by Emily Bex
“Theresa, I hardly know you're here. But I know you must miss having your own things, and your own space.”
“Yes, but I did appreciate being able to live here while the warriors were in the staff quarters. So, this trip, what’s on the agenda?”
“Well, my turning. What do you pack for a turning?”
“My lady! I don’t think we’ve ever held a turning, and I can't remember the last time those sacred chambers below Castello were used. It’s been centuries! Probably Shade’s birth was the last event there. But don’t worry about the turning. Everything that will be needed is already there, so all you need to pack are your regular clothes. As I recall, there was a considerable wardrobe for you there as well. I do remember a room filled with red dresses scattered about when you couldn't decide.”
Laughing as they went through drawers, they placed items in the steamer trunks to be flown over. “Ah yes, Shade said wear red. I remember that day well. I was terrified to meet everyone. It seems so long ago now, doesn't it?”
“My lady, it feels like yesterday to me. Our concept of time is very different, yes?”
Her comment reminded Kate of how much everything about her life was about to change. “Yes... very different.”
83
Shade had informed Luca they’d be going back to Florence for several weeks and he’d have a lot of free time while he was there so he could visit with friends. Luca realized that with Marcello and Raven here, everyone he cared about was already in the States. The feeder in Florence, he thought he might check on her, make sure she was okay, but he had no desire for the feeder again. He’d asked Shade to make sure she was taken care of, but since he’d been separated from her, he no longer felt any attachment.
He’d fed mainly from Shannon since they’d been together. Although he’d not been able to see Shannon frequently enough to make it exclusive, he hoped that would change. He found he didn’t care for the feeder encounters after experiencing an emotional bond with someone. As he contemplated this trip, he knew the person he’d miss the most would be Shannon and he wondered if master would allow Shannon to make the trip? They were going to Florence for Kate's turning. He doubted master would agree to bring a mortal to Florence, but he’d ask him.
Luca knew Shade felt an urgency to have Kate turned since the ambush, and he was staying closer to her until that could be done. Best not to wait until the last minute to ask him, in case he needed to think about it. Luca could hear him in the bunker. He’d been in and out of there all night. He headed down the steps and entered the bunker. “Master?”
Shade looked up as Luca entered. “Luca. I was just checking our inventory, seeing if there might be some weapons we should bring back from Florence with us. Is there anything, in particular, you think we need?”
“Uh, other than replacing shuriken’s, I can't think of anything else.” Luca walked through the room, looking at the weapons that were mounted on the walls.
Shade watched him closely. He was clearly distracted, and his mind wasn’t on weapons. “So, give it up, warrior. What's on your mind?”
Luca seemed startled. “What?” He hadn’t even organized the thoughts in his head, but Shade already knew he was here with a problem.
“Luca, sit down. You didn’t come down here to discuss weapons.”
Shade kicked one chair back from the table for him, and pulled a chair out for himself, propping his feet on the table, crossing his arms over his chest.
Luca sat in the chair, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I was just thinking about Florence.”
“Florence. Si. What about it? You miss living there? You are eager to go back?”
“Actually, I don't miss it as much as I thought I would, master. I feel like my family is here now. And with Marcello here, well, everyone I love is here. I’m eager to see my old home, my family home. I haven’t seen it since I was ten and went to the warrior’s camp.” His hands were fidgeting, and he was rambling, talking around everything but Shannon.
Shade sat quietly and listened, waiting for him to get around to what he really wanted to talk about as Luca looked to the floor and twisted the ring on his finger. “So, you don’t want to go? You want to go? What is it, Luca?”
Luca looked up at him. “No, I do want to go. It’s Kate's turning. She’ll be presented to the entire coven as our queen. And I, I’m the protector to the queen. I wouldn’t miss that. No, master, I want to go, but I wanted to ask, since you said I’d have free time. I know it’s not usual, but would you consider—”
“Luca! Cazzo! Spit it out, warrior. I don't have all day.”
