A Shade of Kiev (A Shade of Vampire #8)(11)
Author: Bella Forrest

I repeated the same lie I’d told Mona and Elizabeth. I kept my explanation as brief as possible without sounding rude.

“Makes sense why you’d want to come here after that. Makes sense…” He nodded his head, his eyes glazing over a little. “I left the human realm a few centuries ago. I was taken to Cruor, the Elders’ realm. Managed to escape during a raid by the hawks. Then Aviary eventually decided I wasn’t useful to them. They let me go, and I’ve been a pirate ever since… I’m Matteo, by the way. Matteo Borgia. Pleased to meet you.”

Borgia.

No.

It can’t be.

He held out his hand. I shook it, fighting to conceal the shock that was now coursing through my body.

“Are you alone here, or with company?” he asked.

“Alone.” My stomach writhed as I spoke. “Actually, I’m feeling exhausted from my journey. I’m going to head off.”

“Of course.” He patted me on the shoulder. “I’ll be leaving the island soon, but I wish you the best of luck with everything.”

I stood up and walked back toward the gate. As the group’s chattering and laughter faded away in the distance, my mind still felt frozen with shock. I racked my brain for any indication of a relative named Matteo throughout the time I had known Natalie. She had once mentioned an older brother, but I didn’t recall her ever telling me his name. If his surname and appearance were not some wild coincidence, and Matteo was indeed Natalie’s brother, at least I could take comfort in one thing: he didn’t know who I was. Which meant that there was a possibility he didn’t even know that Natalie was dead.

I smiled bitterly. I had been hoping that this place would provide a fresh start. Seeing Matteo was like a splash of cold water. It instilled a chilling doubt in me that perhaps I never would escape the shadows of my past.

Still, as I reached my room and settled on the bed, I tried to convince myself that this was just a fluke. Matteo would be gone soon, and with him, the last painful reminder of the man I no longer wanted to be. I’d meet Elizabeth early the next morning and she’d assign me work.

Despite the shock of seeing Matteo, all in all, The Tavern still felt like the best option I had for recovery: a place where nobody knew who I was beneath the façade.

Chapter 10: Kiev

I woke to my skin stinging. I’d forgotten to shut the curtains the night before. The early morning sun’s rays had just begun to stream into my room. I stood up and closed the curtains.

I was hungry again. I decided to go down to the bar to see if anyone could serve me breakfast. Even fish blood seemed tempting at that moment. I exited my room and locked the door behind me. I walked along the corridor and down the winding steps, but instead of proceeding directly to the ground floor, I stopped when I saw the sign for the fourth floor.

Room forty.

I could see it from where I was standing. I left the staircase and walked toward the room. The door was ajar. I knocked twice.

“Witch?”

No reply.

I pushed the door open. The room was empty, the bed sheets folded. There was no sign of any of her belongings. I wondered where she might have gone. But it was just as well. I doubted that I would have left the room without claiming at least a few gulps of her blood had she been there. And I didn’t know how Elizabeth would have felt about that.

I pulled the door closed and continued down the staircase. Michelle was already behind the bar and looked up to greet me when I entered.

“Some eel blood,” I said, even as I grimaced. “And do you know if Elizabeth is awake yet? I’m supposed to be meeting with her this morning.”

“She should be down in less than an hour.”

Michelle handed me a glass of blood and I made my way over to a table in the far corner of the room. I gingerly drank the blood and gazed around the empty pub. It appeared quite different now without the smoke and flickering lanterns. Tapestries made of snakeskin adorned the dark stone walls and skeletons of predatory fish hung from the low ceiling.

I looked back toward Michelle, sweeping the floors behind the counter.

“How did this place come to be?” I asked. Mona had never given me a satisfying explanation.

Michelle stopped sweeping and leant her large elbows on the counter.

“Well, that’s rather a long story. But seeing as I’m down here early, I guess I can spare a few minutes to fill you in on some history.”

Her smile was broad as she took a seat at my table. It paled slightly when I didn’t return it.

“Long ago, this island was founded by a group of outcasts,” she said, “or pirates as many call themselves. The group consisted of seven werewolves, ten vampires and two ogres, if memory serves me correctly. They’d finally grown tired of roaming the seas and wanted a base. They invited others to join them, and over the years, The Tavern has evolved to be a place of shelter for all kinds.”

“Yet many don’t live here full time?”

She nodded. “That’s correct. Many enjoy the sea life. As for myself, I wouldn’t be able to stand living on a boat and having nowhere to call my own.”

“And who is Elizabeth exactly?” I asked.

“She’s a relative of one of the original founders. As am I. Elizabeth and I are sisters, you see. We’ve helped run this place for years—”

“And why do people say it’s so safe here?” I interrupted. “The wall is impressive, but I doubt it’d last five minutes if subjected to any real attack. What makes you think you’re safe?”

“Well, because most of us are outcasts. We’ve already been rejected by other realms. We’re not wanted. Of course, there are some who truly are rebels or escapees and left voluntarily, but for the most part, we’ve all been rejected for one reason or another. The other realms have little interest in what happens to us or what we get up to.”

This was interesting to me. Mona had never described the situation like this; she had always spoken of herself as a rebel, a wanderer by choice. But now that I knew this, her having no magic and being a wanderer made perfect sense. Perhaps that was why she had been so upset with me when I’d questioned about why she wasn’t better off living in The Sanctuary.

“But humans… surely they’re of interest to the Elders?”

Michelle shook her head. “There aren’t many humans here. And even those few who are here aren’t of interest to any realm. They’re contaminated.”