Page 61 of Dawn Caravan
She sat in a chair and glared at him, her arms crossed over her chest. “I would just like to point out that the man who was convinced he was going to turn into a monster if he became a vampire is still the man with an overdeveloped sense of honor toward humans who don’t deserve it.”
“This isn’t an honor thing. It’ll just be easier—”
“Tell the truth—you don’t even like hunting, do you?”
He leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms, mirroring her posture. “Why would I need to when there are perfectly willing human donors available when I want to drink?”
A slight flush came to her lips. “I bet they love you.”
“I tip well.”
“That’s not why they love you.”
“Tenzin…”
She said nothing, but the raised eyebrow said enough.
“I don’t have time for this.”
She laughed. “Yes, you do. You have time, Ben. Plenty of it now.”
“Are you trying to piss me off?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it. “Hmm.”
“Are you actually thinking about what you’re going to say?”
“I am attempting in this new life to be more introspective.” She pursed her lips. “So far the results have been mixed.”
“What new life?”
She turned her eyes to him, and Ben felt a sudden sense of vertigo. Her eyes were ancient. Too often it was easy to write her off as a mercurial, easily distracted magpie.
She wasn’t.
Tenzin was an immortal over five thousand years old. She’d been born in a time before history was written. She’d seen the land reshape itself and civilizations rise and fall.
He was a child compared to her. Everyone was.
Tenzin walked over, nudged him to the side, and closed the door.
Ben was frozen, still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Do you know how many nights it has been since you were changed?”
“About two—”
“Eight hundred twenty-six.” She looked up. “I counted.”
“Why?”
“Because we both lost important things that night. You lost your human life, and I lost the one human who truly saw me and wasn’t afraid.”
His chest felt tight. “Nima?”
“Nima loved me, but she always feared me.”
The urge to touch her was impossible to ignore. He reached out and ran a finger under her bottom lip.