Luca could feel his palms sweating and he rubbed them on his thighs. “So yes, the question is, master, whether you would consider allowing me to bring Shannon to Florence.” He spit the words out quickly and waited for his answer, but all he heard was silence.
Shade turned his head away, creasing his brow. This wasn’t what he’d been expecting to hear. It was a highly unusual request. She wouldn’t be the first mortal at Medici Castello, but a mortal at the turning? That would set the Council on edge for certain. He rolled Luca’s question around in his head. “So this is serious then.”
“Yes, master. It’s serious. The night you gave me the deed to my father's house, I came back to my room and I was so overcome with emotion. I couldn’t wait to go there, to walk in those rooms again. But in my head, I saw her there as well, showing her the home where I grew up. I realized my joy isn’t complete unless it’s shared with her. I love her, master.”
“Luca, I don’t doubt your feelings for her. But she is the first non-feeder you have been with. There are many women out there, mortal and immortal. You have experienced none of that, and yet, you choose this path? You are feeding from her, si?”
“Yes, I wish to feed from her exclusively, but I haven’t been able to see her frequently enough to do that, so I’ve had to use the feeders on occasion. But it doesn’t fill me. It’s her blood I want.”
Shade gave him a stern look. “Has she fed from you?”
“No, master! I told you I’d not let her feed from me without discussing that with you. But my body craves her to do so. And I know she’d come willingly to me if I were to offer. I know you think this is sudden, and I’m young, and I haven’t experienced a lot of women, but I know what my heart wants, master. And my heart wants her.”
“It pleases me that she has not fed from you, that you understand the seriousness of the next step, and you will discuss this with me. For here is my decision. Bring Shannon to Florence. She can stay with you at Castello, you can take her to your home, stay there a few days if you like. She can see the coronation ceremony, when Kate becomes queen and is presented to the coven. She will see our world as few mortals ever do. After that, Luca, we will talk again about whether she should feed from you. I suggest you spend some time talking about what that will mean for her. It is not a decision to be made lightly, for either of you.”
“Yes, master. We’ll talk. Thank you.”
“Make sure you understand fully the conflicts of a protector with a mate. Make sure she understands the conflicts of a protector with a mate. Make sure this is something you can both live with. Si? You would not be the only protector who has ever mated, but it is rare, Luca. Very rare.”
“I understand, master. We have talked briefly about this already. But we’ll discuss it in detail.”
Shade gave him a final look. “Anything else?”
“No, master, that was all.”
Shade dropped his feet from the table back to the floor and stood, slapping Luca on the back, a small smile playing at his lips. “Good. Now, let me get back to work before I take to my slumber.”
Luca headed back to his suite, checking the time. It was the weekend, so he knew Shannon would be home, but it was still a little early. He decided to teleport to her condo unannounced. It was early morning and the sun was turning the sky pink. He stepped into her bedroom to find her sleeping, her face in profi
le, her dark hair spread out across the pillow. She slept nude and the blankets had slipped free of her shoulders. He stepped to the bed and knelt beside her, kissing her shoulder softly before pulling the blankets up to cover her. ”Mia belleza?” He watched as she stirred from sleep, her lips parted, her long lashes fanned out across her cheeks.
She slowly opened her eyes to find him eye level with her across her bed, his arm resting on her bed, his chin on his arm. She smiled at him. This is how I should wake up every day, looking at that face. That beautiful, handsome face.
“Buongiorno, mia belleza.”
“And good morning to you, Luca.” She lifted the blankets in the air, inviting him in. “It's still a little early, don't you think? Why don't you join me?”
Luca stood and stripped from his clothes and slid into the bed next to her. Her body was soft and warm as he drew her into his arms, her head on his chest, their legs entwined.
Shannon ran her fingers through his hair. “Not that you ever need a reason, but to what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?”
He kissed her nose. “I come with an invitation, mia belleza. Shade will be taking the whole family back to Florence soon, for Kate's turning. We’ll be there for several weeks, and he has agreed I can take you with me. Now please don’t break my heart by telling me you can't go.”
