“With me,” he said, “or you don’t take a step out of the building.”

She tried to tug her arm away, but Lucien held firm. Ruben didn’t raise a hand, not even when Makeda looked to him for help.

“Sorry, Mak. I made bad decisions my first year that I’ve had to live with for seventy. I’m with Lucien on this one.”

Makeda said nothing more but left her arm in Lucien’s hold and began walking. As soon as she hit the outside air, her face turned toward the ocean.

“It wants me,” she said on a breath.

He’d wondered whether she’d have an affinity for fresh or saltwater. Apparently Baojia’s blood ran true. Makeda needed the sea.

“Come with me,” he said. “Slowly. Be deliberate in your movements, or you’ll appear too fast to the human eye.”

“But there’s nobody around.”

“Practice now. Build the discipline now. Your mind will be particularly malleable for the next six weeks.”

“Six weeks? Exactly?”

“Very near to exact.”

Makeda paused and thought as she slowly walked down the cliff.

“Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?”

He wasn’t surprised she’d made the connection. “Related, in my opinion. Amnis enhances processing and that involves the physical as well as the mental. It seemed natural there would be a link between human and vampire cognitive development. The next two years will be crucial for you.”

She continued to pepper him with questions about the science as they walked at what felt like a snail’s pace down the cliffs. “Does a twenty-four-month time line hold in vampires?”

“Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that, but there’s no way to test it.”

“Has human cognitive theory affected how newborns are trained in the modern era?” Makeda asked.

“For some of the more scientifically inclined.”

Lucien relaxed as they walked and talked at deliberately human speed. Her arm remained in his grip and—whether she realized it or not—her face remained angled toward the ocean. No wonder, as it was the element aligned with her amnis. The tension in her skin eased as the sea air touched it.

“I have my own theories,” he continued. “My mother scoffs at them.”

“Oh?” She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “I imagine so. How were you trained as a newborn vampire?”

“She made me hunt lions.” Lucien shrugged when Makeda’s eyes went wide. “They weren’t endangered then. Lions are very good at hiding, and they are very patient.”

“But vampires are faster than lions.”

“So are gazelles, but lions still kill them.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Makeda couldn’t stop breathing in the misty air. It was manna. She felt as if she could survive on the sea air alone.

Until she scented a hint of human blood.

Lucien’s hand tightened on her arm, and she heard growling.

“Calm, Makeda,” he said. “Calm.”

The feral sound was coming from her own throat.

“Stop.” She forced her feet to a halt and tore her eyes from the mouth of the cave where the delectable scent originated. “I want to walk in the ocean.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to think.”

Lucien looked surprised, but he said, “Fine.”

He walked with her down to the water, and Makeda slipped off the loose slippers she was wearing. She’d worn nothing more than scrubs for the past week. Nothing else felt comfortable against her skin.

Makeda walked into the water up to her knees and sank down, taking Lucien with her. She didn’t care if he got wet; she didn’t care about anything but getting the water on her skin.

“Give yourself a minute,” Lucien said. “You should have been brought to the sea before this. I am sorry, Makeda.”

“I’ve been sitting in the tub a lot,” she said. “It helps me think. But this…”

It was heaven. The cold saltwater soothed her skin and filled her senses. Instead of sorting through a myriad of jumbled sensory information, Makeda could finally think.

Lucien said, “Most water vampires show an affinity toward either saltwater or fresh. You obviously take after Baojia.”

Makeda didn’t want to think about Philip or the other choice still sitting in front of her. Not now, not when the water gave her the first real peace she’d felt since she’d woken in this nightmare. She didn’t know how much time passed, but the tide had risen considerably when she felt ready to speak again.

“I don’t want to kill Philip,” she said. “Or I do… but I don’t want to give in to the urge, if that makes sense. I don’t want to lose control.”

Lucien was looking at her, and she couldn’t interpret his expression.

“Is that abnormal?” she asked. “Should I want to kill him? Will this affect my predatory instincts adversely?”

“Your predatory instincts will never be a problem,” he said. “We are predators to the core. I’m simply amazed you’re thinking this clearly.”

“When I become agitated, I list the bones in the human body. If I’m still agitated when I finish, I start on the muscular system.” She ducked her head under a wave, spitting out the overwhelming taste of salt and seaweed. “It helps.”

“I’ll remember that.”