoulders. “Inaya is friendly and already has connections to what would become the new council of Alitea—”