Flesh and Blood

He sighed and got up, kicking the pile of rags he’d fallen asleep on.

For Fi, he would go see Aliza. He would face the woman who’d cursed him and ask for her help.

The price he’d have to pay for that help would be so out of his budget he couldn’t imagine. But to save the woman he loved, he would do anything.

Anything at all.

He staggered to his quarters and assessed himself in one of the few shipboard mirrors. He looked the way he felt. A few hours of sleep and a shower would fix him up. Aliza wouldn’t like his visit no matter what time he arrived, but her tune would change when he explained why he was there.

Help for her daughter in exchange for helping Fi.

She couldn’t say no to that, could she?

Unlike his dead brother, Nasir didn’t snore. Tatiana thanked the fates for small favors. She rolled his sleeping form off her and slipped from the bed, ignoring the robe puddled on the floor beside it, to walk naked to the windows. She pulled the curtains back and stared out at the vile, rose gold horizon.

The coming dusk throbbed in her bones, but not as much as the need to avenge what had been done to her and make things right between her and the Castus. The comarré had a day of reckoning coming, just as soon as Tatiana found her again. Her memory of the girl’s location in Paradise City had gone strangely dim. But find her Tatiana would. Then she would take great pleasure in torturing Malkolm’s little whore until she gave up the ring of sorrows. Perhaps Tatiana would remove her fingers one by one, working her way up each knuckle until the girl was left with stumps. An eye for an eye, a hand for a hand. That was the kind of justice the Castus appreciated.

Tatiana smiled at her reflection in the glass, then glanced over at Nasir. A good lover always softened her disposition. And Nasir wasn’t just good. He was exceptional. Maybe he was trying to make himself indispensable so she wouldn’t send him back to that slum he called home. She shuddered. How anyone lived with only two servants she had no idea. Regardless, his skill in bed astounded her. He was completely focused on her pleasure. And then there were those little pots of oils and unguents he kept dipping into and spreading across her body. For a moment, she’d actually felt herself float off the bed, borne only by a sun-warmed breeze.

If those were a testament to his alchemical talents, he had real promise.

She let the curtains swing closed, walked back to the bed, and slid in alongside Nasir. She traced the black curls fringing his forehead. He’d fallen into line so much easier than his brother. Beyond the body-numbing sex, Nasir was much more eager to better his circumstances. And he was willing to be used. She adored that.

Resting back against the pillows, she began a mental list of things she’d need for her upcoming trip to New Florida. With Lord Ivan’s backing, funds were unlimited. She’d already sent Octavian ahead to find suitable accommodations and procure a car and driver. Although he was kine like the rest of her staff, he showed remarkable efficiency and a genuine willingness to please her. Both qualities she admired greatly.

Coming up with lodging would be a good test for him. Unlike the Continent, with its wealth of secret vampire-friendly hotels, the Southern Union had none. She was an Elder now, after all. She couldn’t be expected to remain cramped up in that ridiculous airplane hangar like the last time.

What else would she need? The Nothos hadn’t been as successful as she’d hoped on the last trip, but better they die than her. She’d take at least a dozen this time. Weapons, naturally. She lifted her right arm and admired her gleaming new hand. She couldn’t wait to see Malkolm’s face when she duplicated his beloved headsman’s sword.

Her comar should come, too. No point in being without a blood source if she didn’t have to, despite how much she hated having that creature around. So pure and light with that damnable glow, like some freakish reminder of everything she could never have. Gah. But there was no denying the power his blood gave her.

Maybe she should get Nasir a comarré before they left. Her fingers trailed down Nasir’s chest.

His eyes fluttered open and he smiled as he reached for her, pulling her under him.

She faked a protest. ‘It’s almost dusk, and I have much to do.’

‘Yes, I know,’ he whispered against her neck. ‘I can feel the night coming. But enti qamari – you are my moon. I could stay forever in your arms.’

Fates help her, she might have to guard herself around this one. ‘You flatter me.’

His mouth moved lower. ‘I speak the truth.’

A soft moan escaped her throat. ‘I … oh … we need to … yes, right there … talk … mmm.’

‘About what, my sweet?’ He scooped two fingers into a small indigo pot on the nightstand, then drew a path from hip to hip.

Stars burst over her skin. ‘About … Oh. Oh! Um, about a trip.’

‘I will go anywhere you wish.’ His tongue felt like silk. ‘Anywhere.’

‘And … and … I’m going to buy you a present.’ The stars spread across her body in a wave of heat and light. Her eyes rolled back in her head. Bloody hell. She really needed to keep this one alive.

‘You are too good to me. Now, no more talking.’ His wicked mouth curved into a smile that sent trembles of anticipation through her. ‘I am very, very busy.’

Waves of pleasure washed over her, thinning her resistance to the rare pockets of happiness entwined with the painful memories from her past. They surfaced in a rush, and unable to hold them at bay any longer, she wept.