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She narrows her eyes at me. “You’re seeing problems where they don’t exist. Your ex is still in your head. What he did to you is crush your ability to trust! All men aren’t like that, at least not normally. I don’t see Master Calabrea as anything but honorable. He might have liked to play the field, but if he’s in a relationship, I don’t see him breaking that trust.”
Lucianna has been watching the two of us. “That’s not really the reason for you running, though, is it, Tansia? You want to be with him like that.” She leans in close and whispers, “Taken the way only a vampire can take you, you want to be one of us? I can see it swirling in your mind, feel it pulsing in your heart. It’s that deep seated desire to belong to a world that will wrap you in its darkness while giving you the comfort and heat that you need.”
My cheeks heat knowing the woman with crystalline green eyes rumored to see well into the future can see right into my very soul.
She smiles like a Cheshire cat. “I’ve been there too, although I didn’t want to admit it at the time.”
I swallow past the lump that has decided to take up residence in the back of my throat. “I didn’t realize that I wanted to be turned until a little while ago. It all just happened so fast, too fast, but it’s like I’ve known Calabrea for a lifetime, as ridiculous as that sounds.
Luciana and Embry exchange a look.
“Calabrea and I have barely met, and yet these feelings are stronger than anything I’ve ever felt. There’s no way I would be able to convince the Masters of the Consulate to turn me. They would probably laugh right in my face.”
Lucianna and Embry exchange another look. “Would you two quit doing that?”
Embry laughs, but Lucianna looks serious. I’m sure she knows how these things work more than most. “I admit they arenot the easiest crowd to get through, especially of late with what the vampire community is dealing with, but I can assure you, the time factor will have no bearing. In our world, things happen because they are meant to. Destiny, the gods looking down and deciding, you call it what you will, but we call it fate. You are meant to be with Master Calabrea. I knew it the minute I saw you both together. Not only were you intended to be mates, but you were sent to us for a specific purpose.”
I swallow down the bubbling fear in the pit of my stomach. “Maybe I should have ordered something stronger than water. I have so much to learn about your world.”
Lucianna gives me a calming smile. “We now know the rogues are at the top pulling all the strings, even Isala’s. What we don’t know is how many of our own and those in the underworld have defected and are on their own. We believe many of the defectors are being coerced somehow. Couple that with the fact that we don’t know who we can trust among us.”
Embry nods emphatically. “It’s a total fuck fest. Everyone up in everyone else’s business.”
Lucianna and I both give Embry wide eyes.
Lucianna leans forward and whispers, “The ones that come after us, it’s clear to see which side they’ve taken, but the ones among us?” She shrugs. “That’s much harder. Silver and I have been meeting with all of the warriors and lords in an attempt to find any traitors, but who knows really. Isala was living in the same house as Overmaster Descallia for some time while she was helping to plot and carry out their evil plans. He couldn’t tell. I couldn’t tell. Somewhere there’s a shield of some sort protecting them.”
“Witches,” I say.
She nods. “It’s more likely than not. We believe they are involved somehow, but not how they are involved. It only takesone to work their magic and block our ability to see a traitor in our midst.”
My eyes narrow. “You told me that the Vade Mecum said a woman with powers of sight, red ringlets, and crystal jade eyes will partner with a fierce and noble vampire leader. You really believe that is me?”
Lucianna looks to both of us. “I have no doubt that it’s you, Tansia. I can see it in ways that you can’t. Yet.”
My eyes narrow. “Yet? What are you leaving out, if I might be so direct?”
Lucianna laughs and leans back to avoid being overheard. “I’m not very formal. I’m supposed to be, but I don’t often listen to direction either. We’re a lot alike, you and I, in many regards. I have psychic powers too. Strong ones, and yours are still melding, swirling to create pathways, but I can sense the magnitude of your powers as they grow.”
I look to Embry who is totally engrossed in the conversation. “Matilda, the witch Calabrea took me to visit, put some kind of a hex, spell, or curse on me. I am supposed to be able to use my powers after it takes hold. In three days, well more like two now? I’ve lost track of my days and nights, switching to sleeping during the day,” I tell them.
Embry scoffs, “Matilda is full of shit!”
Lucianna gives her friend a playfully exasperated look. “Embry has an eloquent way of putting things, but she’s right here. You always had the power; she’s just messing with your head. She hates the fact that we live by a well-defined structure that is laid out for us to live by.”
The Vade Mecum,” I say.
Lucianna swirls the napkin in front of her as though she would take a drink if the waitress weren’t caught in a flurry of patrons at the front of the bar. “Yes, the Vade Mecum has been around for longer than we can even understand, savedin the catacombs of the mountains for centuries and centuries, unearthed and treasured by our kind as a learning from history and a guide to the future.
The Vade Mecum is clear—you are the woman who will partner with a fierce and noble leader. That is your way into our world. The masters would never deny the word and will of the Vade Mecum. Granted, they won’t make it easy, regardless of who you are. We all have to fight for what we want and believe in. It will take dedication and training, but there is nothing about it that you won’t be able to easily conquer.”
Embry laughs. “And, if they didn’t let you in, Lucianna would put on one of the hot outfits she keeps in her closet and take one for the team. Overmaster Descallia can never say no to her.”
Lucianna’s cheeks heat with color. “Embry!”
Embry’s eyes swirl. “What? Just keeping it real!”
It’s my turn to laugh because after talking with these ladies my heart feels much lighter. Maybe we do have a chance because I will do anything and everything in my power to help the vampires, and if that’s all it takes to get an approval to get turned by the masters of the consulate, then Calabrea and I can be together forever. “There’s that smile that we all know and love,” Embry says, giving me a wink.
