“All of us who follow Quinn have been through worse.” Devi glanced at her sharply now. “We understand that hell is relative, darling. And Quinn’s hell is heaven, to those of us who have experienced real hell.” Her comment sobered Ariana as she felt the Vampiress’ deep rebuke. It was clear Devi was intensely loyal to Quinn, even though she felt a need to help Ariana understand what she might be getting into if she took Quinn’s blood-oath and became a part of their Dark Haven.
Something Ariana was seriously doubting now, after Quinn’s sudden abandonment earlier.
“So where are we headed?” Ariana asked, changing topics.
“To a cemetery, of course.” Devi chuckled now, amusement gleaming in her dark eyes by the light of her violet orb as they continued.
“Why a cemetery?” Ariana blinked, suddenly doubting her choice to go off alone with Devi tonight, though she didn’t sense any malice in the Vampiress.
“One: because Summer Fae tend to not visit cemeteries, so you should be safe. And two: because everything begins and ends in a Vampire’s life with a cemetery. Even though you’re not a Vampire, your life has changed as if you are one. Acquiring the magic of the Night… one day you wake up and everything you ever knew has become strange. You are a stranger in the life you once had. Though it all still exists, it’s like a veil has drawn down between you and it. Your old life becomes untouchable. And you find yourself sad.”
Halting in the dark passage, Ariana stared at Devi, finally understanding why she had broken down just now. As her budding magics gave a dark swirl inside her, Ariana knew suddenly that even though Quinn had been the instigation for her current upset, he wasn’t entirely the cause of it. As her heart clenched and Ariana lifted a hand to her chest, feeling her dark-bright magic whirl and seeing a slight glimmer of black rainbows in the tunnel, she knew Devi had described what she was feeling to a T. Glancing up, she stared with astonishment at the statuesque Vampiress.
“How did you know?”
“It wasn’t that hard to figure out, darling.” Devi spoke with true compassion now as she halted, turning to face Ariana. “Quinn can be a bastard when he manipulates people, especially when he uses his allure to do it, but your aching heart went deeper than that tonight. You are feeling the alienation we all feel when we come into this life from our old one. Something dies inside you when you awaken to the Life of the Night. Though so much more is born.”
“But I’m not dead. Not like you are.” Ariana spoke bluntly, before she blushed, considering that her statement might be offensive.
But reaching out, Devi simply cupped Ariana’s face in her hand as she smiled kindly. “I know. But having the power of the Night awaken inside you causes us all turmoil at first. You are like a newly-Sired Vampire right now, flooded with power and carnal energy and new sensations you don’t know what to do with yet. Not to mention scorching-hot Fae energy rising inside you that most of us learned how to manage as babies, long before we ever became a Vampire.”
“Were you Fae also? Before you were a Vampire?” Ariana asked, curious.
“Yes, darling.” Smiling sadly, Devi’s hand slipped from Ariana as she nodded on down the passage. “I come from the Scarlet Fae. As you probably know, they are a small sub-Lineage of Summer Fae who live throughout Mediterranea.”
“An ancient offshoot, the Scarlet Fae live alongside the Summer Fae, but aren’t part of them.” Ariana spoke, recalling her studies from her youth.
“Powerful warriors, my people are brutal to those who do not wish for a life of war, which I did not.” Devi nodded as they walked on. “Though I am passionate like my kin, I am a lover at heart… and I was one of the first of those who sought out Quinn after hearing he’d killed his Sire two hundred years ago. To escape my clan.”
“So you’re only two hundred years old in your Vampire life? How long did you live as Fae?” Ariana asked as they walked.
