“Do you really enjoy sex with humans?” Meg too watched the confessional as she listened.
The question startled Amaia. “Yes. Why wouldn’t I? It feels incredible.”
“Hmm. How can you share something so tactile with someone who can’t feel the way we do?”
“I have nothing but my mortal experience to compare it to.”
“Maybe you should try it with a vampire sometime.”
Amaia snorted. “Yes, with all my spare time and the hordes of single vampires crawling around.”
“There’re plenty of nomads.”
“I don’t want to mate.”
Meg laughed. “I know, but I’m not talking about mating. You need to just try sex with a vampire first. It wouldn’t be fair to you to jump straight to mating. Too much of a shock to your system.” Meg went still. Amaia recognized the sign that she was speaking with her mate. “Liam wants to know if you want to take this one. Seems like you’re the proper holy mother for a promiscuous woman to pray to.”
Amaia smiled and jumped down, her knees softening her landing. There was no need to dwell on puzzles that wouldn’t be solved, especially not when there was fun to be had.
***
“Zenas has an assignment for you.” Lawrence sat waiting in Amaia’s room when she returned from the church.
“Lovely.” Amaia rolled her eyes.
Lawrence glared at her. “This is important. Zenas is tired of this bloody war, and the Holy Roman Emperor is the key to peace. We need to make sure he heads in that direction.”
Amaia flounced into a chair. “I don’t understand why Zenas cares so much what the humans do, as long as they keep making more humans for us to feed on.”
“All the turmoil right now is over religion. Instability and faith do not mix. There are renewed witch hunts taking place at this moment in England. You’ve seen witch hunts before. They don’t bode well for us.”
Fire was a concern. Recalling the images from Frankfurt made her shudder. Some lone vampires had been killed by torch-bearing mobs with hearts full of God’s righteous fury. “So he thinks by bringing an end to this war, it will help calm the entire situation. What does he want me to do, bed Ferdinand himself and keep him on the edge until he agrees to do whatever’s necessary for peace?”
Lawrence gave a mirthless smirk. “Hardly. There’s a viscount he wants you to bed, an up-and-coming young man and a devout Catholic, maybe too devout. We don’t need any man coming to power who won’t settle for less than total Catholic control. With Ferdinand giving the German states sovereignty in foreign affairs, Zenas is concerned that it may prompt some of them to grab more power than they were given. Find out where Christof stands and if there is any talk of one of the German leaders making a play for power. Peace is still a long way off. We don’t need it delayed unnecessarily. I also want you to make note of the viscount’s energy, see if there’s anything different about it. We could use a good breeding in this area.”
Amaia sighed and stood. “Yes, I know, Lawrence. I still haven’t felt one that is all that different. We’ve been breeding strong auras to strong auras, and it still hasn’t produced anything other than strength. No humans are special.”
“You were. That’s why you’re here, and most of the girls you were working with are now dead.”
Had that much time really passed? Looking back, she supposed it must have. If they weren’t dead, they were certainly too old to be working in the same profession. Odd. “Zenas isn’t going to let you get away with turning another one.”
“No, not right now he won’t. But it doesn’t matter. There isn’t anyone who’s ready for the transformation. I’m willing to be patient. I’m hoping to create another you. Of course, it took me over two hundred years to find you, and you literally just showed up on my doorstep. It doesn’t help that you were an orphan. I’d give anything to know who your parents were.”
“You and me both. Except I would want to kill them.” Amaia had spent her early years living on the streets until she had knocked on Lawrence’s door looking for work as a scullery maid. She had known who he was and had seen the women he employed. Her plan had always been to become a courtesan.
“Well, time has done your work for you.”
“I suppose it has.” Even if it hadn’t, it soon would. It was an interesting thought to ponder when she had some more time. Amaia smiled. “If only the great master could see you now: his favorite making him proud.”