Page 47 of Betrayed in Blood
“There you have it.” Devon stood and took Colantha’s hand to help her rise. “Let’s move to the sofa, and we can bring everyone up to speed.” He waved me to his side, taking the two chairs closest to the unlit fireplace. “Colantha arrived early. It provided an opportunity to bring her and Remus up to speed on our success with retrieving theDe første dageand Lucas’s translation of the first half of the document. Colantha agreed to review the second half and provide a translation.”
“I would like to get started with the review as soon as possible.” Colantha poured a glass of what I could now confirm, glancing at my already half empty glass, was sangria. It tasted almost as good as what I’d had in Madrid. “I understand Lucas, with Ginger’s assistance, completed the translations on the first half of the book. It would be helpful, for possible continuity issues, if they could assist with my work.”
If Lucas were a puppy, I think he’d be sitting at her knee with his tongue hanging out, adoration in his gaze. Hard to picture his enthusiasm for books in conjunction with the instinctual killer he could be. Ginger had told me every detail of their mission, and, after chastising her for not calling when Lucas had been gravely injured, followed by a long, breath-stealing hug, I’d listened with rapt attention as she described the endless stream of vamps who’d tried to stop them. Lucas was no light weight, and I had a scar or two from training that proved it. But I still grinned at the expression on his face while he waited for Devon’s response.
Devon held back a smile and gave a short nod.
“Excellent.” Colantha placed an empanada on a plate and used her fork to cut it into small pieces before taking a bite. “Tell us about your trip to Spain.”
Devon provided a high-level recap, and I wondered if he purposely left out the dreamwalkers and baby vamps. The cadre didn’t bat an eye at the omission. He wove the tale with equal measure of humor and stoicism, and while I didn’t sense any deception from Devon, Colantha kept a close eye on him.
She knew he was leaving something out, but decided not to call him on it. I’d forgotten to mention to Devon that I’d asked her in our dreamwalk the day before whether she knew about dreamwalkers in Spain and of a compound where vamps didn’t have a fertility problem. The two of them were playing a game I wanted no part in. I wasn’t stupid enough to get caught in the middle, but, after a quick rethink of my actions, I might have inadvertently stepped in it this time.
The group soon disbanded once the food and drink were gone. Lucas handed Colantha the book he’d brought with him. It was the original copy of theDe første dage. For some reason, I didn’t doubt that she’d be able to read both languages. She left with her two vamps, explaining that she wanted to read the book once before starting the translations the following day. Before she left, she grabbed my hand.
“I think it would be wise for you to join us.”
She wasn’t wrong. I wanted to be there. This was my ancestry. I hadn’t been raised in the culture, and it was time to learn more about my heritage. Maybe I’d learn a word or two of the language. At the same time, the idea of sitting through the painstaking effort of translations made me queasy. On second thought, perhaps it would be best to wait until the translations were complete. Then, I could read them and discuss my interpretation with Colantha. Rather than make a decision now, I simply nodded.
Devon squeezed my shoulder after she left. “Come with me. I’ve made plans.”
Devon pulledme down the hallways, his hand warm and tender as he tugged me along.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“With everything else going on?” The manor was filled with vamps and guests. This didn’t seem the right time for whatever he’d planned.
“We have a spare evening. Colantha is reading the book, and everyone else has been given time off to rest. I don’t know when we’ll have another moment together once activities heat up tomorrow, and Remus will be arriving the following day.
He turned down a dead-end hall, and I knew exactly where we were going, though it surprised me. He opened the door to the home theater. It wasn’t completely dark. Images were already playing across the huge silver screen—forest landscapes, tropical beaches, and glittering city nights.
“What’s all this?”
He led me halfway down the row of seats before guiding me into one, pushing me toward the center section where the armrest had been removed from between two seats. Blankets and several pillows had been piled on the seats. A tabletop covered the next seat, where a huge tub of popcorn and an ice bucket filled with bottles of hard cider waited. The scent of Cook’s famous mixed-type popcorn made my stomach stir.
My first thought was to ask how he did this, but that was stupid. When Devon had the will, he always found a way. So, I went with, “Movies?”
He pulled back a blanket and took off his shoes before sitting down next to the seat with the food and drinks. “I know we just got back from vacation, but after the attack on Oasis and a full agenda for the next few days that will undoubtedly modify our mission to something even more dangerous, I thought we needed a small break.”
When he nodded to the seat, I slipped off my shoes and curled up next to him, tugging the blanket over us. It was useless to argue with him when he was in a mood, and I had to admit, I wasn’t willing to destroy the moment. We wouldn’t get many times like this once war was officially declared.
“When I commanded large armies, the hardest task wasn’t marching on the enemy, it was keeping the men stimulated before battle.”
“Don’t tell me—more battle training.”
He laughed. “In a sense. A makeshift arena was formed to allow the warriors to test each other. Most relished the opportunity to match their strength against their fellow warriors. Others preferred the peace of solitude. Even in those days, vampires understood the benefits of meditation. At nights, there were endless feasts.”
“And women?”
He didn’t respond, but a huge grin flickered in the light from the screen.
“I should have known.”
He opened two ciders and handed me one, which I put in the drink holder to my right. Then he picked up a remote control. “I’ve preselected three movies, so get comfortable.”
Ginger and I always made time for movie nights when we could, but it was rare for Devon to agree to one. And when it happened, he only had the patience for one movie. The fact he’d selected three made me curious, but after snuggling up to him under the blankets, I decided not to question my good fortune. Live for the day.