“One hundred and twenty-six years, before I was Sired.” Devi continued, watching the passage now as if looking for something as she held her twisting violet orb aloft. “I was never powerful enough in battle to claim sovereignty among my kind, and so I was badly used, passing from lord to lord as a concubine. I was vicious in the bedroom and was able to kill many of my conquerors, but I was merely auctioned off to someone else soon after. It was not a life I wanted, as you can imagine, and I wasn’t sad enough of heart to waste away and die like many other Scarlet Fae concubines did. So I escaped, and made it to Quinn when I heard of his egalitarian approach to ruling his Dark Haven. Like you, I had to escape the jurisdiction of my Fae King, and becoming subject to Vampire law was the only way to do it. Quinn was my best option, so I took it. I have never looked back.”
“God, what a horrible life.” Ariana breathed, shocked to hear Devi describe her former enslavement among her people. “And is being Sired to Quinn that much better?”
“Infinitely.” Devi spoke soberly now as she glanced over. “Though Quinn possesses the magic of the Night, which has an inborn hierarchy because of the way the magic works, he understands a soul’s need for sovereignty. He himself was denied it for so very long under his tyrannical old Master Emiliana DiClario, and so he is deeply sympathetic to those who wish to escape bad use. Even though part of the agreement is that he may still use his Sirees when the need arises.”
“He has a lot going on, doesn’t he?” Ariana asked, wondering if Devi knew the extent of Quinn’s schemes.
“Too much.” Devi chuckled, though there was genuine affection in her as she softened. “But only Quinn ever truly knows the deepest extent of his machinations.”
They fell silent now as they traversed the hall, when Devi suddenly turned and ushered Ariana through a vaulted arch in the gloom. This new corridor was astonishing, the walls entirely carved into ornate tombs that branched off to shadowy alcoves along its reaches. It was haunting and lovely, like being inside a massive underground crypt at Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris; though Ariana had been afraid at first, she felt now how reverently quiet this hall was. Whomever was entombed here had died long ago; before long, she found the deep silence almost comforting as they walked, glancing right and left to admire ornate carvings on every bier.
“What is Quinn like, as a Master?” Ariana suddenly wanted to know, her brows knitting as she considered yet again whether or not to become blood-oathed to Quinn.
“Kind.” Devina answered promptly, though her gaze was both stern and compassionate. “Strict. Impeccable. He is fierce in his protection of those he cares for, but also uncompromising. Like the consummate gentleman, he can dominate a room and then turn right around and charm everyone off their asses. But he is also furious when truly crossed.”
“He seems so cold sometimes, and distant.” Ariana mused, thinking back over her time with Quinn. “Yet so warm other times, and caring.”
“Yes, Quinn is an enigma.” Devi nodded now as they passed a particularly ornate tomb with fantastical serpents writhing all over it. “Though he can be cold as the grave, he can also be warm as the sun – but I should warn you, Ariana… what he doesn’t do is truly getcloseto anyone.”
“What do you mean?” Ariana asked as a dark sensation suddenly opened up inside her, listening.
“I mean, darling,” Devi spoke gently now as she glanced to Ariana with a knowing sadness in her eyes, “that Quinn is like an iceberg, glowing in the sun on a vast northern ocean. He’s so bright sometimes that he seems to catch fire when you look upon him. And yet, he remains untouchable, an otherworldly depth of desire that no one could ever claim though many have tried. Did you know he was Head Courtier here at the Florence Hotel, before he became our Master and Hotel Head?”
“Quinn was a Courtier?” Ariana blinked, as she thought about the men and women paraded in for the Tasting event – Courtiers and Courtesans of the Hotel. “As in, he took customers for sex?”
“Assignations, we call them, but yes.” Devina nodded with a sharp glance. “Quinn was Head Courtier at the Florence Hotel for many centuries under Emiliana’s rule, and his reputation was built upon his bright-darkness. He was known the entire world over for his impeccable skills as a loving dominant. But a truly loving dominant has someone to love. Though Quinn cares for people, he does not let himself truly love. Under Emiliana’s brutality, he learned that loving someone only gets them hurt, because that’s how Emiliana kept people in check, and how many Master Vampires who are not Quinn’s allies run their Dark Havens. You’ll see it eventually, if you join us. Quinn is a dominant, but he’s not a sadist. Though, Emiliana definitely was…”
