Page 2 of Siege of Blood and Betrayal

Bran shakes his head, his dark, russet braids brushing the shoulders of his suit jacket. “To be summoned with no reason given is irksome but not unheard of. Let’s not borrow trouble before we hear him out.”

Father turns toward the main house and presses his shoulders back. “And the best way to hear him out is to get there and join the others.”

The three of us climb the slight embankment leading from the dock up to the main property. The imposing stone manse lies straight ahead. Transported here stone by stone from where it was originally built during the Middle Ages, the east coast sanctuary is a thing of beauty.

Many of the Fondatori who remain in Europe think those who moved to the New World cherish glass and steel and have forgotten their roots.

Not even a little.

My father has spent twenty-seven years teaching me about the strength, tradition, and power of the Old Country.

Our steps make no sound as we close the distance to the main house. Being true blood vampires, my father and I have preternatural strength and agility. It’s a testament to how skilled Bran is that he—a human—manages the same level of stealth.

I find it funny that humans fill their fiction with ex-military men, spec ops soldiers, and Navy SEAL warriors saving the day. Those men have nothing on a vampire’s Sacred Squire.

Not thattheyknow that.

Even if he were compared to that field of soldier, Bran would still be extraordinary. The man has the skills, heart, and loyalty of the greatest of warriors.

Father leads the way down the lighted pathway to the side entrance of the sanctuary. Once inside the stone alcove of the entrance, he draws his silver dagger from the scabbard at his hip. It began as a set of eighteen, each hand-crafted and balanced to its owners’ specification and each embellished with a gemstone to signify the family of power it represented.

The Vasari family is represented by the black diamond.

Believed to possess various metaphysical powers, the black diamond is associated with protection, grounding, strength, and resilience.

It’s also badass and looks deadly cool.

Moving to address the entrance panel, he wraps his fingers around the edge of the blade, grips tightly, and yanks the hilt back. Blood rushes through the sliced flesh and he places his bleeding palm onto the identity scanner. When the green light appears on the scanner, he inserts the blade of the dagger into the notch at the center of the door.

“It slides into place as easily now as it did over four-hundred years ago.”

It’s like my father has lived two lifetimes—first the two hundred years he lived in ancient Europe and then four hundred years here, standing witness to the development of a new world and modern times.

I can’t even imagine.

Turning the blade releases the latch on the door and allows him entrance into the sacred sanctuary as one of the Fondatori rulers.

The gathering hall inside the sanctum is a circular room with a round table giving no Fondatori king or queen advantage of position over another.

One thing you learn early on within the ranks of vampires is the quicksand of ego one must wade through when two or more rulers are in the same room.

Not all of them, of course, but oftentimes powerful beings who live centuries, amass fortunes, and live outside the reality and laws of men, become narcissistic and violent.

“Francesco. You are looking well, my friend.” Ashikaga Hikotaka from Kyoto bows and my father mirrors the greeting without hesitation.

“Life is what we make of it, and I am pleased with what I have made. You?”

“If you don’t enter the tiger’s cave, you will never catch its cub.”

“True enough.”

The Vampire King of Kyoto looks to Bran, who gives him a respectful nod, and then shifts his attention to me.

“Zane, welcome. I wasn’t expecting you. I shall arrange a place for you to sit near your father.”

I bow my head but not as deeply as Bran, because I am Fondatori nobility myself. “I am merely here to observe, sire. Standing behind my father’s throne will do fine. No need to make any special arrangements.”

“As you wish.”

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