“I’m waiting for you to tell me,” he said. “You call me a white knight, but we stopped playing chess the minute I stopped being human. I need to hear the words, Tenzin, because I’m tired of trying to read your mind.”
You’re lovely. Lovable.
Lovable. She’d had to look it up to make sure she understood the nuance. Love was a very imprecise word. Lovable meant “deserving of love or affection,” which was a circular definition and not at all precise, but it told her one thing: Ben thought she deserved love, whatever that meant to him.
What did it mean to her?
Tenzin looked toward the bonfire. “English needs better words.”
“Then find another language to tell me how you feel,” he said. “You find the right words to tell me, and I will learn the language.”
27
When Ben opened his caravan door to the dusk sky, he was in an entirely new landscape. His trailer was parked on the crest of a hill where the earth sloped down into rolling fields of poppies and tall grass. For as far as Ben could see, not a vehicle or a human habitation was in sight. A pair of rabbits stared at him from the edge of the grass as they munched on thin stalks of what looked like wild oats.
The sky was a brilliant velvet blue that reminded Ben of the deepest ocean. Stars were just starting to peek from behind the clouds, and the scent of fire and roasting meat filled the air.
He turned to the left and followed the scent around a copse of oak trees toward a meadow carefully mowed down to make room for the Poshani settlement.
“Good evening.”
Ben turned to see Tenzin walking with René.
Is she trying to piss me off?
Ben felt like they’d been getting somewhere the night before—he thought they’d had a meaningful moment—but maybe that was wishful thinking. Maybe all of this was wishful thinking.
René looked like the cat that had blissfully chowed down on the canary as he bent down and kissed Tenzin on the cheek. “Au revoir, chérie. Shall we meet for a drink later?”
“No.” Tenzin stared at Ben. “Don’t bother me until tomorrow night. Or maybe the next one.”
René chuckled. “As you wish.” The smile he smothered was smug and satisfied.
Ben waited for the Frenchman to be well away before he spoke. “Seriously?”
Tenzin lowered her voice to barely over a whisper. “I told him what is really going on with us.”
“You mean—”
“He knows we’re not really mated. That we’ve been estranged for a couple of years.” Tenzin frowned. “More like three if you count the time between Puerto Rico and Shanghai.”
“Why?” Ben struggled for words. “Why would you do that?”
“I have my reasons.”
“Which are?”
The frown didn’t leave Tenzin’s face. “I know I need to share things with you, but it is very cumbersome to feel like I have to explain myself to another person. Shall we get some blood-wine?”
Ben took her arm and steered her back toward his trailer. “Food can wait.”
“I am quite—”
“You’re going to tell me what’s going on.” He opened the door and nearly tossed her inside. “I know you probably have a reason for informing that man about our business, but I don’t know what it is and I don’t know if it’s a good reason. So spill.”
Ben crossed his arms over his chest, blocking the door as Tenzin looked around the trailer.
“You removed all your notes.”
“I remember them.”
She smiled. “See? Better memory too. I told you—”
“We’re not going over all the user upgrades to my body and brain I’m still getting used to, Tenzin. Tell me why you told René about us.”
She sat, leaned her elbow on the table, and rested her chin on her hand. “I needed some relationship advice.”
Ben’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
She smiled. “I’m joking. But that face you’re making right now is excellent.” She looked around. “Where is your tablet? I want to take a picture of it.”
He shook his head. “René, Tenzin. Tell me why you told René.”
“Ah.” She settled back in the chair. “Do you know how long he’s been here? Four weeks already. Far longer than Radu invited him for.”
“Why would René take time out of his intense schedule of scheming and duping human women to— Ohhhh.” He uncrossed his arms and sat across from her. “You think he’s planning something.”
“Of course he is. Radu invited him on the Dawn Caravan because he suspects that René might have stolen the goblet. But why did René accept? He’s in no need of shelter right now. None of his jobs are particularly hot.”
“So why did he take time out of his regularly scheduled scheming to hang out in rural… wherever were are—”
“I’m fairly certain it’s Ukraine. I think we’re out of Romania now.”
“Whatever.” Ben found the concept of borders becoming less and less relevant now that he had access to every country by air. “So René’s planning something.”
“He knows Radu lost something,” Tenzin said, “since he didn’t make a secret of hiring us. Then he invites an odd company of immortals to the Dawn Caravan right before a large festival, along with Kezia and Vano, the other leaders of the Poshani. He knows something is going to happen.”
“It’s risky for René. If he stole the goblet from Radu, his contract would be broken, and he’d be an earth vampire at the mercy of some very unfriendly people.”
“But René knows he didn’t take anything, so he is not concerned. He does know something odd is going on and something valuable was lost. He’s smart enough to look past that. What will the state of security on the caravan be when its leaders’ attention is so divided?”
“Oh.” Ben saw it in an instant. With Radu distracted by his missing treasure and both Kezia and Vano occupied with shifting power dynamics… “So René’s planning to flat-out rob the caravan.”
Tenzin nodded. “It’s quite a good plan. I used something similar when I robbed Wangara.”
Ben frowned. “Who?”
Tenzin tapped her fingers on the edge of the table. “Not a
