CHAPTER NINETEEN | Halfway to Italy, 1891

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Halfway to Italy, 1891

“WHY ARE WE STOPPING ?” Kate asked, looking up from her book.

Riccardo slid the heavy drapes aside, allowing him to look outside. He sat back. “The sun is going to rise very soon. We are stopping here for the day.”

Kate nodded and began to pack away her book. Her sense of time was completely off, and the journey felt like it was lasting an eternity.

“Stay here. I will wake the management of the hotel, get us some rooms, and come back for you,” he instructed her. Riccardo would use his mind control to ensure the driver and hotel staff weren’t an issue for them, but he would do it as carefully and respectfully as possible. He would ensure they were paid and that they believed them to be good guests who had arrived earlier in the evening.

She was looking forward to having space to herself in her own room to grieve and not cringe every time Riccardo looked over at her. Whether she would sleep or not was yet to be determined.

Every time she closed her eyes, she imagined terrible images of her parents being killed, or she saw Vincent.

Damn him.

But he was her past now. She had to focus on respecting her parents’ lives. She would hold a vigil and see them put to rest in the ways of vampires.

How could this have happened?

Her parents were kind, upstanding citizens and had no enemies. Riccardo believed the attack had been done by vampires because they’d been beheaded, and were likely after their money and jewelry. But why had they left them inside the carriage, safe from the sun? There were questions that needed answering, and it was now her responsibility.

Kate’s stomach turned.

She’d lost her parents and the male she thought was her mate. Just because Vincent didn’t feel that way about her didn’t mean she was grieving the loss any less. She didn’t care if he was the king or the caretaker. She loved him. She wanted him as her mate, to be beside her in life. To support each other through these times. Now she was alone. Oh, there were family friends and other female vampires she sometimes socialized with, but no one she was very close with.

Except perhaps Riccardo. But she was beginning to feel more and more uneasy in his company.

The carriage door opened, and Riccardo held his hand out. The ground was wet, and her feet slopped into the mud. They ran across the road and into the hotel. The manager, in his sleeping clothes and holding a candle despite the place having electricity, showed them to their rooms.

“Adjoining rooms, but I daresay the door shall stay closed,” he said, giving them a sharp look. “Even if you are engaged.”

He scoffed and walked off.

Kate let out a half-hearted laugh when he was out of sight. Vampires found their societal rules humorous. If she’d found Riccardo attractive, she’d have had no problems warming his bed tonight. But she didn’t.

He was a good-looking male, but besides the fact she was grieving her parents and nursing her shame and pain from being rejected by the king, he was not the vampire for her.

“Well, good day to you, Riccardo. Thank you.” She let him unlock her door and stand aside so she could walk in. As she turned, she found him right behind her.

“Kate,” he said, reaching out his hand and laying it on her upper arm.

She stiffened.

“I’m tired. My heart aches, Riccardo.” She held his eyes, sending as much meaning as she could through her own, hoping he would leave.

“Let me comfort you. Hold you.”

A ripple of great unease spread throughout her body.

“You have done enough. Truthfully. I would like my own company for the day, and hopefully, get some sleep.”

She watched him frown, a darkness in his eyes she was becoming familiar with, then look away.

“Yes, okay. Rest, Kate. Tonight, we shall continue our journey, and when we get home, you and I shall discuss our future.”

Kate pressed her lips together, nodded, and turned.

When she heard the door click, she slumped onto the bed.

Damn you, Vincent.