“Doctor Vecchio, are you sure that you will not take sustenance from one of the girls? You have been here for several weeks now. Arosh would be most disappointed that you have not fed properly.”

He leaned forward on the silk-wrapped chaise. “And where is our host this evening, if I may ask?”

Zarine’s eyes lit with amusement. “He is… occupied this evening.”

“He is occupied every evening.”

“He does not deprive himself. It is not his nature.”

Giovanni bit his tongue and glanced at Carwyn, who was sipping wine and frowning at a group of passing women.

As soon as they had arrived at the house, Carwyn had given Arosh the letter from Ziri. The ancient fire vampire had taken it, glanced at the unbroken seal, then promptly disappeared into the palace with a dozen girls.

They hadn’t seen him since.

Giovanni and Carwyn had been fed and watered. They had been given luxurious rooms and a tour of the house, which was filled to the brim with ancient treasures from all over the world. Arosh was a collector of all sorts of beautiful things. Art and women just seemed to top the list. There were also many treasures that looked Greek or Minoan in origin, but there was no sign of Kato, the fabled water vampire.

“Zarine, I do not wish to seem ungrateful—”

“Then don’t. You are being given the finest hospitality of my master’s home. It would be most unfortunate if you were not satisfied with that.”

Though her voice and pleasant expression never wavered, he could see the glint of steel in her eyes. Zarine, as much as the silent wind vampire, Samson, was Arosh’s most fervent and devoted security.

Carwyn spoke up. “Zarine?”

She turned toward the friendly vampire. “Yes, Carwyn?”

“All the women here… they do come willingly, do they not?”

She smiled. “And leave when they wish to. Samson simply alters their memories depending on where they want to go. He’s very gifted in that trait. Most are placed with one of my associates in the city if they want to work. Some desire husbands and families. They all receive what they wish. If they wish to leave.”

“But many don’t.”

She shrugged. “These girls… most of them did not have good lives before they came here. Here, they are my master’s treasures. His ‘jewels.’” She turned as Samson swept silently through the room and toward the front door.

The wind vampire was an enigma. He never spoke, and the Eastern European man had wild, grey eyes. He had been sired young, but his head was covered by an alarming shock of pure silver hair. Arosh called him his child, Zarine looked at him with affection, but the vampire moved through the house like a ghost.

Samson stopped for a moment when a younger girl caught the edge of his cloak. She pulled him down and whispered in his ear. The bruises on her face were still healing and one arm was set in a brace. She had appeared in the house the week before and been enfolded by the women of Arosh’s palace. The wounded girl placed a soft kiss on the vampire’s pale cheek. Samson gave the girl a slight nod before he disappeared into the black night without a word.

Zarine turned back to her guests with a smile. “As you can see, the girls are not mistreated here. Though, I appreciate your concern.”

The earth vampire only shrugged. “I have daughters of my own.”

Giovanni broke in. “Why doesn’t he speak?”

“Samson?”

He nodded.

“I do not know. He never has in all the time I’ve been here. He has a tongue.” Her eyes danced in amusement. “Of that, I’m quite positive. But I’ve never heard him speak.”

“And what about your master?” asked Carwyn. “Should we expect to see him soon? My friend here is trying to be polite, but that’s never been an affliction of mine. I cannot complain about your hospitality, but we really do need to speak with him.”

Zarine’s eyes softened. “I understand your impatience. Truly. And I know that you have traveled a long way, but Arosh is a king.” She shrugged. “He comes and goes as he pleases and currently, he is enjoying the pleasures of his women. He may not appear for days. Or weeks.”

Giovanni’s eyes widened. “Weeks?”

He tried not to think of his own woman waiting back in Rome. He missed his wife. He missed her teasing voice and her soft touch. He missed waking with her and falling asleep wrapped in her arms. He even missed their arguments. And, he was worried. He couldn’t deny it.

A particularly sweet-smelling girl walked past and his fangs lengthened in his mouth. A low growl built at the back of his throat. Arosh carried no stored blood. Why would he? He had a walking, giggling supply running around his palace. Carwyn’s voice broke through his hungry reverie.

“Gio, I’m going to hunt tonight. I already let Samson know. There are wolves and bears in the mountains around here. Would you join me?”

Unlike Carwyn, Giovanni’s system was not accustomed to subsisting on animal blood alone. He could hunt, but he knew he wouldn’t be as strong from animal blood as he would be from just a few drinks of one of the many willing women who surrounded him.

“I…” He looked toward his friend.

Carwyn looked back with understanding before he rose and patted Giovanni on the shoulder. He leaned down and whispered in Latin, “Drink. Make yourself strong. We both need to be strong. She will understand.”

Giovanni blinked and pushed back his longing for Beatrice. He nodded to a girl who had offered herself to him the day before.