After Daybreak Part 14

Faith always tries to be hard and uncaring, but I sense vulnerability in her. "When we were in Los Angeles, I saw your face when Richard leapt through the window with Sin." It was a fall from a height that would have killed a human. "You were terrified, worried about him. You have strong feelings for him."

"Let it go, Dawn."

But I can't. I care about Richard. I know he's hurting. I think Faith might be as well. "You once said something about a night you shared together . . . when was it? A hundred years ago?"

"Ninety-eight, but who's counting?"

"Obviously you. And Richard."

That seems to get her attention.

"When I first met him," I say, "I was with Victor. And so much was happening in the city, and we had no idea what was going on, and Victor was planning to overthrow his father, and you know what Richard asked? He asked if you were okay."

With a long-suffering sigh, she sits up. "You're like a little parakeet I once had. It kept chewing on its cage, on the exact same spot, for two years. It drove me mad, so one night I opened the cage and the bird flew away. Do you know what happened next?"

"What?"

"The thing came back and kept chewing."

I laugh a little.

"I know you care about him," I say.

"The parakeet?"

"No. Richard."

"Don't be silly. I can't. I won't." She studies me for a moment. "We should do something special with your hair before we go to see the Council."

"Faith." Reaching across, I grab her hands, feel her tense up, see her eyes widen in alarm, but I'm not going to let go.

"What are you doing?" she whispers, and I wonder if she ever lets anyone truly touch her. Not in the flirtatious way that Xavier did, but in a comforting way.

"You can confide in me," I tell her.

"You're human. You have emotions. You'd never understand."

"Try me."

"We can't love."

"You love Victor."

"No. I . . . he's my brother. I don't want him to do something that will get him killed, that's all."

"Because you care about him. That's love. What happened that night with Richard?"

She shakes her head, squeezes my hands. "He was sweet."

"Go on," I prod.

"We . . . he was my first. Oh, h.e.l.l, he's been my only, but don't you dare tell him that."

She looks totally disgruntled.

"Your secret's safe with me," I a.s.sure her.

"It better be. I can take you out without even mussing up my hair."

I don't think I'd go down that easy, but I'm not going to fall for her change in topic. "So you regret that you were together?"

"Of course I do."

I wrinkle my nose. "He wasn't any good?"

"Richard's good at everything. But that night I was so nervous. He was tender, gentle, made me feel safe." She rolls her eyes. "Then he spoiled it all by telling me that he loved me."

"And you didn't believe him? Faith, I've seen the way he looks at youa""

"No, I did believe him. That's why . . . I want forever and we don't get that."

I stare at her, trying to make sense of her words. "You don't die. Of course, you get forever."

"Not when it comes to love. Don't you see? He won't love me forever, and when he casts me aside, it'll hurt. It's better not to fall into that whirlpool of emotions."

"So you're scared."

"I'm practical. My mother was cast aside. Victor's mother was cast aside. Sin's."

"Maybe Richard loves you enough to hold you forever."

"But what if he doesn't?"

"Sometimes you just have to take a chance."

"Yeah, well, right now, I think I'm taking enough chances. You are aware, aren't you, that we might not leave this city alive?" She pulls free of my hold, lies down, and presents her back to me. "And I need my beauty sleep."

"You know, Faith," I say quietly, "vampires and humansa"we're not so different. We all want to be loved forever. It's scary to trust someone with our hearts, but if we don't . . . loneliness can hurt, too."

She doesn't say anything. Sliding under the covers, I stare at the darkness hovering around the edges of the room. So much is at stake tomorrow, but I somehow manage to slip into the black and fall asleep.

Chapter 10.

I awake to the rumble of thunder. Through narrowed eyes, I watch Faith sitting at the vanity, clipping up her red hair with a diamond-encrusted comb. She's dressed in her usual attire of crimson leather pants and a scarlet silk blouse. Her heels match the outfit.

Sitting up, I freeze at the sight of a pile of clothes at the foot of the bed on my side.

"You'll want to wear those," Faith says as she rises gracefully to her feet.

I inch forward and touch the supple black leather. "I brought a suit of my own."

"This will hug your body, make it easier to move if we get into a fight."

I jerk my gaze over to her. "You really think that's going to happen?"

