Chapter 8
Rachel
F alling back asleep was no longer an option, so I stared at the ceiling instead, replaying what Andrei had done during that phone call and what I had seen after I hung up. I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes, trying to rub away the sleepiness and frustration out of them.
Slowly, I threw the blankets off and swung my legs over the side of the bed, feeling the soft fibers of the carpet beneath my feet.
Everything felt so real in the vision.
Andrei somehow used the guardian bond to get inside my head. His words pulled me into a vivid sexual fantasy, taunting and teasing me until I was soaking wet and aching. Shaking my head, I walked over to my dresser and pulled open a drawer to grab a black T-shirt, shorts, and sports bra. As I dressed, a different face once again flashed across my vision.
Jase.
My true enemy. The one who tried to kill me and Valentina. Though we managed to escape that bastard, it still felt like his presence was always with me. It differed from the connection with Andrei. He felt like a tether in my head, waiting to be pulled.
Jase … Jase felt like he was always by my side, a constant ghost. What happened after that vision wasn’t the first time he’d popped into my head.
It was frustrating, to say the least. I wondered if it was because I couldn’t stop thinking about how Jase had been stalking me for four fucking years. Every time I thought about that, how he had watched me, made my skin crawl. He was the nightmare I wanted to escape from … not Andrei.
After brushing my teeth and splashing my face with cold water, I stepped out of my bedroom. I headed down the hall toward the kitchen, turned on the coffeemaker, and grabbed two frozen waffles from the freezer. When they popped from the toaster, I put them on a small plate, poured a large mug of coffee, and settled down at the table.
As I chewed on a piece of waffle, nerves retook hold of my stomach, turning the food into glue in my mouth. I swallowed the thick lump painfully and sipped my coffee. I was too on edge. The all-too-real phone call left me shaken, and I couldn’t relax.
I turned my arm over to see where Andrei’s nails had dug in. The skin was smooth now, but those angry red scratches from earlier weren’t a dream. The guardian bond had changed . No fucking way it was like this before. Tony and I never had the connection be strong enough to where he could physically touch me down the bond. If Andrei had found a way to exploit a previously unknown feature, I would never sleep peacefully again.
Jesus fucking Christ, I’m fucked.
I took another large bite of waffle, and the sweet flavor eased my mind a little. The sound of a hedge trimmer came through the curtained window. It was going to be another beautiful summer day in Venice.
Venice ... I thought about what Andrei had told me. Did he really know where I was, or was this just a warning from my subconscious? I could have also caused the scratches in my sleep.
I’ll check the call log again when I turn the phone back on later today.
When I finished my waffles and coffee, I carried the dishes to the sink to wash. Valentina had spent the following evening after we arrived to reinforce the existing protection spells and other security runes around the grounds. She knew we were intruding on Darius’s space, so she wanted to ensure that no one here would be in danger because of us.
It would take enormous magic to shatter the spells around the villa. Valentina said she often used the same spells to repel hunters during the thousand years she roamed until Maurice stole the ring.
My thoughts returned to the intense vision from earlier as I continued to lather the dish sponge with soap. Although Andrei was still in my head, I couldn’t get Jase out. Was Andrei fucking with me? Why was I seeing his bastard brother so clearly? Since I drank Jase’s blood at the church, it was as if his existence seeped into me. The way his arms wrapped around me as I drank his blood, the smell of him, the taste of him on my lips. How was it that someone like him could have such an impact on me? My initial impulse was to tell Valentina, but things between us had become pretty intense over the last couple of months.
At first, we bonded. She’d take me around Venice for a few nights and show me where she and my father frequented, including a hideaway wine bar with an incredible selection.
However, all she’d been talking about lately was the Black Onyx and how the Amavasya’s Tear would bring them down. Her entire focus had been on that fucking stone, and I’d have to be an idiot not to see what it was doing to her.
Footsteps from the hallway that led into the kitchen perked my ears, but I was too wrapped up in my thoughts to acknowledge who walked in.
Did the witches of Black Onyx and Lemurian deserve to die? Maybe.… But Valentina’s obsession with killing all of them and destroying magic was extreme. For fuck’s sake, she gets revived, has her daughter again, and has access to her magic. If it were me, I’d be thrilled and focused on building a relationship with my child. Since we arrived, she hadn’t asked about my life or interests other than learning what the coven did with me.
