Page 24 of Tainted Blood

“I would hate to kill Alexius’s new toy,” Samas continued, not letting Ramman finish whatever he was about to say.

I took a half step back, looking at Alexius, who finished the move by taking a half step forward, blocking Samas from me.

“I don’t want to upset him while we’re here, so you will stay away from her. And look, just warning you not to do anything with her has already pissed him off.”

“She’s not a toy,” Alexius growled.

“What should I call her then?” Samas asked, frowning. “You Turned her on a whim. What else could she be other than a distraction from losing Jacob?”

“She’s a member of my household and has become my assistant. You’ll treat her with respect for that alone, regardless of her bloodline or the circumstances of her Turn,” Alexius snapped.

“Apologies, then.” Samas backed down, stepping back and lifting his hands. “I’m in a bad mood from traveling. I don’t know why I keep doing it. Ramman knows I hate planes and leaving home.”

“Because I enjoy both,” Ramman said with a chuckle. “And you love me.”

“You’re lucky I do,” Samas mumbled, walking away. “Meet me in our suite.”

“It’s nice to see you again, Alexius, and a pleasure to meet you, Everly.” Ramman followed after Samas.

“Two vampires who couldn’t be more different,” Isaiah said with a heavy sigh the moment they were out of sight. “To explain… Samas and Ramman have been together for longer than anyone has known them. or known of them. Ramman is allowed to sleep with humans and keep them as lovers, but Samas will kill any vampire foolish enough to take Ramman’s flirtation seriously. No one knows who is the older or more powerful of the two because they’ve refused to answer that question and have certainly never offered the information.”

“Samas won’t hurt you unless you engage with Ramman,” Alexius said softly, turning to me as he spoke. “If Ramman tries to convince you to take the risk, walk away and don’t look back. Don’t fall for it.”

“Why would he try if Samas is like that?”

“It’s a game to them,” Isaiah answered before Alexius could. “Everyone knows how they are, yet people still fall for it because everyone thinks they’ll be the one who gets away with it.”

“It’s a shitty game,” I mumbled.

“Yes,” Alexius agreed. “Let’s deal with whoever is next…”

Next were the Romans. One thing I noticed with them was how deferential they were to Isaiah. Aelia, Mistress of Rome, gave Isaiah a number of updates about the city and surrounding country, making him smile fondly as though he missed it.

“I wish you would visit,” she said, touching his shoulder. Her sons,Lucas and Maxwell as they went by in modern times, both nodded.

“Perhaps I’ll have time one day.”

The Romans were polite to Alexius and me, not bringing up rumors or how surprised they were. Instead, Aelia looked at me and nodded as if I had passed a test.

“It’s good to see new blood,” she finally said. “With teachers like these two, you will make a fine addition to our world.” Then she left, her sons following her, not offering any comments of their own except polite pleasantries.

After the Romans, it blurred, not physically but mentally. It was a constant stream of vampires, with a variety of nests and relationships represented. Jamal, the Master of Rabat, arrived an hour in with his second in command, a stiff warrior whose name I missed during the introduction. Some arrived alone, mostly vampire Ancients. Others didn’t seem all that important or didn’t find Alexius important enough to stop for, like one woman who walked in with a painting in her arms, handed it off to Isaiah, then kept walking. Isaiah called out a greeting, but she only waved over her shoulder.

“The audacity of that woman,” Isaiah muttered with a glare at her disappearing form. “That was Julia. She’s also from Rome, but she’s not a part of the nest. Currently, I believe she’s in the wine business. A good head for business and even better at selling her schemes, but she never has the attention span to see them through. I don’t know how she’s lived this long.” He lifted the painting, rolling his eyes before handing it off. I caught a glimpse of it and could clearly make out breasts.

“Where would you like it, sir?”

“Burn it like all of her other unsolicited nudes,” Isaiah growled.

“It’s a painting of her?” I asked incredulously.

“It always is.” Isaiah glared at the painting as the human left with it. “Julia has a sense of self-importance that nothing in her life should award her with the right to have. She pursued me ages ago, and I turned her down. She believes she's showing me what I’m missing. After a thousand years, she’s still cross.”

“Ah, I remember her,” Alexius said softly. “She’s always wanted an easy route to power, hasn’t she? She tried Jacob once. I remember him laughing about it because his preferences were always transparent.”

“Just like her businesses, she doesn’t have the attention span to put the work in to gain the power she wants. Truthfully, her endless harassment with these paintings is probably the longest I’ve seen her stick with anything.” Isaiah shook his head with annoyance, then waved for the staff to continue letting vampires inside.

By the time Isaiah and Alexius decided we were done waiting at the door, I had met the Masters and Mistresses of several cities, including the big names Alexius had mentioned. I had also met six of the eight Ancients, though none of the others made the same impression Samas and Ramman did.

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