Page 113 of Night's Reckoning
He didn’t want to see her. And he did. If anyone else had caused this—if he’d been turned against his will by another vampire—she’d be theonlyperson he would want. He would crave her advice and her comfort. She would hold him. She would put her arms around him and watch him while he slept and he would know—he wouldknow—nothing in the world would survive her fury or her revenge.
And eventually she would find something funny and make him laugh.
And they would be fine. He would be fine. They would figure it out together.
But instead, she’d been the one to do it. She hadn’t put her blood in his body, but Ben knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was the reason he was a vampire.
“You did this.”
She hadn’t denied it and she hadn’t looked a bit sorry. Guilty? Yes. But not sorry.
Why should she be? She had him exactly where she wanted him now, tied to her by a shared sire for eternity.
Maybe death was a better option.
Ben walked out of the bathroom, sat on the edge of the bed, and closed his eyes. A thousand images flashed before him. The sun setting over the beach in Malibu. The heat of midday in the rainforest in Puerto Rico. Free running at daybreak over the rooftops in Hell’s Kitchen. Strolling through the streets of Rome with Fabia teasing him about his appetite. Catching Chloe in the park so they could grab a bagel, sit on a park bench, and talk shit about tourists in Midtown.
And everywhere in his memories, Tenzin. More Tenzin. Still more Tenzin. Training together. Working together. Playing games and cooking. Dancing in the moonlight.
You told her you loved her.
He’d been dying and he’d thought she needed to know.
What a mess. What a complete fucking mess.
Ben heard a tap on the outer door and stood up, looking around the shattered room. “Just a minute.”
How did controlling air work? Clearly, something explosive had happened between him and Tenzin, but he had no idea. He could tell that something was happening, but he couldn’t tell what. Mostly he felt untethered. If he stopped moving for too long, he had a tendency to float.
Really, really disturbing.
He opened the door and saw Zhang. A rush of unfamiliar emotions hit him.
Familiarity. Fear. Hunger. Affection. Humility.
He had the urge to bow, and layered over that was a keen and powerful desire to please this stranger standing before him.
Ben let out a hard breath as tears returned to his eyes. “I don’t know…”
Zhang looked curious but said nothing.
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Zhang took a breath and let it out slowly. “I suppose that is not a bad place to start.”
“Okay.” Ben backed up and Zhang Guo, elder of Penglai Island, king of the Naiman Khanlig, general of the Altan Wind, ancient immortal—and father of the woman Ben had just had sex with—entered the room.
Shit.
The long-haired vampire looked around the battered room, looked back at Ben. Looked at the bed. Nodded. “It smells like sex in here. Let’s go somewhere else.”
Fuck. That was embarrassing.
* * *
Ben was wrappedin a fresh zhiduo of dark blue silk. His skin reacted to everything that touched it, but he tried to ignore the sensation. It wasn’t pain. It was just sensitivity.
“What are you feeling?” Zhang asked.
