“Yeah, why would a mage be into a hot vampire chick?” He cocked an ironic brow at me.
“That’s different. You aren’t with me because of some unresolved psychosis from a past love affair that may or may not have been orchestrated by a psychotic human. Face it, Tristan has issues.”
“The same could be said for the fact you’re with me.” He leaned toward me and whispered, “Daddy issues.”
I tilted my head and shot him a look. “I do not have daddy issues!”
“Riiight.” He rose and brushed his hands on his jeans. Behind him, the fire roared to life.
“Because that guy isn’t really my father. He was a sperm donor. That’s it.”
“So the fact that he was alive all this time and didn’t try to find you doesn’t play into this at all?”
I crossed my arms. “Absolutely not. It’s just that… he’s… he’s being unfaithful to my mother’s memory.”
Adam’s mouth fell open and a sharp laugh escaped. “Oh please. Sabina, your mother died almost fifty-five years ago. Surely you don’t expect a male to be celibate for five decades. Especially after he found out about Cain’s love spell.”
“Um, hello, she didn’t just die. She died giving birth to the kids he knocked her up with. Then he just disappeared.” I shook my head. “It’s not right and I’m not buying the whole ‘males have needs’ line of bullshit.”
Just then, the crunch of approaching footsteps reached me. I sat up straighter and looked toward the noise. I groaned audibly when I saw Nyx approaching.
“Awkward,” Adam said under his breath. He must have also realized Nyx had been close enough to hear our conversation.
I blew out a breath. “Hey, Nyx.”
She walked up with a solemn expression. A few tense seconds passed as we each tried to think of things to say. She rubbed her arms against the chill. “Sabina, may I speak with you privately?”
Adam raised an eyebrow. “I need to get more wood for the fire, anyway.” As he passed, he squeezed my shoulder. I wasn’t dumb enough to believe this was a comforting gesture. Instead, he was warning me not to kill my father’s girlfriend.
“What’s up?” I said, trying to feign a casualness I didn’t feel.
“May I?” She motioned to the space on the bench beside me.
I shrugged and scooted as far over as I could without falling off.
Once she was settled, she leaned her head back and looked up at the night sky, as if collecting her thoughts. “I love it here,” she said. “In Paris, you can’t see the stars.”
Okay, I thought. She wants to ease into this. I can handle that. “Oh yeah? Is that where you grew up?”
She nodded, her eyes still heavenward. “My family lived there until I was about seventy.”
In my head, I was calculating the fallout if I took advantage of the lack of audience and fulfilled my promise to Asclepius. On one hand, clearly my father would be really pissed if I killed his fuck buddy. On the other, if I made it look like an accident, I could mark it off my To Do list.
I didn’t have anything personal against Nyx, not really. If she wanted to bump uglies with a bitter mage, that was her business. But Asclepius was too serious a threat to ignore, despite Adam’s advice to wait and see. Still, he couldn’t have foreseen that this perfect opportunity would present itself so soon after our conversation.
To buy myself some time for more internal debate, I played along with her conversation. “Where’d you all move after that?”
She dragged her gaze from the celestial display to look at me. “We didn’t move anywhere. I escaped after Cain murdered my mother and father.”
My mouth fell open. That must have explained why Georgia’s friend had met Nyx in Lyon. She’d been on the run. “I’m sorry to hear that.” Shit. I didn’t want to sympathize with her. “Do you know why he killed them?”
“I have theories, but it was a long time ago.” Her tone told me she just didn’t want to get into it. “After it happened, I moved all over Europe. Part of me was terrified he’d come after me, too. I spent more than a century always looking over my shoulder. It takes a toll on a person. The constant fear. And the soul-crushing loneliness.” She shrugged, as if she were telling someone else’s story. “I suppose a psychologist would claim I was depressed, and I guess I was. Anyway, there’s this bridge in Budapest—the Chain Bridge. Have you heard of it?”
I shook my head, wondering where all this was going. I looked around quickly. The assassin I used to be was weighing the variables. We were very alone. If I could woo her into taking off the vest, my problems would be solved.
“It’s glorious at night with its light reflecting off the dark waters of the Danube. Buda Castle is nearby and the bridge offers a breathtaking view of its towers and crenellations.” She sighed wistfully and then shook herself out of her reverie. The longer she talked, the harder it was to work up the nerve to just off her and be done with it.
