“Hey, are you okay?” I asked.
He leaned over his desk, resting his head in his hand. “No. Absolutely not. First I learn that a shapeshifter attacked you. Then, I make the idiotic mistake of leaving you to seek the answers out for myself, and someone else tries to kill you.”
Innocent. Caleb was desperately innocent. Even if I didn’t have supernatural abilities I’d come to this same conclusion. He was blaming himself for my attacks.
I let out my breath. “Listen Caleb, I already have one overbearing man in my life who feels personally responsible for my well-being,” I said, thinking of Andre. I reached out and touched his arm. “Please don’t join him. I could really just use a friend right now.”
He looked down at my hand and then up at me. “Of course,” he said, “I’ll always be your friend. And I promise I will make this up to you somehow,” he said, gaze intense.
I tried to lighten the mood. “Well in that case, I have some history homework I’m behind on …”
He laughed, his smile brightening his face. “Bring it on!”
One suspect cleared. Only a few hundred more to go.
***
That night Andre brought me back to Bishopcourt to continue my training. Now more than ever he felt it was important for me to know the extent of my powers.
This time when we arrived at the mansion, we wordlessly passed by the waiting entourage.
Theodore met us inside. His eyes briefly flicked to me before they turned their attention back to Andre. “Sir, the king of Jordan is on the phone—”
“Tell him I’ll call him back.” Andre didn’t even pause midstride.
Theodore scowled at me, clearly blaming me for Andre’s cavalier attitude. “Andre, it’s important.”
Andre halted and met Theodore’s gaze. “It can wait.” His tone indicated that there was no room for discussion. Turning to me he said, “Follow me.”
We walked up an ornate set of stairs to the back of the mansion. This was further inside than I’d ever been, and the farther we walked, the older the decorations became. A series of antique atlases lined the walls, strange sea monsters and ships decorating the painted ocean. The portraits back here were old, some nearly unrecognizable with age.
We passed an encased hand, and I shuddered.
“Saint’s relic,” Andre said in answer.
“People collect those things?” I wanted to gag.
“Some of my people thought it might bring us closer to salvation.”
“Did it?”
Andre paused to look back at me; his expression said it all.
“Right. I’m guessing that’s a no.”
We turned another corner that faced a large, solid oak door. Andre twisted the brass knob and held the door open.
My breath caught as I walked in. Much like his VIP suite, the room was full of rich colors. Gold-patterned cloth covered the walls. An ornate tapestry hung high above us on one wall. Another wall was entirely composed of books. In the middle of the room stood a ridiculously large four-poster bed.
But what caught my eye was the painting. It hung behind the bed. A much younger—and yet identical—Andre sat in chain mail, wearing the sign of the cross. He’d been a crusader.
“Another attempt at bringing myself closer to salvation,” he said, noticing my interest.
“I’m guessing that didn’t end well?”
Andre contemplated my statement. “Bringing me closer to God? Definitely not. There’s nothing holy about killing another human, no matter what god you believe in. However, I was well fed during the Crusades. That much I can say about war.”
I glanced back at the painting. “Your eyes …” I trailed off. Nothing more needed to be said. Whoever had painted Andre’s portrait had captured his anguish perfectly. This was not a triumphant man, but a broken one.
Andre came up next to me. “I keep it up to remind myself of my humanity. I wasn’t long a vampire when this portrait was commissioned, so my horrors still weighed on my conscience. Now it’s hard to remember how remorse and guilt feel.”
He turned from the painting to face me. “Now, let’s talk about your training.”
I eyed my surroundings. “Uh, we’re in your room.”
“I thought you’d want some privacy for what we’re about to do next.”
My heart rate escalated, and a warm flush crept up my neck and cheeks. The energy between us was suddenly everywhere, and I was very aware of how good Andre smelled.
“Wh—what are we about to do?”
Andre walked towards me, a slow smile spreading across his face. Heat pooled in my belly, and I thought I might melt. Instinctively I backed up. My brain told me that I didn’t like where this was going, but every other part of me told it to shut up.