She nodded. “We do. Tenzin vouches for him and so does Lucien.”

Giovanni sat for a moment, thinking. Then he sat next to her on the couch. “The Thracian has always been trustworthy.”

She could see him begin to really consider their plan, and she felt herself relax. “So?”

“So Carwyn and I will go shut down this factory in Bulgaria and then find Arosh and Kato, who are in…” He looked toward Carwyn.

“It sounds like the mountains in the Republic of Georgia.”

“Lovely. And after we avoid being killed, we’re going to convince Arosh and Kato to come out of hiding in order to go to Rome and testify that Livia knew about this elixir and whatever harm it can cause. Which we’re still not sure of.”

Carwyn said, “It would have to be damn serious for Saba to kill any human they had tested it on and for Arosh and Kato to fake their deaths.”

“Agreed.” Giovanni paused, and she could see his mind churning. “So while we’re doing this, Beatrice and Tenzin will be stirring up revolution in Rome?”

She nodded. “I’ll be getting closer to Emil Conti. He’s already displeased with the actions Livia took against you. The population seems to be split, but given some encouragement, he could probably turn the tide against her. He’s already becoming more popular. He senses an opportunity, and I’m surprisingly… well, I’m kind of popular in Rome.”

Carwyn said, “Everyone is enamored of the new girl Livia doesn’t like.”

Beatrice grinned. “I’m driving her crazy. Tenzin and I killed a bunch of her guards and she couldn’t really do anything about it.”

Giovanni sighed and rubbed his temples. “So, I’m going to let you and Tenzin create havoc in Rome and destabilize a dangerous and powerful vampire even further while I go off on a dubious errand to find two legends who I’m still not entirely convinced even exist anymore.”

Carwyn walked over and slapped him on the back. “Yes, you are. Tenzin and B are brilliant and between the two of them, along with some help from Lucien and Ziri, they’re going to be fine.”

Giovanni reached up and touched her cheek. “And we will have to say good-bye.”

Beatrice blinked back tears. “For now.”

“We have to say good-bye tonight.”

Carwyn cleared his throat. “And I think that’s my cue to go. Gio, I’m going to procure a car for us. Hopefully, something older that you won’t break. I’ll be back later. B, I’ll see you later, darling girl.” He leaned down, brushed a kiss across her cheek, and left the room.

As soon as they were alone, Giovanni pulled her into his lap.

“I still don’t like this.”

“It’s either this, or we face you killing Livia in a bloody coup as an outsider and becoming even more tangled in politics for the next few hundred years. Do you want that?”

“No.”

“Then...” She tucked her head into his neck. “This is the best way.”

“Do you feel safe? Around Livia? Around Lorenzo? He’s still there, isn’t he?”

“Yes, and I don’t like it, but I’ll be fine. Tenzin is teaching me patience.”

“Yes, she’s good at that. I remember once we hid for over six months in a cave in Russia waiting for a target. She played this dice game against the wall of the cave constantly. Almost drove me mad.”

She smiled and took a deep breath, drinking in the smell of his skin, trying to soak up enough of his presence to last her through the weeks, and maybe months, ahead. He held her, playing with her hair and letting his lips trail over his skin.

“Is Ben all right?”

“He’s fine.” She smiled a little. “He’s been taking care of his aunt.”

“He’s a good boy.”

“He’s becoming a man through all of this. Keeping me company when I’m sad. Helping Dez with research. Helping Matt with security.”

“Tell him I’m very proud of him.”

She blinked back tears. “I will.”

“And I’m proud of you, too. This is… as much as I do not like aspects of it, this is a good plan.”

“It is?”

She felt him nod and press a kiss to her temple. “It is. If everything goes well, we’ll be home by Christmas.”

Beatrice smiled a little. “Yeah, maybe.”

“Let’s plan on it, shall we?”

“Okay.”

They held each other for another hour. The fire in the grate crackled in the still night air. They could hear Ziri pacing out on the dock, though he did not interrupt them. Beatrice knew that they would need to leave soon if they were going to make it back to Rome before dawn.

“I love you so much it hurts sometimes,” she whispered.

His arms tightened around her. “Love should never hurt.”

A wave of panic flooded up, and she was suddenly overcome with doubts. Her heart began to pound. “This—this is stupid. You’re right. We need to stay together. We’ll go back to Rome. We’ll just take everyone away and say to hell with them all. You and Tenzin can come back and kill Livia and Lorenzo later. I don’t—”

“Beatrice—”

“I don’t give a shit about the rest of the vampires! Let them kill themselves with this drug. We’ll go back to the States. We’ll—”

“Beatrice.” He soothed her, pressing her face into the crook of his neck. He rocked her back and forth for a few moments as her heart evened out. “You know that we must put an end to this. If this elixir is as dangerous as everyone seems to think, it could spread through Europe. Asia. Africa. On the surface, it looks like a miracle. Imagine how many would be taken in. Eventually, it would reach our own home. It could endanger the people we care about. This secret has been in the shadows for too long. We need to uncover the truth—the whole of it—and it needs to come to light. Whatever the consequences. You know this.”