Page 161 of Dawn Caravan
Ben couldn’t dispute her, because that was probably a part of their anger at Tenzin. Maybe a big part.
“I will admit,” he said, “when I considered the idea, I always thought it would be one of them.” He took a deep breath. “And if that happened, I would be angry, but I would have you, and we’d work through it together. No matter what, I’d have you.”
She floated up to his face and framed his cheeks with both her hands. She leaned forward and kissed him, lingering at his mouth until her amnis rose in his blood and he felt their connection like a thousand invisible threads binding them together.
Tenzin holding his hand in Rome, while Ben grieved the first time he’d taken a life.
Tenzin next to him while he piloted a truck of rotting vegetables through China.
Dancing through a sweltering summer night in Venice.
Laughing through an overly formal ceremony in Edinburgh.
He remembered a kiss in a cave that had almost taken his life, and a sword in China that had ended his mortality.
She had been there. For everything, she had always been there.
“If it had happened the way they wanted it” —he whispered against her lips— “I wouldn’t be flying with you.”
“No.”
Ben kissed her again. “So I think things happen for a reason, even if we don’t see the purpose at the time.”
Tenzin smiled. “You really are Giovanni’s son.”
41
The safe house in Rome was not fancy, but it was nestled into a particularly green space bordered by the Tiber River and the Circus Maximus. The location was probably chosen because it presented the best balance of the elements that could be found in Rome, though Ben thought it also might have been because of the gelato place on the corner, which rivaled the one by the Pantheon in excellence.
Of course, it had been a while since Ben had gorged himself on gelato, so he decided that when Giovanni, Beatrice, and Sadia arrived in Rome, the best place to meet them was at Sadia’s favorite cremeria near the Pantheon.
“Tenzin!”Sadia ran toward her favorite vampire, holding out her arms. “You’re here! You’re really here!”
Tenzin leaned over and grabbed the small girl, lifting her into a hug before she set her on her feet. “And you are very tall now.”
Sadia huffed out a breath in the cool spring night. “Yeah. I am.”
“Hi, gremlin.” Ben felt like a whole lot of chopped liver.
“Hi.” She hugged him around the waist and lifted her arms. “Piggyback ride.”
“Are your legs not working?”
She threw her head back. “Pleeeeeease? I was on the plane for so long. Forever and ever.”
Ben rolled his eyes; then he lifted his little sister and put her on his back before he walked over to Giovanni and Beatrice.
Giovanni was smiling with everything on his face. His mouth. His eyes. Even his hair looked happy.
Beatrice was smiling with her mouth, but her eyes looked concerned.
“Hey, B.” Ben leaned over and gave his aunt a long hug. “I’m okay. We’re okay.”
“Mm-hmm.” Her smile was tight, and her eyes kept darting to Tenzin over Ben’s shoulder. “I want you more than okay.”
He took her shoulders in his hands. “I am far more than okay.”
His aunt examined his face. She pinched his chin between her fingers and stared into his eyes for a long time.