“It was the perfect setting for my suicide.”
Even though the fact that she sat right next to me proved she hadn’t gone through with it, my stomach cramped. I’d had my share of troubles, but none so horrible I’d be willing to kill myself. I couldn’t imagine what kind of agony she had to have been in to make that decision. More than that, though, I didn’t want to sympathize with her. “But vampires can’t drown.”
Crap, what are you doing? my vampire self yelled in my head. Her having a death wish could work in my favor. Don’t be an idiot, the other side of me replied. You know it’s wrong. Besides, Adam will never speak to you again. And with good cause—you’re not that cold-blooded killer anymore. Right?
Nyx smiled. “They can if they eat the forbidden fruit first.” I couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped my lips. She rubbed her hands together as if trying to get warm despite the fire’s heat. “It’s silly now, in retrospect. But I spent hours at the market looking for the perfect apple. Did you know the forbidden fruit comes in hundreds of varieties? So many shapes and colors. Different flavors—sweet, tart, everything in between.”
I frowned and shook my head. Despite my own immunity to the forbidden fruit, I hadn’t ever really considered sitting down and actually eating one.
“But finally I found a ripe juicy red one after staring at the apple cart for nearly an hour. The salesman thought I was crazy.” She laughed at her younger self.
“Jesus, Nyx.”
She patted my leg. “Don’t worry. I didn’t jump.” She winked.
“What stopped you?” I asked her.
The vampire on my shoulder yelled, What’s stopping you?!?
“Your father.” She let that hang in the air for a moment before she continued. “Thirty years ago, he was just starting to put together our little army. He spent several years tracking down rumors of other beings who’d lost loved ones by Cain’s hands. One by one, he convinced each of us to join his cause.” Her eyes got this faraway look and a ghost of a smile flirted with her full lips. “He looked so handsome that night. So angry, too. He pulled me away from the railing and yelled at me. I cried, of course. Not because he yelled or even because he stopped my plan.”
“Why, then?”
“Because I was so relieved. Him showing up to stop me? It was a sign from the Great Mother herself. She sent Tristan to give me a reason to go on living.”
I blew out a rush of air. “Wow.”
She smiled. “Yes, wow. It wasn’t hard for me to decide to join his cause. It’s not that I had some hunger for revenge. I knew I’d never get my family back. But I was so tired of being alone. It didn’t take long for our group to become my new family.”
“I’m sure your attraction to him played a role, too.” The minute the words left my mouth, I felt horrible. She’d just trusted me with such a personal story that she didn’t deserve judgment from me. “I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “That was unfair.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s true. I was quite taken with your father from the beginning. In addition to admiring his looks, I saw him as my savior. A potent combination for a lonely girl.” She nudged me with her shoulder, as if I’d been there myself. Honestly, I hadn’t, not really, but I forced a laugh anyway. “But Tristan wanted nothing to do with me besides ordering me around. I didn’t have any talent for weaponry, but I’d always been a bookworm. So I was put in charge of researching and documenting everything I could find on Cain. Looking back, I think sticking me in dusty old libraries was Tristan’s way of keeping me out of trouble.”
“So what changed things?” I asked, motioning vaguely in the direction of the villa.
“I finally wore him down. I was quite determined in my pursuit, but still it took most of two decades.” She smiled broadly then.
“Damn. Twenty years?” I laughed despite myself. It was too easy to forget this was my father we were talking about.
“Oh yes, but some males are worth the wait.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I said.
“Because I need you to understand that our relationship isn’t just a fling.”
I stiffened. “I never thought that.”
She nodded, accepting that. “But I also want you to know that even though Tristan has been my lover for ten years, he is still in love with your mother.”
I squirmed. “You don’t have to say that—”
“Don’t I?” She raised a brow.
“No. I didn’t know my mother. And until a week ago, I thought Tristan was dead. I have no emotional attachment to either of them. So save your breath if you’re worried I think he’s betraying Phoebe.” I paused, remembering what Tristan told me earlier. “Besides, Tristan believes he was manipulated into falling in love with my mother. I find it hard to believe he continued to carry a torch for her once Valva told him.”