“Where did you grow up?” she asked him.
“I thought you said I was famous.”
Tatyana shrugged. “You’re mildly famous now. No one really talks about your human years.”
“Really?” He watched Vano lift a Poshani child onto his back as he chatted with three burly men around a small fire. “I’m kind of bummed about that. I tried really hard to make a reputation for myself when I was human.”
“Why?” She sounded horrified.
“For business. It’s not easy being the human partner of a famous vampire.”
“You mean Tenzin?” Tatyana shrugged. “I don’t know that I would call her famous.”
“Infamous?”
Tatyana smirked. “Feared. Admired a little. But mostly feared.”
“Is it the military stuff in the past or the assassin thing?”
Tatyana’s eyes went wide. “Military stuff?”
Ben’s eyes followed Vano as he walked among the humans in the Poshani camp. “Don’t worry about the military stuff. She’s retired now. So it’s the assassin thing. I get that, but I know her. She’d never take a job to kill someone who was an innocent.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. She has a thing about powerless people.” He glanced at Tatyana. “Besides, what vampires do you know who are innocent?”
“Me of course.” She offered him half a smile. “You would not count yourself?”
“Innocent?” Ben thought about the man in Rome. About a thief in Shanghai who’d done nothing but get caught up with the wrong people. He thought about the hundreds of innocent bystanders he’d probably left in his wake, never wondering how they fared in the chaos he and Tenzin routinely left behind. “I’m far from innocent,” he said. “In fact, I might be the guiltiest one here. At least other vampires are honest about being monsters.”
Tatyana rolled her eyes. “Self-pity is so boring. You’ve been given riches, eternal life, a powerful sire, and a fierce mate who obviously loves you very much. Why on earth are you complaining? Think about the choices you have.”
Ben was watching Vano shake hands with two men with long beards and furtive expressions. They were wary, watching for errant eyes.
He hardly registered speaking. “I didn’t choose this.”
“What?”
Ben looked down and realized he’d said it out loud. Shit.
No denying it now. “I actually didn’t choose to be a vampire. I was dying and Tenzin took me to my sire, but I never chose to become a vampire.”
Tatyana didn’t look shocked. “So you lost one choice and gained a thousand others. I didn’t choose this life either; that is the nature of the world. We make the best of it, Ben Vecchio.”
Ben focused on Tatyana after Vano disappeared into one of the men’s camper van. “You didn’t choose this?”
“No.” She glanced around and lowered her voice. “Since you told me the truth, I will tell you. I was working for someone dangerous. I didn’t know they were dangerous at the time of course; I was only a bookkeeper. Such a boring job, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I found something unusual that ended up being a big deal.” Her expression was bitter. “My sire changed me to keep her secret. So I would have to be loyal to her.”
“Where is your sire now?”
“Dead.” Tatyana’s expression cleared. “Oleg killed her, but I helped.” Then Tatyana gave Ben the first true smile he’d seen from her. “That feels very good to say.”
“That you helped to kill your sire?”
“Yes. She was a horrible person, and I’m glad she’s dead.” Tatyana took a deep, cleansing breath. “Yes, that feels very good.”
“Glad I could help.”
She looked around at their surroundings. “And I’m glad I could help give you cover while you followed Vano. Do you want to tell me why you’ve been watching him?”
“Not really.”
“Okay.”
* * *
Ben stayed watching for Vano long after Tatyana abandoned him. He waited by the fire until Tenzin joined him to get an update.
“Have you broken into his caravan yet?”
“I don’t even know which one is his.” Ben scanned the ring of more traditional Poshani homes. “Kezia’s was fairly obvious, but I can’t pin this guy down.”
“He sleeps in a modern camper.” Tenzin nodded toward a sleek grey caravan on the far end of the guest caravans. “You haven’t seen him coming in and out of that one?”
“I’ve seen him near it.”
Tenzin held her hands out near the fire. “That’s his.”
Ben examined the trailer. “He’s a little different than his brother and sister.”
“Vano is the practical one.” Tenzin turned her hands to warm them. “He doesn’t have clubs; he owns factories. He owns a caravan company as a matter of fact. And two rather large horse ranches, but that is traditional. I believe Radu has horses as well.”
“How else is Vano practical?” Ben found himself leaning closer to her.
“He spends more time with the humans.” She spoke very softly. “Have you noticed that?”
“Yeah, I really did. Who are the Poshani who travel with us?”
“The darigan?” Tenzin glanced around at the ring of campers, trailers, and trucks that surrounded the central vampire camp. “They are humans of Radu’s clan, charged with protecting the vampire guests and moving the caravan during the day. You have one driving you around every day when you’re sleeping, just beyond that reinforced wall.”
“I knew that.” He frowned. “I don’t actually know who it is though.”
“Your driver? It could be any of them.” Tenzin waved a hand. “They don’t care. You’re cargo to them. Rich, precious cargo they’ll protect with their life, but cargo. The Poshani only care about their own.”
“Mercenary.”
“Practical.” Tenzin looked up at him. “Traditional human society has rejected their extended family over and over. Humans have taken their children, burned their camps, and treated them horribly. Why would they care about anyone who doesn’t belong to them?”
Ben’s vampire vision pierced the darkness, but he could detect no humans still wandering on the edges of the camp. The only humans awake were the ones currently serving the vampire guests. “I guess I can see your point.”
“The Eastern Poshani are Radu’s people. He was born to them, and he’ll choose a successor from among their
