“Of course.” Gedeyon spoke quietly to the young vampire on the boat before he led them up a path twisting through a sacred grove of coffee plants. The night birds went silent as they passed, wary of the new predators on the island. Gedeyon glanced at Lucien’s hand, which remained on the small of Makeda’s back, and lifted an eyebrow before he said, “Tarik will bring some blood before dawn. Hirut and the women cleaned the house for you, but I told them to leave the laboratory alone.”

“Thank you. I shut everything down before I left last time, so it should be fine.” Lucien took a deep breath. The air on the island was rich with green plants and rain, and the fecund scent of forest humus lay under the sharp bite of cooking fires. “No storms?”

“Ah.” Gedeyon lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Nothing significant. My people checked the generators and cleaned the solar panels. I started the water system. You and Makeda should be comfortable.”

“Thank you.”

“My brother, I am so happy to have you here.” Gedeyon grinned. “But you must tell me about this plane of yours. Who ever heard of our kind traveling on planes? What is the world coming to?”

Makeda was bathing and changing into clean clothes when Gedeyon passed Lucien a beaker of tej, the honey wine he brewed on his island, while they sat near the dock. “So you finally bring a woman home and Mother isn’t here.”

“Makeda’s not ‘a woman.’”

Gedeyon grinned. “My brother, what is wrong with your eyes? Is there any cure for it, do you think?”

Lucien smiled. “She’s not my woman. She is—was—a human colleague. She was almost killed by someone trying to stop us from finding a cure for the Elixir virus. That’s why Baojia turned her. I need her for the research.”

All amusement fled Gedeyon’s face. “This vampire stole her human life?” A quiet curse. Rarely did Gedeyon curse. “Did you kill this person?”

“I killed the one who did it, but he was a small fish.”

“Is she still in danger?”

“I told no one we were coming here. They will suspect Ethiopia because it’s my home, but the only human aware of our location is Giovanni Vecchio’s pilot.”

“So Vecchio knows you’re in Bahir Dar.”

“Mother says he’s trustworthy.”

“Saba says many things,” Gedeyon said. “But she’s not here right now, is she?”

“Do you know where she is?”

“Tobruk, last time I heard. Inaya sent a request for a visit months ago.”

“Is Inaya still stable?”

“As far as I know. The visit could be for any number of reasons. It might just be diplomatic.”

A distant kinswoman by mating, Inaya had taken control over her territory in North Africa only five years before, ousting a corrupt immortal with tenuous ties to Athens. The territory she controlled consisted of both Libya and Egypt, so she was carefully watched by everyone in the Mediterranean and North Africa. Since her first move was establishing a new overseer for the Suez Canal and lowering the tariffs paid by vampires traveling through the canal, she’d become almost instantly popular. She was seen as moderate, pragmatic, and cautious in her associations. A diplomatic visit from the mother of the African continent was a smart, but not particularly daring, political move.

“Is Ziri still involved with Inaya?” Lucien asked.

Gedeyon shrugged. “Probably not, but who knows?”

Lucien stared across the lake. “Saba wrote to me from the Caucasus.”

“Is that so?”

He sipped his tej. “Arosh and Kato are in the Caucasus. She was near the Black Sea before that.”

“Are you saying our sire is playing politics?” Gedeyon asked. “Lucien, you know she hates politics.”

“Yes, she does.” He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and watching a kingfisher dive from a branch. “She’s stayed out of politics for a thousand years, and now the Elixir threatens us all.”

“Sounds like you better get to work.” Gedeyon rose from his seat. “I suppose it’s a good thing you have such a pretty assistant this time. Though this one has fangs, so I’m not sure if you’ll know what to do with her.”

“Your opinion was not asked for, Gedeyon.”

“I’m just saying that vampire women have more bite, brother.” Gedeyon’s eyes lit in amusement. “Why do you think I prefer them?”

Only with his brother would Lucien joke of such things. “And when was the last time you were warm in bed?”

Humans were warm and soft. That’s why Lucien preferred them. They didn’t care about his age or political connections. His lineage wasn’t nearly as enticing as his skills in pleasuring them. Human lovers were simple.

And yes, short-lived. But that made their lives all the more precious.

“You are blind if you don’t see what is in front of you,” Gedeyon said. “Besides, I’m sure you and your lovely queen could create your own heat between you.”

He waved Gedeyon away and rose from his seat on the dock. Dawn was nearly on them. Lucien needed to check on Makeda and make sure she’d eaten. Then he’d be able to—

Oh damn.

He’d forgotten how spartan he kept the living quarters on the island. Other than the lab, which was very well-appointed, there were only a few outbuildings for storage, an outdoor washhouse and kitchen, and one tukul, the windowless round house he preferred for sleeping.