What appeared at first glance to be a dinner party was, upon closer observation, a very well-orchestrated meeting. In each corner and each group, there were quiet words and bent heads as canny eyes darted around the room with measuring glances. The vampires obviously had the upper hand, sending humans to fetch and carry this or that across the decks.
It all seemed to be a quiet and persistent negotiation. She heard murmurs about business deals and quarrels. New children and old relationships. There was the odd mention of acquaintances who were passing through the area. With each quiet conversation, Beatrice played a mental game trying to determine who had the upper hand, and who was trying to attract attention. It was all a kind of dance, and she smiled to herself as she observed them.
“What a mysterious smile,” she heard Ernesto say. She swung her eyes back in his direction to catch him watching her with a grin. “It’s all quite fascinating, isn’t it?”
She glanced at Giovanni, but he only cocked an amused eyebrow at her.
“It’s interesting,” she said to Ernesto. “Very…dynamic.”
Ernest broke into a satisfied chuckle. “A politician already, nieta! What an interesting young woman you are. You have very perceptive eyes, Beatrice.”
“She always has,” she heard Giovanni say as he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Tesoro, I believe the man I need to meet is here for me.” She glanced around and saw an Asian vampire of medium build standing in the doorway, staring at Giovanni with a blank expression.
Ernesto turned to the man and nodded in respect. “My son, Baojia, is head of our security. He has helped to capture the stranger who assaulted your friend.”
She looked at the mysterious vampire, who radiated a quiet menace. His eyes were dark when she met his gaze, and she found herself nodding at him out of respect, though she could not smile.
“Tesoro? Would you like to find a peaceful spot inside?” Giovanni asked. “Or would you like to stay with Ernesto? It is up to you if you would prefer the quiet.”
She could tell from the slight narrowing of Ernesto’s eyes that he wasn’t pleased Giovanni had given her the option, but she could also tell from the way he looked at her companion, Ernesto would not cross him.
She lifted a hand and swept it across Giovanni’s cheek, which was dusted with a hint of stubble. “I’m fine, Gio. I’d like to visit a bit more with Ernesto.” And observe the rather intriguing dance of influence that seemed to swirl around the room.
“Very well, I’ll be back when I can.” He bent down and breathed into her ear. “Be careful what you agree to.”
“No hurry,” she said as she studied Ernesto, who was watching their every move.
The two men left the room, quietly chatting in what she assumed was Mandarin as they disappeared down the hall.
“Tell me, my dear.” Ernesto leaned toward her with a glint in his eyes. “What are your plans for the future?”
Beatrice spent the next hour in a complicated conversational game she found both stimulating and exhausting. Ernesto was completely open in his desire to turn her and make her one of his children.
“Just think of the benefits. You would have independence! If you wanted to continue in your relationship with the Italian, you certainly could or you could pursue others that might suit you more. But you would not be obligated to him or his protection any longer.”
“No.” She smiled. “I’d be obligated to you, right?”
He shrugged, smiling impishly. “But we are already family, nieta. I have only your best interests at heart. You could wait to turn and bear children with a human, if you like. Or if not, perhaps one of my own children might be more to your liking for a partner.”
Skipping over the part about ‘bearing children,’ she frowned. “Wouldn’t that be…I don’t know, like dating your brother or something?”
Ernesto chortled at the question. “No! But of course you might think that. The attachment to your sire does not extend to all of his or her children, fortunately. There are bonds of friendship and loyalty between those of the same clan, but it is not like a human sibling relationship.”
“Oh, that makes more sense, I guess.”
“For instance, Paula and her husband are both my children, and I care for them both, but they are married. They have no greater bond than that.”
“Ah,” she nodded. “Got it. That’s kind of a relief, to be honest.”
She had been thinking more about the fact that her father had been turned by Lorenzo, who was technically Giovanni’s son. If you were to extend the logic…well, it took Beatrice to an obviously uncomfortable place, so she was relieved that the connection only seemed to be between sire and child.
Anything more could get quite confusing.
“And if you were to remain in Los Angeles under my aegis,” Ernesto continued, “what opportunities for study there would be. The academic institutions, the museums. Your skills would certainly face a challenge.”
Beatrice looked around the table at the immortal beings surrounding her. Most were young, frozen in the prime of their life. Their eyes scanned the room with the kind of canny intelligence that could only come from years of experience. All carried themselves with a preternatural grace and confidence.
What would it be like to be frozen in time? Giovanni wanted her to join him in his life. She would never grow old or sick, never feel the sting of early death. She would be powerful, she thought, as she remembered the sick, helpless feeling of being held against her will in Lorenzo’s mansion.
That kind of power was more than attractive.
“And perhaps, in time, even your father could come work with you.”
A light shines in the darkness. She had been wondering at the dogged persistence of the water vampire, and suddenly his pursuit made sense. It seemed that Stephen De Novo held the interest of more than just Lorenzo and Giovanni.
“It seems like a lot of people want to find my father.” She raised her eyebrow at her ancestor.
“Such a bright man. One does hear things…” Ernesto smirked. “I think he would be an asset to any family. As would his daughter.”
Beatrice chuckled and shook her head at his scheming. “Ernesto, you are an original.”
“But of course,” he said as he winked.
She felt no threat from the barrel-chested man with her grandmother’s eyes. He seemed to enjoy their verbal dance as much as she did, though she had to admit his mental stamina outshone hers. Beatrice was beginning to droop by the time Giovanni found her an hour later.
The party was still going on, but she had retired to a bench near the edge of the deck, enjoying the quiet as she watched the human families on the pier.
Giovanni strode toward her on the open veranda and swept her into his arms, clutching her as he looked around the room. He glared at the party with heated eyes before he looked down at her.
His face held an inscrutable expression as he ran a hand down her arm, lifting her wrist before he opened his mouth and his fangs descended. Beatrice gasped as his tongue traced the blue vein that ran down the middle of her wrist, and she could feel the slight buzz under her skin where she anticipated his bite.
“Gio-” She could only utter his name before his fangs pierced her wrist. They didn’t pierce deeply, it was more of a prick, but a few drops of blood leaked out and Giovanni caught them with his tongue, sucking them into his mouth as he looked around the room. She was lightheaded as his amnis flooded over her skin and she forced herself to hold back a moan.
Beatrice was more shocked than angry and confused by the uncharacteristic behavior. He bent down to kiss her, and she tasted the metallic hint of her blood as it lingered on his tongue. His mouth trailed to her ear and he whispered. “I’m sorry. Trust me, I’ll explain in the car.”