This is all too fucking weird.
“Earth to Rachel?” Luka’s voice broke my train of thought, and I looked over my shoulder at him, holding a mug. I hadn’t even noticed he poured himself some coffee. “Where’d your head go? I’ve been saying your name for over a minute. Did Gio give you a concussion yesterday?”
Shaking my head, I turned off the hot water, letting my thoughts dissipate with the steam. Then I refilled my cup. Sitting back at the table, I leaned against the chair, stretching my neck. Luka often joined me in the mornings for coffee before we parted for the day, whether going to the training facility, the library, or venturing into the city. Today, however, we had something planned together.
“Seriously?” he asked, smirking at me. “What gives?”
“Sorry.” I yawned. “I slept like shit last night.”
Luka shot me a skeptical look before taking a sip. So, I changed the subject.
“God, I love coffee, but I can never get the full pick-me-up that a human can, no matter how much I drink. Is it the same for you?” I asked.
Our alcohol and caffeine metabolism surpassed humans’, but as we weren’t fully vampires, we still needed rest to recharge. We could also gain a sense of functionality with the tasty bean juice. Lucy liked to joke that she could drink two cups of coffee and nap right after. Every year, her grandmother, or “Mita,” as she called her, would visit, bringing the most amazing Colombian coffee I’d ever tasted, grown on her family’s farm. Honestly, I had a hard time comparing any other brand after that.
God, I miss my best friend.
Luka offered his usual charming smile. “I can drink up to five cups of coffee a day and not feel a damn thing. But, weirdly, it does help curb my cravings when it gets close to when I need to feed. Vodka also helps.”
I laughed, raising my mug to him. “Cheers, then.”
As I lowered my mug, Valentina walked into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and pulled out a blood bag.
“Morning,” I said.
“Good morning, ma’am,” Luka added.
Valentina nodded before tearing open the bag and starting to drink. I could see the grimace on her face; she hated consuming cold blood, but she refused to hurt a human. Each time, she clutched her stomach as if she might throw up, often needing to cast the anti-nausea spell. Valentina was trying, but I knew it was only a matter of time before cold blood wouldn’t be enough.
Warming the blood beforehand could help, I theorized in my thoughts. We’ll try that next time.
Valentina had become a lot more secretive since we came to the villa. She would disappear with Darius for hours as soon as night fell, usually when everyone in the house had left to hunt or drink. It was always the same whenever I tried to sense her intention: veiled and elusive, even when she was trying to teach me magic.
Which I still hadn’t learned how to fucking control properly, goddammit. Valentina’s lessons were insightful.… I just couldn’t put them into practice the way she wanted me to.
As Valentina sat at the table, Luka offered her a slight bow of his head. “I spoke with Darius about today’s schedule,” she said.
“Does he want us back on the mats for training tonight?” Luka asked. Valentina still looked serious, but her eyes were relieved.
Something had changed in the last few days.
“Yes, you’ll get a chance to eat, go about your day, and then report at seven,” she replied. “Before you go, though, Rachel, I’d like to speak with you.”
“About what?” I asked dryly. Here we go.
“Aside from some magic study, your black eye from yesterday.” She tapped a long nail on the tabletop.
I scrunched my face. “Gio just got the upper hand, that’s all,” I explained, trying not to show annoyance. Valentina was pointing out my flaws again. “Come on. It healed in less than an hour. I’ll do better next time.”
“See that you do,” she said coolly. “You can’t allow anyone to land a blow, not even for a moment. I know you’re used to fighting against witches, and that knowledge is more than beneficial. But you need to hold your own against every kind of opponent. You can’t get knocked down.”
My temper flared at the implication. While I understood Valentina wanting to prepare me to fight against the covens, she was putting too much damn pressure on me. If I wasn’t as strong as she wanted me to be after two hundred years of fighting against witches, how in the hell would training with the other dhampirs change her opinion?
“Yeah, I’m aware of your ‘expectations,’” I said with air quotes. “You don’t need to remind me every goddamn day.”
There was a heavy silence, and Luka shifted uncomfortably in his seat before he stood. “Alright, that’s my cue. I’ll let you guys finish talking.” He raised his eyebrows at me. “I’ll meet you out front when you’re ready.” He bowed to Valentina and left the kitchen, leaving us alone.
I wish the ground would swallow me whole right about now.