"We just need to be prepared. You'll also want to wear your hair up, show the ink on your neck." She tosses me a pearl comb.

I study it. It's beautiful, but I can tell that it's ancient, maybe as ancient as some of the vampires I'll meet today.

Faith walks to the door, stops. "I don't want anything to happen to you because you mean something to Victor, not because you mean anything to me."

She does care, whether it's for Victor or me. She just can't admit it.

"I get that," I tell her.

"Good." She glances back. "Dinner is on its way up, so hurry."

As I get dressed, I have to admit that the leather feels great against my skin and it moves with me. Because it fits so snugly, it doesn't get in the way when I test it with a few defensive moves. The top is a little low for my tastes, but Faith provided me with a sleek jacket that goes over it. Guess she knows me better than I realized. I wear my hair up like she suggested. Then I strap on the holster and stake that Victor gave me shortly after we first met.

I study my reflection in the mirror. I look kick-a.s.s tough.

When I step out of the room, my gaze immediately goes to Victor. He's standing near the center window, the draperies pulled back. I can hear the rain hitting the gla.s.s and am vaguely aware of lightning flas.h.i.+ng in the distance. But my attention is riveted on him. He's wearing a dark blue suit. The corner of a red handkerchief embroidered with two overlapping Vs peers out from the pocket over his heart. He looks Old Family, so incredibly Old Family.

He gives me a long, slow once-over. "Nice."

I tug on the jacket. "I'm not sure this is really me, but it doesn't hamper movement, so I'll live with it."

"Don't even think about swapping the jacket for a hoodie," Faith says.

I glance over my shoulder and see her sitting on the couch, winegla.s.s in hand. Richard is standing off to the side, also drinking wine. He's wearing a suit very much like Victor's, only it's brown. It matches the leather in the narrow strip of braided hair that runs along the side of his head. I want to tell him not to give up on Faith, to persevere, but I suppose after ninety-eight years, his patience is probably wearing thin.

We all sit down to dinner. Rare steaks. The potatoes are covered in cheese. The others don't bother with those, which leaves more for me.

"I can't believe the hotel has a cook when it has no guests," I say.

"Louis prepared the meal," Victor says. "He kind of takes care of everything."

From my place at the table, I have a perfect view of New Vampiria. Every time the lightning illuminates the sky, I see the silhouettes of crumbling structures. In books, I've seen pictures of the world before the war. We lost so much. The very foundation of our society. For some reason, I thought the remnants of it would still exist here.

"What are you thinking about?" Victor asks.

"Tegan. She told me to go to a museum for her. Is there even one here?"

"There is. Maybe we can find time for it after we visit with the Council."

"Really?" Faith asks. "We're going to go sightseeing?"

"If we have the opportunity," Victor tells her.

"You're optimistic." She looks at me. "You do know that bringing a human into the Council chambers is punishable by death."

"What?" I set down my fork. The steak that was tasting so good is suddenly heavy in my stomach.

"Faith exaggerates," Victor says. "Besides, you're not completely . . . human."

"Have you heard from the Council?" I ask.

"Yes, they're granting us an audience at nine."

"And it includes me?"

"It does."

I shove my plate aside. This is exactly what I was hoping for, but I'm not sure I really thought it would happen. I think about the two months of training that Rachel put me through before I ever was alone with Valentine. Everything had to be perfect: my dress, my manners, my knowledge of etiquette. One wrong move and he would have killed me. The oldest of Old Family are not very tolerant of mistakes.

"Maybe we should practice, go over the rules of etiquette, make sure that I don't mess this up."

Victor takes my hand. "Just be yourself."

"And nauseatingly polite," Richard adds.

"Don't speak unless spoken to," Faith tosses in.

"Never turn your back on the Council," Richard says.

"Never raise your voice," Faith counters.

"Never insult."

"Never anger."

"Never trust."

"Never expect understanding."

"All right, enough!" Victor demands, and I think that, like me, he realizes that Faith and Richard weren't really offering me advice on the Council as much as they were referring to each other. "I need to know you both have our backs."

"My loyalty doesn't s.h.i.+ft," Richard says.

"You're my brother. You can count on my support," Faith a.s.sures him.