Read Cortigiana (A Vamp Life Prequel) Online
Authors: Jez Strider
Tags: #romance, #vampires, #paranormal romance, #free, #venice, #courtesan, #romance 1500s, #jez strider, #vamp life
Cortigiana (A Vamp Life Prequel) (6 page)
quick her movements were, but I didn’t. All my attention was
focused on my new chamber. The room dwarfed any room I had seen
before. It was like a miniature house within a house. I stepped
further inside, drawing in a soft gasp.
A voice from behind made me jump and turn
around. “This is the royal suite. Or was, I should say. I suspect
Dante will give future guests a different place to rest. Then
again, if they slept with you, it would be no different than the
days you are accustomed to.”
“
Antonio,” I whispered. As
interested as I had been in the room, my focus immediately went to
the man that filled my daily and nightly fantasies.
look on his face. “This is all pretty on the outside, but being a
possession of the master can be a dark, sinister existence. Any
sense of freedom is only an illusion. After a while, you will long
for escape, but a strange loyalty will keep you by his side.”
“
What was I supposed to do?
I could not say no. He would never have allowed it.”
“
He would not. You are
correct.” A flash of anger hit me full force when he locked his
amber eyes on me.
on his shoulder to try to ease the fury. “I live here now. There is
no reason we cannot have a relationship without Dante’s
knowledge.”
Unexpectedly, Antonio grabbed me by the
throat and pinned me to the wall. “You are nothing but a young
plaything. You would sentence us both to death.”
“
You are hurting me.” I
managed to say softly. My voice came out so low I wasn’t even sure
he could hear me.
“
We are never to speak
again. If you see me in the halls or at the parties, or even on the
street, do not look at me. Do not smile. Do not wave. Never think
about me. Dante knows all.” Antonio’s grip loosened and his hand
slid to my cheek before stopping. Then his lips pressed to mine
roughly and hungrily before he stalked out of my room.
onto my lavish new bed and burst into tears. A kiss like that could
only mean goodbye.
One can only cry for so long before the act
exhausts them. I slipped out of my room and headed toward the
library that had caught my attention earlier in the day. It could
be my sanctuary. The worlds were limitless in the pages of the
books and I wanted to get lost in them. My desire to learn was
insatiable. I knew I could hold my own in a man’s world if given
the chance. It would be a long time before I would be able to prove
it.
The scent of the library relaxed some of the
tension from my body. From floor to ceiling, there were thousands
of books. To read them all would have taken lifetimes. A large map
spread across a table in the center of the room depicted the world
in a way I had never seen. The boot was Italy, I knew that. Asia,
France, England. Those I could point out even without the words
written on them. Across the water, there was a large landmass, but
it was minimally charted. That was the first time I saw the
Americas. Amazed, I left the map alone and walked around the room,
lightly touching the books with my fingertips.
A large, leather bound tome caught my
attention. The cover was dark and adorned with strange lettering I
didn’t recognize. I brought it over to one of the couches and
placed it on the soft material. At first, I couldn’t read anything,
then about halfway through the words were written in my own
language. The story spoke of undying gods.
No one knows who ascended to become the
first earthbound god. Legends tell of a nameless prophet wandering
the lands and drinking blood from his dedicated followers. The more
he consumed, the more uncontrollable his lust became. It is said
after draining the last of his people, he realized his error. In a
panic, the regretful god slit his wrist to feed the only remaining,
but dying woman. Thus, our first queen ascended to stand beside her
maker and king.
Years passed and together they discovered
the limits of their existence. They created followers with undying
devotion. The queen longed for something more. Years turned to
decades and decades faded into centuries. During all this time, the
queen never conceived. The awful truth was that the vampire women
lacked the ability to breed.
Disgusted, I slammed the book shut.
“Blasphemy.” I stared at the book, longing to toss it into a fire.
My curiosity urged me to read further, though. There was more to
learn about the beings that lived on the blood of humans. Besides,
I thought it was only a story. It had to be a fictional tale like
the ones about the ancient gods of Greece and Rome.
For hours, I read about the travels, wars,
and oppression the gods wrought on humans. There were mentions of
weapons the people had raised against the vampires in resistance.
Crucifixes and garlic were useless, but held onto by the
superstitious. Another legend caught my attention. It told of the
rare occasion of a vampire birth.
“
A vampire being born?
Horrible.”
human wife birthed a vampire for the first time in recorded
history. His father, a great vampire in his own right, became
leader of all his people when the news spread. The child did not
need blood to live until he began his transition into manhood. This
son of gods spilled more blood in his ravenous first year as a man
than most other vampires had in a lifetime.
A second time, I shut the book and pushed it
away. I lay down on my back, looking up at the ceiling as I thought
about the stories. The fictional world of vampires wasn’t one I
would have chosen to escape into, but it fascinated me.
Abruptly, the door to the library slammed
open. I slinked down on the couch and closed my eyes. If it was
Dante, I didn’t want to be in trouble for hiding away in the
library if he’d been looking for me. It wasn’t him. I could hear
two voices.
“
Stop it. Look, someone is
in here.” A feminine voice whispered.
effort, I maintained the appearance of being asleep.
“
I paid you to entertain me
because you are my favorite and that is what you are going to do.
The mistress sleeps. We can be quiet. I cannot wait any
longer.”
“
Nicolo, why are you so
aggressive? You have never behaved like this before?” The woman
said.
was Laura and she was another courtesan. I’d seen her at a few of
the parties I’d worked. The woman captivated men and she was almost
as requested as I was.