Valentina ran her hand through her shining red hair and finished the last of her blood bag, swallowing back a gag. Despite my irritation, my heart tugged a little for her. She looked so human, so typical, that you’d never think she was the progenitor of the vampire race. She, or those acting on her behalf, committed so many atrocities. When Kylan had turned Valentina, he collared her with Lucifer’s ring and set her loose, letting her untamed appetite run rampant across the world. She became an uncontrollable, immortal monster.
But with how utterly bitchy she had become since we arrived at the villa, that was the only thing I had seen. Valentina’s temperament was all over the place. One minute, she was kind and helpful; the next, she snapped at me about my mistakes. It was like the two powers within her raged constantly, even without the ring’s influence.
Maybe she’s just a shitty mother.
Finally, Valentina leaned back in her chair, nails tapping on the damn table again. She wouldn’t stop looking at me.
She wanted me to speak first.
I cleared my throat. “Luka and I are going into the city to grab some breakfast and supplies for the training room: hand wraps, towels, and things like that. Do you need anything?”
She didn’t answer. From the slight wrinkle between her brows, it looked like my mother was trying to read my mind even though the ring prevented her from doing so.
I wonder why she still tries to do that.
“What’s going on with you and Luka?” she asked, raising a brow. “You seem awfully fond of one another. Too fond.”
“Wow,” I said, sliding out of my chair, but she gripped my wrist as I moved past her. Hard. Slowly, I turned to face her, letting out a sigh. “Luka’s gay. So, you can stop worrying that I’ll be distracted and not do the job you seem keen on me doing.”
As she stood to tower over me, I yanked my arm away.
“Oh, and just in case it hasn’t clicked yet, I’ve been alone for a really, really long time. No one has ever understood me like Luka, Ava, and Giovanni. No matter how hard you try, you can’t even comprehend what I’ve been through. And frankly, it’s none of your goddamn business. So, if you place your hand on me again, I won’t give a fuck how special you are to everyone behind these walls. To you, I’m some child who still needs her mommy. But here’s the thing: I may be your child, but I’m not a child. Never grab me like that again, or you’ll see how I treat those who do.”
Valentina’s eyes went wide. We had been dancing around each other for weeks now. I knew she was up to something and holding back plans that she and Darius had, but her lack of drinking from the vein made her dangerous. It was only a matter of time before something pissed her off enough, and she’d snap.
As we stared each other down, Valentina’s expression softened, and she stepped back. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Just … just be careful,” she warned.
I couldn’t help but smile at that. Valentina, acting like a concerned parent, was comical. Yet I appreciated her trying to be better than her demon moniker.
“When you train with Gio again, focus on overcoming his abilities, not his strength. He’s a dhampir of Earth magic, so you must counter him with Water. That’s how you beat him.”
I knew what I had to do, but knowing and doing were two different things. Gio fought like the ground was a part of him. My magic slipped through my fingers whenever I tried to harness it. While I could conjure up the power during training, it didn’t come naturally to me as it did to the others. I couldn't control the flow.
“You inherited my magic, Rachel,” she continued, as if she’d read my doubts. “You need to harness and control that power for what’s coming. Soon, I’ll tell you everything, and we’ll be ready to leave this place. But I need to see the change in you before I send you out there.”
She needed proof I was ready. Sorry to disappoint you, Mom.
I nodded, but doubt still lingered. Understanding wasn’t the problem—becoming what Valentina needed me to be was.
She moved aside so I could walk past her. “I’ll be back at six,” I said. “Gio can wait until later.”
The run from Mira into the island of Venice was always a great way to clear my head and test my speed against Luka’s. No matter how fast he was, I always beat him. He said out of every dhampir from that academy, I was the fastest one yet, and that definitely boosted my ego.
After Luka and I went to the Rialto Market and grabbed the training supplies, we sprinted over to Giardini Savorgnan, the park on the other side of the canal. We found a secluded spot, unfolded the blanket we had brought with us, and sat facing each other.
Once settled, I let my fingers brush over the blanket, focusing on the softness under my touch as I started grounding myself.
“You need to focus more today,” Luka started. “I know you’re distracted by how your mom has been treating you, but I can’t keep fighting her off.” He reached out and took my hand. “She’s been attempting to read my thoughts ever since she saw us hanging out, suspecting something.”
“And you’ve been able to kick her out every time?” I asked, and he answered with a single nod.
