Life's Blood

Author:Gow, Kailin [Gow, Kailin]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, Love & Romance, Horror, Coming of Age, Teen & Young Adult, Paranormal & Fantasy, Genre Fiction, Literature & Fiction
Publisher: The Edge
Published: 2011-06-23T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Rome was the most beautiful place Kalina had ever seen. From the moment that she arrived with Octavius in the center of the historic city – where the salmon-colored buildings and golden palazzos and cobblestone streets all vied with each other for her attention – she felt as if she were living not merely in another country, but another century. Although it was winter there, and a light mist of fog clouded them (all the better, Octavius had said, for although he could withstand the sun he found it nonetheless vaguely uncomfortable in the heat of summer), the bright lights and colors of the city nevertheless shone through. Octavius strolled with Kalina on his arm through the whole city – the Baroque facades in Piazza Navona, where Kalina gasped and covered her mouth at the sight of the Bernini statues, the awe-inspiring St. Peter's Basilica (Octavius tactfully remained outside; even as a powerful vampire, he was unable to physically enter Vatican City), and the Roman Forum. It was this last sight that brought Octavius into morose silence, and while Kalina traipsed from broken column to broken column, Octavius remained grim, shadows darkening his marble face. Was he thinking of the home he had lost – Kalina wondered? The land he had left behind, although he stood physically on the same ground?

Octavius’ villa overlooked the Villa Borghese, the leafy gardens that had once belonged to one of Rome's most powerful families, perched with a panoramic view of the city at the top of the Spanish steps. Octavius gave her a guest room down the hall from his own and, in a supreme gesture of confidence, gave her the only key. “I want you to know,” he said, “that my intentions are highly honorable.”

From the moment they touched ground in Italy, Octavius had seemed like a different man altogether. His serious, military bearing – his cruelty – had vanished. It was clear to Kalina that Octavius was home again, in a home that he loved, and that he no longer had any need of the harsh tactics he had displayed earlier.

“I do not love violence,” he said, as they sat their first evening on the balcony, with Rome glimmering in the moonlight at their feet. “But I see why it is necessary. Vampires, especially. We are a dangerous race. And those of us who are strong...it falls to us to solidify our power, if we are honorable – for if we do not, who might rule in our stead?”

“But isn't that the argument of every dictator? Every mass murderer?” Kalina shot back. “We're doing it for the common good. How do you know you're sincere?”

Octavius threw up his hands. “Ah, my girl,” he said. “You have me there – I don't. I know only that I have not yet drunk your blood, because I wish to become human one day. And you know I am an honorable vampire – for I have thus far kept to my word.”

“You used compulsion – not on me, but on my friends, my brother's boss.

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