“He took the book and jumped in the river.”

Beatrice heard the splash as Giovanni waded in. He dipped her down, submerging her in the river as the water swirled around her body, embracing her in its cool, healing depths. She looked up at Giovanni through the rippling surface of the water. For the first time, she saw his own tears fall as he watched her pain. They dropped into the water over her face, meeting her drifting tears before the river washed them away.

“Take the water in, Beatrice. As much as you can. Let it heal you.” He shook his head and blood scattered over the water.

“My dad,” she mouthed, as the water filled and covered her.

“I know.”

He lifted her head out and pressed their cheeks together, leaving her body in the water to heal. She felt tears on her cheeks, but she didn’t know who was crying.

“Lorenzo killed him.”

“I know.”

“Where was everyone? I tried. I tried so hard, but there was so much blood and there were too many of them.”

“Shh, don’t talk.” He held his wrist in front of her mouth and she bit into it, taking in his blood as her body floated in the stream. She could feel her bones knitting together. Her flesh stretched over her wounds. The prickling in her legs grew as her spine healed. Soon, her body was itching all over as her amnis joined the water to make her strong again. She continued sucking at Giovanni’s wrist, and he watched every wound, examining them as they healed.

A few minutes later, she released his wrist and reached out, leaving the safety of the water as she threw herself into her mate’s embrace. He lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as they trudged to the edge of the riverbank. She dropped to the ground and looked for her father.

Stephen’s body was laying on the edge of the river, and Tenzin was crouched beside him, stroking his lifeless cheek. She had laid Stephen’s head next to his body and Baojia stood over them both, watching the night sky.

“Where are Zhang’s people? They should be here by now.”

“They had to travel fifteen hundred kilometers by air in one night,” she heard Giovanni say as she sat by Tenzin and took her father’s hand. Tenzin’s eyes darted to her, and Beatrice saw her tense before her shoulders relaxed.

They all sat silent over Stephen’s remains before a low keening began from Tenzin’s small form. She rocked back and forth, one hand on Stephen’s cheek and the other braced on his chest. Beatrice heard her murmur a low chant in the old language she shared with Zhang, and she felt her tears fall again.

Giovanni knelt down behind her and tried to pull her away from her father, but she shrugged him off and reached over to embrace Tenzin. The small vampire curled her shoulders, but Beatrice kept her hands out until finally, the small woman turned to her and Beatrice could see the desolate look in Tenzin’s grey eyes.

“Tenzin?” Beatrice whispered. Tenzin reached over, pulling her into a fierce embrace. The two women rocked together until they heard a sound like a flock of birds flapping in the wind. Tenzin quickly dried her eyes.

Zhang’s men landed in a crouch, eyeing the bloody clearing and the bodies of Stephen and the three guards that lay around them. The leader approached cautiously as Tenzin rose to her feet, stoic again in the face of her father’s men.

“Mistress Tenzin.” He nodded deeply to her. “Your mate… Elder Lu’s monks?”

“The monks are dead. There is a small group of boys who escaped out the southern passageway. Follow the river down, and you should find them. Help them to find shelter in the nearest village until we hear from Lu. They should not go back to the monastery.”

“Yes, Mistress.” The leader motioned toward two of his men, who took to the air.

“Zhongli’s guards are in the forest. His ‘honored guest’ slaughtered his men before he went up to the monastery.” Beatrice watched as a flicker of confusion passed over the vampire’s face at Tenzin’s words. She could see Tenzin sag almost imperceptibly, and Giovanni’s hand reached out for her arm.

“The monastery was ransacked,” he said. “Most of the monks were killed. Master Fu-han among them.”

“And Miss De Novo’s property?” the guard asked.

“Stolen by Lorenzo,” Beatrice said as she looked down at her father’s body again. As if she cared about the book. Part of her knew it was important, but she was frozen in her grief.

“Mistress Tenzin.” Zhang’s guard bowed again and spoke softly, “may we help you with Stephen’s body?”

“No!” Tenzin bent down, then looked at the body and shook her head. “I mean… yes. Take him up to the monastery.” She turned and glanced at Beatrice before she took to the air.

Zhang’s guard split up. Some of them followed Baojia to the edge of the forest where Zhongli’s men lay; others gently lifted her father’s remains before they followed Tenzin up the mountain.

She felt Giovanni grasp her shoulders. “Beatrice, we need to find you some blood. Most of the monks were killed and you need fresh—”

“I don’t—” She broke off, overwhelmed again. “I’m not hungry. I don’t want blood. I just want my dad. I want to be with Tenzin. Can we follow—”

“Beatrice,” he broke in with a hoarse voice. “You need blood. You drank from me, but you had a terrible injury. I’ll find an animal in the forest if you want, but you need to feed.”