“Luca, I’d love to go to Florence! I have vacation time, so yes! Yes, I’ll go. Kate and I traveled there... Did I tell you that? Florence was our favorite city in Italy, and Tuscany. Driving through Tuscany. Kate and I stayed in this cottage in an old vineyard in Tuscany once. We got there on a Sunday, and all the stores were closed. All we had to eat were some pears, cheese, fresh bread and wine we’d bought at the farmers market in Florence the day before. We ate that for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Oh my gosh, we had so much fun on that trip. Oh Luca, I can't wait. To have uninterrupted time with you, wow… Now my head is spinning with everything I’ll need to get ready. Do you know where we’ll be staying?”
Luca smiled to himself at her excitement and he understood the attraction to mortals and why Shade was so captivated by Kate, and he was so enslaved by Shannon. It was their enthusiasm for life, their eagerness about what lay ahead. When your lifetime is an eternity, there is very little you haven’t seen, or haven’t experienced and it’s easy to become jaded. Shannon and Kate made life wondrous again. They made them see the world through new eyes.
“Mia belleza, we’ll be staying at Medici Castello. It’s Shade's ancestral home, where he was raised, and also where he rules. You know he is master, but he’s also royalty. He is king, mia belleza. Not in the mortal world. His mortal roots in the Medici family lost their bid to royalty centuries ago. But his bloodlines are pure, and he is king in the vampire world. He rules over a very broad territory that includes all of Tuscany. Once Kate is turned, she will be his queen.”
Shannon put both hands to her head. “This is blowing my mind. Kate, a queen. Sorry, but this is just so unreal. And we’ll watch all this? Her turning?”
“Not her turning. No one is with her during the turning except Shade. It’s personal and intimate, performed in private. You’ll see her enter the chamber as a mortal, and when they emerge, several days later, she’ll be immortal.”
“Will she look different?”
“I don’t think she’ll look different to you, mia belleza. She’ll have fangs, but as you know, they’re not always on display. She’ll have a beast that will be untamed and undisciplined. It will be Shade’s job to help her learn to control her own beast, which should be an interesting process, given the short fuse he has with his own. She’ll no longer be able to consume human food and will feed from Shade only. She’ll need to learn to control her thirst, and Shade will teach her that as well. She’ll have great strength, not as great as a vampire who is born immortal, but much greater than a mortal. And she’ll have a gift. Usually, we don’t know what gift the mortal will be given. If you are born vampire, you have your gift from the beginning... Just as I’m a day-walker. But I already know Kate's gift. It’s already displayed itself. She’ll have the rarest of gifts among vampires, and I’ve never heard of a turned vampire with this gift, but she will communicate with animals.”
Shannon looked at him quizzically. “You mean she’ll talk to the animals?”
“Not in words, exactly. She’ll connect with them telepathically. She’ll be able to direct them to do her bidding. She can call on them in her defense. It’s a powerful gift, and it will serve Shade well. He’s already a powerful master in his own right, but now his mate will bring him a broader range of power. They’ll be very strong together. She’s aware she has this gift already, but she doesn’t understand its impact. Its full potential will present once she’s turned. She’ll need to learn to master it.”
“Luca, this sounds so...so... Wow, I don't even know how to describe it. What happens after? Once she is turned, when they come out of the chamber?”
“There’s a great ceremony where she’s officially presented to the coven as their queen and is recognized as Shade's mate for all eternity. She’s already mated to him, but since she remains mortal, she’s not recognized by many in the vampire community as a true mate. As a mortal, she’s free to walk away from him like a divorce. Once she’s turned, the blood connection will bond them for all time, they’ll never part until death.”
“Until death? But aren’t they immortal?”
“Si. That means we don’t die of illness. We do eventually die of old age, but we can live for centuries. Time passes for us, and we age, but at a much slower rate. We can be killed, mia belleza, and there’s much violence in our world. It’s why Kate has a protector, why Shade trains warriors. In our world, there’s always a battle for territory, for power.”
