Page 52 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

Only my pride. I shook my head, well aware that we had an audience.

Thea cast a look around her, and a few people shrank back as though they were afraid of her. Claudio simply stared from the steps of his café with bland amusement.

“If anyone else needs to talk to me, they can come to court for an audience,” she announced coolly. “Are we clear?”

A few people nodded, more bowed their heads in respect. Thea looked away from the crowd, and everyone scattered, eager to get away from the danger. She hadn’t hurt the vampire. Not really. He would recover. But healing from a mortal wound was a bitch, and he would have a lingering headache to remind him of how badly he’d messed up.

I swept a concerned look down Thea. No one had touched her. There was hardly a hair out of place. Whatever the unearthly magic was that she’d unleashed, it had settled. Hints of it glowed in her eyes and flickered as the sunlight caught her hair.

Her expression remained composed and neutral as she carefully avoided looking at the street around her.

Get me out of here.

Pain laced her words, and I inhaled sharply. Nodding goodbye to Claudio, I offered her my arm. She took it smoothly, and I guided her down the street.

Venice’s winter chill and the sounds of tourists hit us as soon as we stepped beyond the magical veil.

We walked at a swift clip, not slowing until we found ourselves swallowed into the crowds of St. Mark’s square.

Near the basilica, I paused and pulled her into my arms. Thea’s body trembled, and I knew it had nothing to do with the cold.

“Are you okay?” I buried my face in her hair.

“I don’t know,” she admitted in a shaky voice. “I killed him. I didn’t even think about it. I just…”

“He’s not dead,” I reminded her gently. “That bastard will wake up with a headache and a newfound sense of respect.”

She didn’t smile at the joke. “I can’t believe I did that.” Her lower lip trembled as she cast her eyes to the stone street. “Is it happening? Am I becoming a monster?”

“No,” I said more sharply than I meant to. I tipped her face up. “You acted out of instinct to protect yourself. There is no shame in that.”

“I acted to protect you,” she whispered. She bit her lip. “Is it wrong that it’s easier if I think of it that way?”

There was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep Thea safe. No line I wouldn’t cross. I shook my head. “It’s not, and he had it coming. He started the fight. You finished it. Don’t blame yourself.” But I knew she would. She’d adjusted too many parts of her new world, but I doubted she would ever get used to the violence. I stroked my palm down her back. “Do you want to go back to the court?”

Thea pulled back, some of the fire she’d shown moments ago blazing in her eyes. “No. You promised to show me secret Venice, right?”

“I did.” I smiled.

“Then let’s go, old man.”

I knew she was forcing herself to sound saucy, to pretend like her guts weren’t twisted inside her, and she wasn’t checking over her shoulder every few seconds. But while I felt her paranoia, I also felt her determination, and I wouldn’t take that from her.

“This way.”

“Where are we going?” she asked as we made our way down a side street, moving away from the crowds.

“It’s a surprise.” I’d practiced keeping my mind blank so I wouldn’t ruin it. If she noticed, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she gripped my hand tightly.

We stopped on the Ponte de Piscina bridge to admire the saltwater-bleached buildings with their colorful, peeling shutters and empty flower boxes. Water lapped against the ancient brick as a gondola sailed smoothly beneath us.

“This place is full of magic,” Thea said with a sigh, resting her head on my shoulder.

I knew she didn’t mean real magic, even if the city was full of it. There was something about Venice that stirred the soul. When I’d been sent here to serve the Queens, I’d found myself falling in love with the city even though I hated what it demanded of me. And now I loved and hated it for entirely different reasons.

Unlike so many cities in the world, it had hardly been touched over the years. It still felt like the city I’d left centuries ago. But it was also just as dangerous as it had been then. How many assassination attempts on the Queens had I thwarted? My time serving them had prepared me for this in a way.

I knew Venice. It was a living, breathing part of me. That knowledge might help me keep Thea safe, but was it enough? In the past, I’d been acting out of duty. Now I had something much dearer to protect and more to lose if I failed.

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