Page 23 of Tainted Blood

“Better hot than buried under snow and ice,” Kamose countered.

“Are you sure? I can always wear more layers. Most places will arrest me for being naked.”

“If they could get through the crowd, they would enjoy the show.”

That made both men laugh, and a friendly hug was shared. Isaiah looked past Kamose to the two women following him. They could have been related, but there were differences. Though they both had black hair, one had a curl to it. The woman with straight hair also had much darker eyes.

“Nailah, you look stunning,” Isaiah said, reaching out to take the hand of the first woman. Her dark eyes studied the hand for a long time, her straight hair covering her face as she raked her eyes over Isaiah. “However Kamose wooed you into staying with him this long, I need to know. To have a beauty like you around all the time would certainly brighten my nights.”

“You always try to flatter me, and I always tell you the same thing. I’m not a fool. I know when a man is making an offer he doesn’t mean, and therefore, I have no reason to tell you how Kamose convinced me to marry him since you don’t really need such information,” Nailah replied, offering her hand for Isaiah to place a soft kiss on the back of it. She eventually smiled as he released her. “The flattery is sweet. Keep doing it.”

Kamose groaned, looking at Alexius in the way a guy asked another guy to stop his friend. I didn’t need to look at Alexius. I knew he wouldn’t do anything if he even reacted at all to Isaiah’s behavior.

“Always,” Isaiah promised, putting his hand over his heart before turning to the last of the group. “And Isis, forever the crown jewel of Cairo’s dynasty. I hope you've been well.”

“Isaiah, it’s nice to see you,” she replied, only inclining her head. Isaiah hadn’t asked for her hand, and she didn’t offer it. She seemed cooler than Kamose and Nailah. “Have you seen anything new on Broadway? The last time we spoke, you were excited about seeing a new production, but I can’t recall its name.”

“I haven’t taken the time to see a show in at least a year.” Isaiah glanced at Alexius and me, then gestured for the Egyptians to turn their attention to us. “Alexius, say hello like the polite gentleman I know someone trained you to be.”

“Hello.” There was a beat of silence as Kamose began to chuckle, and Isaiah glared at him. “It’s nice to see all of you again.” It took me a moment to realize Alexius had been trying to make a joke. “Allow me to introduce the newest member of my household, Everly Abbott.” In a small movement, he gestured to me. All of them turned to me, a shift in the room that was so palatable, Alexius tensed. They appraised me in silence as Kamose took the lead, stepping in front of me.

“I heard rumors,” Kamose said, now taking obvious care with his words, his relaxed posture stiffening into one of importance and caution. He glanced at Alexius, making it clear he wasn't talking to me. He was walking about me. “You really did everything they say, huh?”

“I don’t know all the rumors, so I can’t tell you what I have or haven’t done.”

Amazing non-answer, Alexius.

“You worked with a human to discover the murderer of your son, and when said murderer and usurper killed her, you… orchestrated her Turn.” Kamose was no longer looking at me, his eyes on Alexius. “You made an Orphan.”

I’m right here. You can at least introduce yourself before talking about me like I’m a lamp.

“She did me a great favor at clear risk to herself. Death didn’t seem like the appropriate end for her. She didn’t ask to be a vampire, so I felt using her killer’s blood to Turn her was poetic justice and kept her from being beholden to those she didn’t know.”

“I can’t fault that logic,” Kamose said after a moment of silence, and Alexius relaxed beside me. Kamose looked back at me, appraising me once more before offering his hand. “I apologize for the rudeness of speaking about you while you’re standing here. There are things your… mentor has never done before, many of them. This would be surprising from many vampires, but none more so than him. I am Kamose, Master of Cairo. This is my wife, Nailah, and our daughter, Isis.”

“I understand. It’s nice to meet you and your family.” I gave him my hand, wanting a handshake, but knowing I wouldn’t get one by how he’d offered his own. He leaned down and kissed the back of it, then stepped back. Nailah and Isis only nodded at me when I smiled and said my polite planned greetings to acknowledge them. They didn’t come closer, watching from where they stood.

“We’ll meet all of you downstairs in the lounge,” Kamose said, holding out his hand for his wife, who took it as she sidled up to his side.

“A member of the staff will be downstairs to show you to your suite so you can settle in,” Isaiah explained, then the Egyptians were gone. He turned to the closest human. “Send in the next party.”

A moment later, two more vampires walked in. Alexius hadn’t tensed when the Egyptians arrived, but it seemed these two put him on edge immediately.

“Ramman, Samas, it’s nice to see you both in good health,” Isaiah said without reaching for them, also a touch more tense than he had been while meeting Kamose.

“Nice to see you,” the first of the two answered.

I didn’t need to ask. I recognized their names from the list. These two wereancients, like Alexius. They didn’t stand on the same formality as Kamose and his family. They looked around until one of them saw me.

“When was the last time one of us decided to take on a new vampire?” he asked, coming closer.

“I think it was five hundred years ago,” Alexius answered. “This is Everly Abbott. Everly, this is Ramman, and with him is Samas. He and Samas have wandered the deserts of the Middle East for as long as anyone has known of them.”

“Longer. Since before we met any of you,” Ramman corrected. He kept looking at me, and I tried to resist the urge to take a step to my right and stand behind my boss. Ramman had the stamp of the region he hailed from, as did Samas. Like Kamose, neither were as tall as Isaiah and Alexius, but unlike him, they didn’t maintain that regal posture. Ramman was slouched, but it wasn’t relaxed, more like a cat waiting to pounce, as if he could lunge at any moment.

“Ah yes, the Everly that no one can stop talking about,” Samas said as he walked forward. He wasn’t nearly as friendly as Ramman. “Ramman, don’t try to sleep with her.”

“Samas—”

---