In the 1700s, Luka’s mother, Ana, left Croatia to join a new coven. When they were turned into vampires against their will, they had no choice but to form a clan called the Daughters of Dusk, with her being the only member born a Spirit witch.
Her telekinesis abilities allowed her to repel anyone attempting to mind-read. Oddly enough, his abilities were very similar to Valentina’s, and he discovered he could use compulsion just like her. Luka wondered if his vampire heritage played a role in that. So, when we started practicing, he instructed me to use my vampiric power as a source for the shield and then add my magic once I learned how to control it.
“It’s only a matter of time before she uses her abilities to force me to remove the ring,” I reminded him. “At this rate, I won’t be strong enough to stop her.”
“That’s what you have me for,” Luka said. “Now, just as we have been practicing since you approached me … focus. Until now, we have had limited ability to breach the walls between our minds. I think you should consider removing the ring.”
I looked down at my hand and shook my head. “I can’t. If I do, she’ll feel her powers vanish and think something happened. She will react … badly.”
“But if we don’t, you can’t truly feel what I’m doing, so you can resist it properly. The more practice you have, the easier it will be when your mother tries to do it to you. You can say you went to a safe place to remove it to give your hand a break or something.”
Removing the ring, even in this secluded place, held risks. I felt too vulnerable without it on. But if I didn’t learn ...
“Okay,” I said, swallowing down my nerves. “We’ll have a twenty-minute window after Valentina senses what’s wrong and sends one of the human guards to come find us.” I looked up at the brilliant blue sky before meeting his gaze. “She can’t exactly come out into the sun herself.”
I slipped the ring off, placed it between us, and closed my eyes. The sudden shift in the atmosphere caused my hair to dance in the wind, a swirl of power surrounding us. Luckily, we were alone in the garden so that no humans could get caught up in the spell.
Italy differed from the United States in terms of acceptance of the supernatural. We didn’t have to hide our powers because of the fear of the government charging into the park and killing us. As long as the magic never touched civilians, they left everyone alone. They didn’t know dhampirs existed, so if anyone witnessed this, they’d assume we were witches.
However, if Valentina or Darius were to catch us, we’d be fucked.
Luka’s hands reached out and gently touched my temples. I felt his powers come through, reaching deep into my mind to take control.
“Move your hands to the right,” he commanded. I felt the desire to listen, but I fought back. It wasn’t the same power Valentina had. I wasn’t a puppet on a string, obeying at will, but the desire leached into my thoughts, morphing into my own to obey.
“No!” I seethed, pushing back against his magic as the surrounding void strengthened. The beast within me roared, agitated by the intrusive magic. I loosened her reins, letting the vampire power trickle into my mind. I opened my eyes and saw the effect of the magic. The bubble of power was translucent, thinly veiled with dust, and loose grass kicked up from the earth. Its energy kept us pinned so that outside sources couldn’t interrupt us.
“Move your hands to the right. Now!” he ordered again. My hands twitched a little, and I fed more of my vampire self into my mind, willing a solid dark-blue wave of power to shove his away.
“Fuck you,” I said with a smirk. Luka let out a slight chuckle and gripped my still-twitching right hand.
“You’re losing control. Pull yourself back,” he instructed. “Fight the compulsion. Forget about everything else. Fight it, Rachel.”
My vampiric beast grinned wickedly in my head, but I shoved it aside and pushed harder and harder. Finally, Luka’s magic broke apart with a jolt, and the compulsion to obey snapped. Taking a deep breath, I slipped the ring back on, feeling the slight hum of power moving back into me.
Even now, the ring doesn’t seem to stir so much.
“Well, goddamn,” Luka said, letting go of my hands. “You did it.”
“This is only the start. I have to be one hundred percent perfect on this.”
I turned and looked at my phone, noting the time. “When are you meeting Alex?” I asked.
Luka blushed. “A few hours. He took the day off from the cafe to head into the city with me.”
“Have you thought about telling him you’re half-vampire?” I asked.
Luka nodded. “Every day. He’s often told me about his acceptance of the supernatural world, but I’m too afraid he’ll slip up and tell someone I’m something else. I don’t need that wrath from Darius if I fuck up.” He shifted and crossed his legs to get comfortable. “Just like you, we’ve worked hard to stay hidden. What’s a few more years until we can do it right and announce to the world that vampires can have children?”