Page 9 of Inevitably Yves

I want to kiss him. I desperately want to taste him again, but… “Gods, Hadrian lives?”

“And he is hell-bent on world domination. He has an army already.”

“What?”

“Nothing has changed for him. He still thinks he should control every vampire ever made. Only now, centuries later, there are thousands of us. It’s like he’s been asleep for centuries and just woke up.”

“Perhaps he has.” This new knowledge sits heavy on my chest. “Why New Onyx?”

“No idea yet,” Lorenzo answers. “I only know because of a very helpful intuitive I see. He gave me the answers I needed. I came to warn the council and they said I had to see you.” He scoffs a laugh. “They must have sensed our connection. Perhaps your blood still lingers in my veins.”

“Lorenzo…there is so much to tell you.”

He stands abruptly, putting unwanted space between us. “Start by explaining why you denied me. I thought our love was unbreakable.”

I open my mouth to defend myself but the doors to the room swing open and Thorn, Syn, and the council members pour in.

“Forgive the interruption. We have news,” Paolo says, guiding a twink of a man forward. I recognize him as the man who delivered the invite to me at Lair two nights ago.

“In London,” the man begins. “A nest of vampires meet, led by one Adrian Spencer. My source tells me they will descend on New Onyx in three days’ time. They are still unaware that we know about them.”

“How?” Lorenzo asks.

“My source is mortal,” the twink vampire answers. “A donor. Common in parts of Europe. An interesting case too. Their compulsion doesn’t work on him.”

“One problem at a time,” Paolo states.

“Does anyone know why Hadrian is targeting New Onyx?” I ask.

The twink nods, focusing on me. “He’s coming for you, Yves Orpheus.”

“What the fuck,” I whisper.

“I will stay here with you, Yves,” Paolo says.

“I will stay too,” Lorenzo says. “Nothing could make me leave again. Not even Hadrian.”

Syn’s face screws up while Thorn looks confused. For once, I am at a loss for words. There is so much to explain. I’ve never told my brothers about Lorenzo. I suppose I’ll start with the simplest of introductions.

“Gentleman, brothers, I’d like to introduce you to Damiano Honore, but I knew him as Lorenzo of the House of Hadrian. He is number two.”

Paolo gasps. “Number two? You are a Legacy? An original?”

Lorenzo nods. “Hadrian is my maker.” He smiles as his eyes settle on me. “And Cillian, Yves as you know him, was—is, perhaps—the love of my life.”

THREE

Damiano

Cillian. In the flesh.

Now the flashbacks and familiar scents make sense. The closer I got to New Onyx, the stronger they were. I thought I might be faced with Hadrian, but no. My love is here. I only need to know what went so wrong all those years ago.

Two men hover protectively beside him, eyeing me like I’m the villain. How wonderful to know he is so loved.

Yves. I play the name in my head over and over again. It fits him. An elegant name for an equally elegant man. He holds my gaze as if no one else exists, the way he always did. There’s a million miles between us, but somehow none at all.

“Damiano,” Yves says, smiling. “These are two of my brothers, Syn and Thorn. I am their maker.”

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