Page 13 of Valley of the Shadow
Giovanni smiled. “Is it that obvious?”
“There’s an efficiency about the way she moves,” Baojia said. “I’ve seen it most in professionals trained in krav maga. It was a guess.”
“A good one.”
“Guessing is my job,” Baojia said. “We only call it threat assessment because it looks better on business cards. But to answer your question”—Baojia glanced down at Sarah—“no. In my experience, the terror never leaves you. Small humans are remarkably fragile. It’s amazing they’re even born, isn’t it?” He brushed a lock of Sarah’s hair from her eyes. “An everyday miracle. Every night they get a little sturdier. A little stronger.” His eyes moved to Jake. “But even then—even when they’re grown like Ben—we will always worry. And with good reason. We know the worst of what this world can be.”
“We do.” Giovanni’s face was stoic. “I try to remember the best it can be to keep myself sane.”
Chapter Four
Beatrice felt the energy of familiar ground in her blood. Though she wasn’t an earth vampire, every rock and stream of the valley felt familiar. The crystal-clear night sky soothed her eyes, and the smell of the wind settled her heart.
Home.
She’d been returning to this place every year for as long as she’d known Giovanni Vecchio. She came here to heal. She came here to grieve. She came to find joy in stolen moments of peace and a pure river that quenched her soul. Waterfalls that dotted the slopes of the mountains and a winding river that cut through the valley.
Cochamó was home. And now she got to share it with the people who had become her chosen family. She hadn’t been painting a rosy picture for Natalie because of her circumstances. There was no better place to make the transition to immortal life.
As they broke through the trees and into the clearing that marked the boundaries of the grazing land, Giovanni rode up beside her and reached for her hand. She squeezed it, knowing he was thinking the same thing she was.
“I wanted it to be here for him.”
“I know.”
Even thinking of Ben made her heart hurt. “Do Isabel and Gustavo know?”
“I’m sure Carwyn told them.”
“Are he and Brigid here yet?”
“They are. Carwyn has been helping Carla with something, and I’m not sure what it is. But he’s been in Peru for a while. I think Brigid just joined him.”
“Peru?”
“Or Bolivia?” Giovanni shrugged. “I’m honestly not sure.”
Carwyn’s daughter Carla was Gus’s twin sister, and the only one of Carwyn’s living children Beatrice had never met. She was notoriously reclusive and didn’t often leave the wilderness.
“Is Carla in Cochamó?”
Giovanni shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
Beatrice saw lights in the distance and the red-gold flicker of a campfire. As they approached, a shout went up, and soon after the sound of horses galloping drew toward them.
Sadia woke from her perch in Giovanni’s arms and looked around. “Baba?”
“Yes, Sadia?”
“We home?” She yawned.
“We are in the adventure place,” Giovanni said. “Remember?”
“Mmm.” She pressed her face into Giovanni’s chest. “Ben?”
“No, Sadia. Ben isn’t here this time.”
Beatrice listened to their quiet conversation. Sadia still didn’t speak as much as other children, but Beatrice was beginning to think that was just her personality. She spoke when she wanted to, but she was an observer by nature.