“Trust me, Luca, there are battles for power and territory among mortals too. I don't think we're that different after all.”
“Si, my beauty. There’s much we share. We love, we have families. And sometimes, our worlds cross paths, and the mortal and immortal find each other, like Shade and Kate.”
She smiled at him. “Or like Luca and Shannon?”
“Si, like Luca and Shannon. I love you, Shannon. I don’t speak those words lightly. I know what lies ahead if you choose to be with me, and it’s not a decision you should enter into lightly.”
“If I choose? You talk as if you’ve already decided. As if you’ve already chosen.”
“Si, mia belleza, I’ve chosen. I’ve chosen you.” He ran his fingers down her cheek and under her chin, lifting her face to his, kissing her softly.
Shannon let him lead the kiss and succumbed to him. Melting. Melting here. She gave herself up to him and that kiss, letting go of any reservations she might have had about following this man.
84
Shade teleported with bel into the grand foyer at Medici Castello. Bel was nervous, he could feel it, and he knew it was a combination of her fears about the coronation as well as the actual turning. He knew this must seem surreal to her, but he was trying to make it as easy as possible and make her feel relaxed. There was much that needed to be taken care of, but the staff knew the process, so they’d been faithfully working to arrange everything. It had been centuries since a turning had taken place within the walls of Castello and his coven had waited an extremely long time for him to take a queen. Shade knew Kate had no idea how important this was for him, his familia, and all the people he protected and provided for in his coven, but she’d learn, and he had no doubts she’d exceed their expectations.
He leaned down, kissing her. “You can breathe now, mi amore.”
Gi had arrived ahead of them and the entire staff of close to fifty were lined up and ready to greet them. Shade reassured her, saying, “Relax, it’s going to be fine.”
It took a minute for Kate to orient herself and regain her balance any time they teleported. She’d forgotten just how big and imposing this castle was. Their footsteps and voices echoed through the halls.
The castle was beautiful, ornate and over-the-top grandiose. She tried to imagine Shade as a boy growing up here, and she felt sad. As beautiful as this building was, she couldn’t feel a sense of home. She felt his loneliness instead.
The staff was lined up before her, in a castle that wasn’t even occupied. That told her a lot about the size and scope of the building, and how much work it took to maintain. She felt like she was in a museum. She was nervous about this trip, and the turning, but she trusted Shade would guide her.
“Lover, I forgot how big it is. I remember I never left our bedroom without someone to escort me because I was afraid I’d get lost. It’s hard to imagine you growing up here.”
He pulled her into his arms, holding her to his chest and ignoring the stares of the staff. This wasn’t his padre's home any longer, and he wasn’t his padre. His padre had always been careful not to show affection to his madre when the staff was present. Everything was by the rules, but this was his home now and he’d rule it his way.
“I know it must seem impossible to envision me as a boy living here. It was the only home I’d ever known, and although it was not exactly the most loving at times, it was a good upbringing. They did the best they knew how, bel. Now, we have a chance to change all of that and make this place ring with happy laughter. Now, we must greet the staff, and get on with getting settled, si?”
“Lead the way.”
Gi stepped forward and took Kate’s hand, kissing it lightly. Shade said, “You see, mi amore, there will be some familiar faces amongst us.”
Shade took her arm, threaded it through his and walked down the line of servants as Gi introduced each of them. They bowed at the waist or curtsied, never speaking to her unless she spoke first. He could feel her nervousness and kept his free hand on the small of her back, letting her know he was with her. He knew she hated this pomp and circumstance, but she had to learn this was how it had always been for them. As they got halfway through, Shade saw movement at the end of the line and looked up and smiled. They continued onward, as Gi introduced each by name and title or duty within the castle. Shade stopped to chat with a few of them, asking after their families, as each servant bowed to him with acknowledgment.
