“And I miss Tenzin.” She sighed. “I love Tenzin so much.”
Ben bit his lip. “I know you do.”
“Is Tenzin coming soon?”
“I don’t think so, Sadi.”
“Why not? Is she working?”
“I think so.” The lie slipped too easily from his lips, but he didn’t know what else to tell her. “Has she video-called you?”
“Yes. With me and Baba. She showed me your birds in New York.”
Ben stopped. “My birds?”
“Yeah. The pretty little birds that live in the glass house.”
“Oh right.” The spike twisted in his heart. “Those birds.”
“I like their names.” She giggled. “Tenzin said they were lovebirds.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Loooovebirds.” Sadia couldn’t stop the giggles. “’Cause they love each other.”
Ben couldn’t stop the smile at hearing her giggle so much. “I think you’re tired and you need to go to bed.”
“Do lovebirds kiss with their beaks?” She was still giggling in his ear. “I bet they kiss a lot, like Baba and Mama.”
Ben shook his head. “I think you’ve been infected with a case of the sillies.”
His words only made Sadia laugh harder. And for the first time in a long time, all was right in Ben Vecchio’s world.
4
The De Novo-Vecchio predawn family celebration lasted until exactly dawn, when Ben abruptly fell into a deep vampire sleep. When he woke the next night, it was to a smell that was more welcome than the sweetest, freshest, most delectably pure blood in the world.
He sat up in the dark closet and inhaled deeply.
Dried chiles. Cumin. Corn. Sweet heaven and all the angels.
“Mexican food.”
Ben nearly tripped over the bedsheets he stood so quickly.
Throwing on clothes and glancing at the clock, he realized that jet leg wasn’t really going to be a thing anymore. Young vampires woke when the sun went down and knocked out when it rose. A few quirky ones like Beatrice and Tenzin woke during the day. And his uncle woke a little bit since he and Beatrice exchanged blood.
You exchanged blood with Tenzin.
He shoved that inconvenient voice to the back of his brain. It had only been once. Just the one time, and it would not be happening again.
When he left the room he’d used since he was twelve years old, he was met by the cacophony of voices that was normal in a busy family home.
“Mama, I want juice.”
“Is that the way you ask?”
“Princesa, here is some juice. Zain, give the baby—”
“Grandma, she has to ask politely. And she is not a baby. If you give in—”
“Thank you, Zain!”
“You are welcome, Miss Sadia.” A deep male voice echoed down the hall. “Miss Isadora, what are you wanting to drink tonight?”
“A juice sounds good to me too.”
Good Lord, had chatter in the house always been that loud to Giovanni and Beatrice? No wonder they’d tried to kick him outside so often. Though the voices were coming from the kitchen, Ben heard them like they were in the same room.
He walked through the familiar halls of his childhood, taking everything in with new eyes. Had he ever noticed the stunning swirls of blue in that ceramic vase? There were so many cracks in that oil painting! It nearly ruined it. No wonder Tenzin didn’t have much use for stealing oils.
Ben walked down the hallway and stood in the kitchen doorway, crossing his arms and waiting for someone to notice him. Beatrice’s eyes flew up to meet his, but he put a finger over his lips. Shhhh. She smiled and played along.
Sitting at the kitchen table like a queen before her court was Isadora De Novo, Beatrice’s grandmother and Caspar’s wife. She was overseeing the construction of enchiladas in a glass pan on the table while a dark-skinned man, his locks tied back with a bandanna, moved between the kitchen and the table, a neat apron wrapped around his waist.
“Now, no one needs to be eating any more snacks before dinner.” The man handed a glass to Isadora. “Miss Izzie, I’m looking at you.”
Sadia spotted him. “Ben!”
“Benjamin?” Isadora’s smile was wide and wonderful. “You’re home.” She said it with such relief Ben nearly started crying.
“Hi, Isadora.”
Sadia raced over and climbed into his arms. “How’s your room? Do you like your new closet?”
“Very much.” Ben looked over at the recent addition to the household. “You must be Zain.” With Sadia in one arm, he walked over and held his hand toward the young man. “Ben Vecchio. Really nice to meet you.”
The corner of the man’s mouth lifted as he shook Ben’s outstretched hand. “Trust me, I’ve heard all about you. Welcome home.” He moved to the stove. “Dinner should be ready in a half hour or so. I’m making chicken mole. Isadora’s recipe.”
“That sounds amazing. I haven’t had Mexican food in like two years.”
Zain smiled. “That’s just wrong. We’ll make fish tacos tomorrow.”
“I like you already.” Ben looked down as Sadia patted his cheek. “What’s up, gremlin?”
“Zain drives me to school in the morning sometimes.”
“You told me he’s a very good driver.”
“And when he fights with Dema, he moves superfast!” She made punching motions with her arms. “You should see him. His muscles are really big.”
“Oh yeah?” He glanced at Zain, who was smiling and stirring the mole.
Superfast, huh? Ben bet Dema loved that. The minute he’d clapped eyes on the man, Ben had pegged him for far more than a driver. The way he moved had the same efficiency that Dema had, the same efficiency Ben had cultivated when he’d been human.
“Are you from LA?” Ben sidled over to the counter.
Zain looked up. “Houston originally. I’ve been here for about six years now. My mother worked for Caspar and Gio back in the day.”
“When I heard he’d moved to Los Angeles, I ruthlessly stole him from Ernesto.” A cultured voice spoke in a posh British accent from the door. “One of my finer negotiations, if I do say so.”
Ben turned to see Caspar walking in from the breezeway. “Caspar.”
“Of course, the hardest part was convincing Zain to move away from the beach.”
Ben walked over, memories rushing like a waterfall.
“Come here and let me look
