It suddenly dawned on me that he probably didn’t believe me. If I hadn’t lived through it, I would have claimed it all was madness. The naturi hadn’t been seen in centuries, seeming content to fade into oblivion.

“Doors,” he suddenly said, the word coming out ragged and breathless. Valerio turned his eyes to finally meet mine and he slowly pushed away from the wall. He took a couple steps closer to me but maintained a large distance. “In the lower levels beneath the hall, great iron doors were placed before the rooms where we sleep during the daylight hours. Another iron door was placed before one of the rooms, and guards stand at it during at all hours of the day and night. No one dared to ask the Coven why the doors were added, but everyone knows that iron affects only one creature. I spent one day at the Great Hall. At sunrise I no longer find rest within the shelter offered by the Coven. If the Coven does not feel safe on San Clemente, then none of us will be.”

“The naturi are coming. The next new moon is in three nights, as well as an old pagan holiday. I think the naturi will try again to break the seal then,” I explained. Placing my left hand flat on the floor, I tried to find the will to push back to my feet but couldn’t. “I cannot begin to guess at what the Coven plans. You’re older than most. I assumed that you might know more.”

“I know nothing,” he admitted with a shake of his head. “Most of the court is a witless bunch, prone to gossip. If any of them knew what was going on, I believe I would have heard by now.”

“Macaire will try soon to meet with me privately,” I murmured, dragging my gaze back up to his face. A new frown pulled at his full lips, drawing deep lines of worry in his cheeks. It somehow added to the distinguished age of his features.

“More games,” he muttered, absently pacing the room. I had a feeling he was talking to himself more than to me.

“Jabari and I have had…a falling out,” I said, fumbling for some phrasing to encompass my hatred for a creature I had once loved and respected. Everything fell short of what I needed, but it wasn’t important.

“More games,” Valerio repeated, sounding more confident.

“I will not be a pawn for the Coven,” I firmly stated.

Valerio stopped pacing and looked down at me. A small sad smile slipped across his mouth and glittered in his eyes. “Firefly, that is all you have ever been.”

“Even for you?”

His smile grew larger and more sheepish at my question. Extending his hand to me, I ignored it until he finally spoke. “I have never used you as such, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t or won’t if the opportunity presented itself.”

I hated his answer, but it was the truth, which was more than I was getting from anyone else. Struggling to keep from gritting my teeth, I placed my left hand in his so he could help me to my feet. Yet he paused unexpectedly, staring down at my hand. It was only when I felt his thumb run over my ring finger that I realized he was looking at the ring he had given me a few centuries ago. It was a silver band with ocean waves inscribed in it in an old Grecian style.

“You still have it,” he whispered, not trying to keep the surprise from his voice.

“I like the memories,” I admitted as he finally pulled me to my feet.

“And the creature those memories are tied to?”

“He’s tolerable some nights,” I teased, brushing a kiss across his cheek near his ear.

“I believe you found me more than tolerable some nights,” he reminded me, his voice dipping down to a husky tone. He still held my hand in his, increasing the pressure slightly. I was being drawn back into him, his allure, his promise of happiness away from all the chaos that seemed to currently rule my life.

“Valerio…” I started, but paused when my voice threatened to fracture. When I could finally speak again, the words would drift no higher than a whisper. “What games are you playing?”

The nightwalker looked up at me, a smile back on his lips, but it somehow failed to reach his eyes. “I’m just trying to survive.”

He tilted his head back and pressed a kiss to my jaw just below my ear. “We do not have to go back,” he whispered, his lips skimming across my cool flesh. “Stay with me. Away from the naturi.”

“And keep running from the Coven?” I asked, letting my eyes fall shut. For a moment the idea was truly tempting; more tempting than the fantasy Sadira had dangled before me last night because this one was real. To go back to my nights of hunting and pleasure with Valerio at my side. No more naturi. No more Coven Elders. No more worrying about whether a nightwalker could protect himself without me. No more horrid weight of responsibility dragging me down.

“In time, they will forget about you.”

With a sigh, I took a step away from him and blinked back some unexpected tears. “No, they won’t. And the naturi won’t go away because I go into hiding with you.”

“I blame Jabari for this silly noble streak in you. It certainly didn’t come from me,” Valerio teased before brushing his lips across mine. “But the offer still stands.”

“I can’t spend the rest of my existence running from Jabari.”

“Facing him will only shorten your existence.”

“I—”

Mira!

The sudden, unexpected shout from Tristan in my head nearly put me back on my knees. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get adjusted to so many creatures stomping around in my brain.

No shouting, please. I briefly wondered if the sarcasm would translate this way. I never spent a great deal of time speaking with other nightwalkers that way. I never felt confident that they could see or hear only what I wanted them to, and I liked my privacy.

The naturi. They’re here!

I didn’t question him. At any other time I would have laughed and called him crazy, but not now. A naturi was already lounging in the catacombs of the Great Hall and Rowe was sulking on San Michele. Why couldn’t more be strolling down the fractured sidewalks of Venice?

“We have to go back,” I said, turning my attention to Valerio again.

“What’s wrong?”

“The naturi are in Venice.” Those words actually caused the vampire to backpedal a couple steps away from me, and I honestly couldn’t blame him. A nightwalker did not go marching into any area where the naturi were known to be. It’s why you never heard tales of vampires wandering the woods alone on a moonless night.

“No,” I snapped, instantly closing the distance between us. I wrapped my fists in the lapels of his jacket, holding him close to me. “You and I are going back to Venice now or I will give you a nasty sunburn. You have to see them. You need to understand.”

“Mira—”

“Now, Valerio!”

I didn’t have a chance to make another argument when I felt the push of magic as it ran its hands through my body. There was only time to blink when I found us standing in my suite at the Hotel Cipriani. I opened my mouth to thank him when Valerio wrapped his arms around me, pressing my body tightly against his as he leaned forward. A second later there was the telltale thunk of a knife hitting wood.

Valerio stood, pulling me back into an upright position. We both looked around to find a silver knife with a black handle embedded in the door frame of one of the bedrooms. Our eyes then traveled over to Danaus, who stood frowning at us.

“Does he always try to kill you when you enter a room?” Valerio teased, slowly releasing his hold on me.

“We have a special relationship.” I stepped away from the nightwalker. I didn’t have to say anything to Danaus. The hunter had been startled by our sudden appearance and reacted. It was that kind of speed that had kept him alive for so long. I was even particularly pleased with the fact that Valerio obviously had the ability to come and go where he wanted. I’d always thought there were more rules and limitations to that type of travel. Unfortunately, asking Valerio directly was a waste of time. That wasn’t the kind of information he would volunteer.