Tatsou’s head shook against mine, and I felt the subtle vibrations of his silent laughter against my skin. I hope I had the gumption to follow through with the fatal threats, especially since I tried very hard not to drain people as I sucked their blood. I didn’t want to be a killer, but I knew eventually I’d have no choice.
“Now with that out of the way, let’s continue. I’ve been doing some searching and I think I have leads on some originals. Nothing concrete but it’s worth a look.” Romi whipped out her phone to share her findings.
I was impressed at how clear I could read everything, even from seven feet away. She’d listed details about various stories on forums from towns around the world. The lack of suspicious vampire behavior was odd to her, so after a little digging, she found some fake IDs and forged papers having been created for the same names within five miles of the towns.
“This makes sense to me.” Tatsou voiced his opinion on the lack of vampire rumors.
“I’m not fond of the newer versions of vampire. I can see the other originals sharing the sentiment and choosing to remain the only vampire in the area. Reckless diluted vampires.” He sneered, and I thought about the vampires at the club he had dragged me to. They were not like Tatsou at all. They were arrogant and entitled. Tatsou was dare I say classy. He did not flaunt his vampirism like a peacock. He could be arrogant but only because he knew he was better at almost everything.
“The closest town is in Chengyang Villages, China. Then after that, I’ve got a town in Italy and Spain. We are about to use a ton of frequent flyer miles.” Romi lowered the phone and took a deep breath.
I watched her as Tatsou suggested finding Eleanor first to come along to meet the others. The originals were an eclectic group and having backup would be a good idea. We’d start in China, then decide where to go next.
Romi nodded at his words, but she seemed to slip somewhere else. I wondered if she thought of Takeo, since Rei’s appearance would likely bring Takeo to the forefront of her mind. They were so happy together. I had been so excited for her wedding and to see her smiles.
Just as I had the thought, a smile appeared on her face. I wished I could keep it there always. One day she would recover from losing him. The darkness would lighten up and make it easier to breath. Her smile disappeared and she broke into hysterical tears.
“Romi!” I jumped to fight off whatever pain she was in.
“Make it stop.” She gripped at her head, and Tatsou whirled me around quickly and kissed me.
I was confused. It wasn’t a sweet or passionate kiss but purposeful.
“Romi!” I pushed back from him and saw that Romi was okay, wiping the tears from her face. What the hell?
“You used your power on her unknowingly. You needed a distraction to release her,” Tatsou said, his lips on my neck.
“I’m so sorry.” Guilt wrecked me as I accidentally caused Romi pain.
“It was a like a nice daydream. Takeo and I sat together watching a movie. Then it turned red, and he was dead but still talking to me, blood pouring down his throat.” She shivered and hid her face in her hands.
“I’m so, so sorry Romi. I—” She cut me off with a slice of her hand in my direction. She knew I didn’t mean to but that didn’t change the fact that I had serious powers that could hurt the ones I loved.
“Looks like we are adding power training into our travel itinerary.” I mentally vowed to get my shit together so the next time I used my powers, it would be on purpose to take my ex-father down.
Chapter Forty- Three
Katsumi
Despite Romi’s protests, I didn’t want to stay in her apartment until I could somewhat control my powers. Thankfully, I didn’t need sleep, so I declared we should start our journey on the first flight out. I wondered if it would be safe since we were trying to stay off the radar, but Romi assured me she’d take care of it all. Tatsou called Eleanor, and she met us at the airport. I knew we could swim and run without getting tired so part of me thought using a plane was silly. But the other part of me suspected Tatsou suggested it so he could go on his first airplane ride. Who was I to kill his curiosity?
“I called Crocus and Lilja to tell them to meet us at the airport. They were vacationing in India and will drive over,” Eleanor said, as we sat at the gate waiting to board. She looked just as stunning as the last time I had met her. She gushed and hugged me tight when we arrived. She loved knowing I accepted being a vampire, though she did apologize for the loss of my mortality.
“Been there, done those feelings. You’ll learn to embrace this life with joy.” She squeezed me before handing off our tickets and compelling us with ease through security. I thought about her words while we waited. I was getting there, embracing this life, so that was something in my book.
“I’m surprised you still talk to them.” Tatsou’s thumb rubbed against my hand in his gently.
“We argued that one time and didn’t talk for fifty years. That’s nothing to us. We made up, and I’ve been invited to their weddings ever since.” She smiled, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Fifty years of not talking to someone was huge as a human. But to an immortal, I guess it would feel like nothing.
“Weddings?” I asked curiously. Eleanor winked and launched into a long story of these immortals and their love of weddings. Every fifty years, they celebrated their eternal love by putting on a wedding. Every time they hosted in a different place. Some were big, and some were intimate. The thought of creating all those wedding dresses made my little fashion heart sing.
“That sounds amazing.” I sighed wistfully. Tatsou lifted our joined hands and pressed a kiss to mine. His golden eyes glowed for barely a second, then dimmed to his normal hue. We hadn’t discussed us and what we wanted. I mean I knew what he wanted, but did that mean marriage, too?
“It’ll be nice to go to your wedding, too. We are getting the old family back together. It would be such a nice surprise.” Eleanor stared out the window as our plane pulled in and parked at the gate. She seemed lost in her own thoughts.
“Is that what you want?” Tatsou leaned over to whisper against my ear.
For the foreseeable future, I wanted to be with him. As a human, I dreamed of getting married. If Tatsou wanted it, then I could have what I wanted despite the new change.
