He traced a finger along an old silver line that ran from her belly to her hip. “Are you going to tell me about them?”
She looked into his eyes and then away again. “Someday.”
He nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know.”
* * *
By the time they headed to Rome, he felt ready to meet the world again.
“We need a proper bed for that house.” Ben looked down as they left Venice behind. “I’ll call Silvio when we get back to New York.”
They flew above the clouds and out of the swarm of insect life that hovered over the lagoon. When the city lights were only a twinkle on the ground, Tenzin set a relaxed pace. After all, it was only an hour or so to Rome.
“Where do you want to stay in the city?” she asked.
Ben frowned. “Giovanni’s house of course.”
“Because you have options now.” Tenzin flew in front of him and turned, flying leisurely through the deep blue sky. “You should probably know about the safe houses now. Did Tai tell you?”
Ben knew there was probably nothing that would hit her while she was flying, but Tenzin flying backward still made him nervous. “Can you not?”
“Not what?”
“Um…” He was being ridiculous and thinking like a human again. “What are you talking about? Safe houses?”
“They’re a little like human embassies, I suppose. Consulates? I’m not sure of the word.” She shook her head. “They are little pieces of Penglai Island in different cities around the globe.”
“Oh right,” Ben said. “Yeah, like embassies.” And that was a bird barely missing her shoulder. “Tenzin, can you just—”
“There are safe houses with facilities in all the major cities of the world.” She completely ignored him and any random objects flying in her vicinity. The wind whipped her hair around in a riot while birds darted this way and that out of their path.
Ben asked, “So there’s one of these safe houses in Rome?”
Tenzin did a barrel roll before she answered. “Where did you think I stayed when we were in Rome?”
Ben had never really thought about it. He stayed at his uncle’s house near the Pantheon, and Tenzin was always just… around. Come to think of it, he’d never asked her where she stayed. “I always assumed you had a house.”
“I don’t have houses everywhere. How many houses do you think I have?”
“I mean, you have one in Venice, so I didn’t want to assume—”
“Seventeen.”
Ben blinked. “Seventeen what? Seventeen…?”
“Houses.”
Ben’s jaw nearly dropped. “You have seventeen houses?”
“More like twenty, but not all of them are houses. One is a cave in Bali and there’s one in Turkey that couldn’t be classified as—”
“Twenty?”
“Keeping in mind that not all of them are used regularly.”
“How many do you use regularly?”
She shrugged and rolled again so she was flying above him. “Define regular.”
He looked up. “If you were roaming around? Maybe once a year.”
“Oh, then I only have five. New York, Shanghai, Venice, Tibet, and Fes.”
“Fes?”
“Very few automobiles in Fes. I like it. I bought a house there only five years ago.”
Ben muttered, “I had no idea.”
Tenzin flew in front of his face, her eyes glowing. “I am telling you so many things, and I’m not worried about killing you! Chloe will be very impressed.”
Ben couldn’t stop his smile. “Good to know. So tell me about these vampire embassies.”
She floated to his side again and rolled in the wind. “I don’t know if other courts have them, but Penglai has bought property in cities around the world so that anyone in the court who needs access to a safe place has one in what might be hostile territory.”
“And there’s one in Rome?”
“There’s one in all the major vampire capitols.”
“So… Paris? London? Nairobi?”
“Of course. Buenos Aires, New York, Winnipeg.”
“Winnipeg?”
Tenzin looked at him like he’d taken a blow to the head. “Where else would you put the vampire capital of Canada?”
“I mean, obviously Winnipeg,” Ben muttered. “Don’t know what I was thinking.”
“So we can stay in the safe house in Rome if you want,” she said. “Or we can stay near the Pantheon. I’m sure we’ll be safe either place.”
Ben sensed this was more about Tenzin than him. “Which place would make you feel more comfortable?”
She looked over her shoulder. “The Penglai house.”
“Then why don’t we stay there?” He sidled up to her and slipped an arm around her waist. “I don’t mind.”
“Fabia was very angry with me; I don’t want to needlessly provoke her.”
Ben had to smile. “New Year’s resolution?”
“I think Chloe would be proud that I’ve done as well as I have.”
“So is that why you don’t want to stay at the Rome house? Fabia’s my friend. She wants me to be happy.”
“I think she is in love with you. I don’t think she realized it before, but she is.”
“I don’t think so.” He looked at her. “Fabi will be fine. I’m more worried about you and Beatrice.”
“Beatrice has a right to be angry.” Tenzin settled under his arm like a bird beneath a wing. “She wanted to change you herself. Her or Giovanni.”
Ben couldn’t dispute her, because that was probably a part of their anger at Tenzin. Maybe a big part.
“I will admit,” he said, “when I considered the idea, I always thought it would be one of them.” He took a deep breath. “And if that happened, I would be angry, but I would have you, and we’d work through it together. No matter what, I’d have you.”
She floated up to his face and framed his cheeks with both her hands. She leaned forward and kissed him, lingering at his mouth until her amnis rose in his blood and he felt their connection like a thousand invisible threads binding them together.
Tenzin holding his hand in Rome, while Ben grieved the first time he’d taken a life.
Tenzin next to him while he piloted a truck of rotting vegetables through China.
Dancing through a sweltering summer night in Venice.
Laughing through