“
You have no idea what it is
like when a man gets hungry.” He growled at her.
being pushed up against a table told me they had moved past me.
They were no doubt charting a new course on that map. Cautiously, I
cracked open one eye and peeked over the arm of the sofa to catch a
glimpse of the action. Nicolo began to use poor Laura viciously.
Nothing she couldn’t handle, I was sure. All the girls had been
with a guy like that. But then, he bent her head to the side and
bit into her flesh. Loudly, he sucked on her neck like he was
starving.
For a second, I thought I would vomit. Then,
I started shaking. The girl needed my help, but what was I but a
courtesan myself? My mouth opened and I fully intended to threaten
Nicolo. Or at the very least, throw a book at him. Instead, a
scream pierced the room. At first I didn’t realize it came from me.
In a scramble, I darted for the door. If they were chasing me, I
wouldn’t have known. I didn’t look back. As I rounded a corner and
headed down the stairs, Dante greeted me at the halfway point.
“
Evelina, my dear. What is
wrong?” He pulled me close to his chest.
“
There is a… vamp… a vampire
in the library. He bit Laura and she is going to die unless you
help her.”
this nonsense. There is no such thing. That would be like telling
me you saw a ghost. Foolish girls. Isn’t that right, Antonio?”
“
She is young, Master. You
know how their fantasies get worked up in their imagination.”
Antonio answered.
into my eyes. Until I’d heard his name, I had no idea he was there.
But, that didn’t matter. Laura needed help. “Please, I know what I
saw. Come with me.” Firmly, I grabbed Dante’s hand and pulled him
up the stairs toward the library. With the two large men in my
wake, I no longer needed to flee.
Master Sanuto gently moved me to the side
with a delicate push of his arm and, with both hands on the
handles, pushed the double doors open wide in dramatic fashion.
Nicolo sat on a sofa with Laura resting in his lap. There was no
blood that I could see as I stepped forward.
“
I know what I saw. I
swear.”
down the lace against Laura’s pale neck. “There is a small mark,
but nothing greater than the result of heavy foreplay. You cannot
throw accusations around like this, Evelina.”
“
Did we do something wrong,
Master Sanuto?” Nicolo asked.
the man. “Not that I can see.” He moved from the couple and turned
his attention back to me. “What were you doing in here?”
I walked over to the couch I’d been relaxing
on. “I read a little. That is all. Then, I saw him bite her. His
actions were violent.”
Antonio followed me, picking up the book I
had left resting on the couch. “What sort of book is this? Vampires
as the true gods?” He scoffed, appearing repulsed by the idea. “I
think it is pretty obvious what transpired.”
“
The library was here when I
purchased the home. I am sure there are many books with little
knowledge of value between the pages.” Dante moved closer to me and
gripped my arm roughly. “Antonio is right. It is clear to me that
you fell asleep after reading this filth and dreamed the whole
situation up.”
“
You are hurting me.” That
phrase was becoming uncomfortably familiar. Tears welled up in my
eyes. The waterworks were more from embarrassment than
pain.
until I come to you this evening. Make sure you read material
befitting a lady or nothing at all next time you decide to spend
time in the library.” He gave me a little shove. “Occasionally I
long for a time when all women were illiterate and obedient.”
I opened my mouth to argue before
immediately closing it again. To my right, I stole a glance at
Antonio with the book still in hand. He gave a disappointed shake
of his head as well. Nicolo and Laura were watching me, too. If I
could have, I would have crawled into a hole and died.
“
You are right, sir. I will
make sure my behavior is adjusted and appropriate for a woman
blessed enough to be allowed to live at your side.” I gave a brief
curtsey with lowered eyes before heading off to sulk in my room. As
sure as I had been of what I’d seen, the others had convinced me it
was all in my mind.
After being ridiculed and
reprimanded, my behavior adjusted. I kept anything I saw, or
thought
I saw, to myself.
Antonio stayed away from me and when I did see him, I avoided him
like the plague. Dante spoiled me with dresses, exquisite food, and
trips to exciting locations. To be truthful, my life should have
made me happy. But, despair filled my waking hours and the man I
could not have ruled my dreams.
able to be myself. With Dante, not so much. He required a
perfection that was difficult to maintain. Unfaltering devotion to
a man I could not love took its toll. Each day I professed my
admiration of him. Those lies made me more of a glorified whore
than I had ever been as courtesan to the many men of Venice.
I had been staring out my window one
evening, pondering all these terrible thoughts, when Dante entered
my room silently. Not one footstep alerted me to his presence. Only
his warm breath on the back of my neck told me he stood inches from
me. This unexpected visit did not cause me to jump or scream. After
months, I had grown accustomed to the strange acts.
“
What are you thinking, my
dear?” He whispered softly, placing a kiss on my cheek.
“
I was taking a moment to
appreciate how wonderful my life is with you.” I lied.
man.”
He took a seat beside me and I turned my
head slightly to look at him. “You are not that old, Dante.” In
appearance, even with the pure white hair, he couldn’t have been
much older than forty.
“
If you only knew the life I
have lived.” He said in a rare moment of vulnerability that
surprised me.
“
Tell me.” I said.
Give me a reason to love you
.
man does not show his woman weakness. Know this, you make the
trials I have long endured begin to fade and I adore you for
that.”
I leaned in and kissed his lips softly. “I’m
glad.”
“
What I wanted to tell you
is that I am leaving for a few weeks on some important
business.”
“
I am not going with you
this time?”
“
No, this is not the type of
business for a lady such as you. I would be too focused on your
safety.” He gave my hand a small squeeze.
