A WHISPER OF ETERNIT

Page 190



Bryansmiled at her and then, apparently seeing the horror in her eyes, the smile died away. He spoke to Kitana ,then started towardTracy .

She took a step backward, only to be brought up short when she ran into Dominic. He put his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

"He is stillBryan ," Dominic said quietly.
She forced a smile asBryan drew closer."Hi, Bry ." "Hi,Tracy ."

An awkward silence fell between them.

Tracy's gaze moved overBryan . He looked the same, and yet he didn't. She tried to put her finger on what was different. The changes were subtle. His hair seemed fuller, darker. His skin was flawless. And even though he was a new vampire, his power danced over her skin.

She looked up into his eyes. "Did you want this,Bryan ? Was it your choice?" She glanced at Kitana . "Or hers?"

"It was hers, but now that it's done…" He shrugged. "It's not so bad." "Did you… have you… ?"

He nodded.

" Bry, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault. And it's not bad, really."

"Not bad? How can you say that? You hated vampires! You called them…" She paused, acutely aware that she was surrounded by vampires.

"I know,"Bryan said, smiling sheepishly. "ButTracy , you can't believe the power! It's amazing, the things I can do. I'll bet I could swim from here to Catalina and back again. And colors… you've never seen such colors. Kitana said she'll take me toEurope once…" He paused and glanced over his shoulder.

"Once what?"Tracyasked.

"Nothing."

"I think he means once things are settled between me and Petrina ," Dominic remarked. "Isn't that right?" Bryanshifted from one foot to the other, but said nothing.

Tracylooked over at Kitana again, only to find the vampire regarding her through cold, calculating eyes. She was glad to feel Dominic's arm slide possessively around her waist as the other vampire glided across the room toward them.

"Dominic," Kitana said, inclining her head in his direction.