Page 72 of The Second Sight
My gaze shifted to Romeca and Kyren, assessing them. Their presence complicated matters. yumboe were powerful, but their loyalties were to their own kind first. Would they risk themselves to save a human girl? Or was their only concern retrieving Kasi and taking her to their realm?
“The Bambara know of your presence now,” I said to them, measuring each word carefully. “You intervened directly. They will hunt you with the same fervor they hunt Kasi. This mansion is warded against supernatural detection. You should remain here while we formulate our rescue plan.”
Romeca’s suspicious eyes gleamed within their golden depths. She was ancient in her own right, not as old as me perhaps, but old enough to recognize the careful maneuvering in my suggestion.
“How generous,” she said, her tone revealing she perceived the offer as both protection and containment. “But before we discuss strategy further, I require a private word with you.”
“Anything you wish to say to me can be said in front of Kasi,” I replied.
“Not this,” Romeca insisted, her gaze unflinching. “What I must discuss concerns matters from before her birth.”
My suspicion deepened. What game was this fairy playing? Was she truly Kasi’s aunt, concerned for her welfare? Or was she merely another supernatural entity seeking to use Kasi.
I turned to Kasi. “Wait here with Lily.” I said softly. “I won’t be long.”
“Seven, I?—”
“Trust me,” I whispered. “Nothing she can say will change anything between us.”
I would protect this woman at all costs. From Desmond Moreau. From the Bambara Brotherhood. Even from her own fairy relatives if necessary. In four centuries of existence, I had loved truly only twice, and I would not lose Kasi as I had lost Basirah.
As I followed Romeca toward the adjoining room, I felt the weight of Lily’s gaze on my back. My sister knew me better than anyone alive. She witnessed my descent into grief-fueled rage after Basirah’s death. She would understand what I was prepared to do to keep Kasi safe.
The fairy wanted a private conversation, very well. But she would soon learn that a vampire who had walked the earth for four hundred years was not easily manipulated, especially not when everything he valued hung in the balance.
I followed Romeca into the adjoining chamber, a room few were permitted to enter. Antique weapons mounted on the walls, souvenirs from wars I’d survived and enemies I’d outlived. The massive stone fireplace dominated the far wall, flames leaping and crackling as if they sensed the tension between us. I positioned myself across from Romeca, maintaining enough distance to react if this conversation turned hostile. Four hundred years had taught me never to fully trust a fairy, especially not one who clearly disapproved of my bond with Kasi.
Romeca turned to face me. “I don’t want my niece with a vampire,” she stated bluntly, dispensing with pleasantries. Her directness almost earned my respect. Almost.
I allowed a cold smile to adorn my lips. “How fortunate, then, that your niece is a grown woman capable of making her own decisions.” I kept my tone level.
“You don’t understand what’s at stake,” Romeca insisted, stepping closer. “Kasinda is the daughter of Theia, descended from a royal line of yumboe seers. Her abilities could be extraordinary with proper training. Her place is with her people.”
“Her place,” I countered, “is wherever she chooses it to be.” I met her burning gaze. “And she has chosen me.”
“Has she? Or have you seduced her with vampire tricks?” Romeca’s accusation sort of hurt my feeling.
“I’ve done nothing to manipulate Kasi,” I said. “Though I should inform you that we have already mated.”
“Of course you have. All you vampires care about is blood and fucking.” Her voice dropped to a menacing whisper.
“I have taken her blood, and we have joined in body and spirit. It’s how I sensed her danger tonight. The blood bond between us allowed me to feel her completely.”
“You drank from her?” Romeca hissed, taking another step toward me. “You fed on the rightful yumboe queen’s daughter?”
“It was consensual,” I clarified, my patience wearing thin.
Romeca’s expression darkened, but beneath her anger, I detected a flicker of something else, calculation. “And Theia? What do you know of her whereabouts?”
The abrupt change of subject didn’t escape my notice. “Nothing,” I admitted. “But I had planned to help Kasi find her mother.”
“How gallant. You’ve taken her daughter as your mate without her knowledge or blessing.” Romeca’s tone was accusatory.
“I’m her protector now. Can you say the same? Where were you when she was growing up ignorant of her powers, when her visions terrified her, when she believed her mother had simply abandoned her?”
A flash of what might have been guilt crossed Romeca’s features before her expression hardened again. “We couldn’t reach her across the realms. The Bambara were hunting us. We had to protect all our fae kin.”
“And now you expect Kasi to simply run away with you?” I challenged. “To leave the life she’s built, the father who raised her, to follow you into some hokey fairy realm?”
