The Immortal Compromise (The Mortal One Series Book 3) (15 page)

Chapter 19

JEN AND I both slept in until close to noon. I was up first, blending up a smoothie in the kitchen when she came down.

“I didn’t wake you, did I?” I asked, staring down at the blender.

“No, I was up. I was going to knock on your door and then I heard the noise down here,” she said, letting out a yawn.

I poured the contents of the pitcher into two glasses and slid one her way.

“Thanks,” she said, taking a seat at the kitchen counter. “So now what?”

I looked at the clock on the stove. “Sunset isn’t for another five hours, so it will be a while until they are back.”

“Do you have a car?”

“Of course, what did you have in mind?”

“Well, I thought maybe we could go into Paris?” She looked hopeful and it reminded me that we hadn’t gotten to go into the city yet. All that had happened only spanned one night. It sucked to be on vampire time sometimes.

I nodded and downed the smoothie in front of me. “Of course. We can get dressed and then go do some shopping and have a late lunch,” I suggested.

“That sounds great. I only packed for a long weekend, so maybe we could go somewhere for clothes? That I can afford?”

“I have you covered.” It suddenly hit me. “Umm, Jen?”

“What?”

“Your job. When are you supposed to be back?”

“Oh, I almost forgot about work. I will have to call and tell them that I have to extend my trip. They’re expecting me back in two days.”

Olivier needed to start his grooming process of her quicker than I thought. Although we talked a lot last night, there were things I hadn’t shared with her. As her friend, I should be the one to explain, though.

“You might as well quit,” I explained. “You won’t be going back to work.”

She looked a little confused, so I continued.

“There’s the grooming process, the turning, and then you will be a vampire,” I said.

“Oh.” I waited for her to say something else. She just stood there and I knew that her head had to be going in a few hundred directions. I had been there once, too.

“Jen?”

“Yeah, I mean, I knew that,” she said quietly, wiping her mouth after finishing off her smoothie.

“Okay,” I said, not knowing what else to say. I left it at what it was, hoping that once Olivier started the grooming process that it would clear up the rest of her uncertainties.

We went upstairs to get showered and dressed. We had a busy day on the streets of Paris to prepare for.

“You ready?” I called to her outside of the guest room.

“Coming,” she said and then opened the door. She was dressed in jeans and boots like I was.

“I’ll grab one of my scarfs for you. It gets cold walking around,” I said and walked back into my room.

“Thanks,” she said. “Florida girl didn’t pack well.”

“It’s okay. It took me a while to get used to it all, too,” I said, handing her a blue scarf that matched her sweater. “We won’t have a whole lot of time to spend in Paris, but we will have a few hours.”

As we walked into the kitchen once downstairs, I told her I was going to leave a note for Nico and Olivier. “Just in case we’re not back in time.”

***

Surprisingly, we did make it back before Nico and Olivier, which was more than a little concerning. It was close to seven when we made it back into
Marnes-la-Coquette
. By the time we got into the city, found a place for lunch, and did some shopping, the time had gotten away from us.

The good news was that we both had several shopping bags in hand with some new clothes. We also had a box of
macarons
that we decided to buy at one of the bakeries. The bright colors of the meringue cookies fascinated me and they were so good.

“Now that was a shopping trip,” Jen said, setting her bags down in the living room. “Are you sure Nico will be okay with you spending money on me?”

I wasn’t going to tell her that I had no intention of telling him that I bought specifically for her. He wouldn’t care, which is why it would never even come up. “I told you, it’s taken care of.”

She smiled and sat down on the couch. “Is it wrong that I’m hungry again? It didn’t seem like there was a lot of food on my plate at lunch.”

I laughed, remembering my reaction was about the same when I was first in Paris. “No, because I am, too. It’s getting close to dinner time anyways. If we don’t eat before they get here, we probably won’t until tomorrow.”

“They don’t eat, do they?” She asked.

I shook my head. “No. And they generally forget that we need to.”

“Do you still cook?”

“Of course,” I said, walking into the kitchen. “Let me see what I have.”

I started opening the doors to the fridge and the pantry, calling out ingredients to her.

“Chicken fricassee is fast and easy,” I said. “How does that sound to you?”

“I don’t know what it is, but it sounds good.”

I took out chicken, lemons, a stick of butter, and a few other ingredients that I needed.

The butter melted in the pan and the chicken was going in to brown when the front door opened.

Nico walked in with Olivier close behind. There was no Violante with them and I let out the breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.

“What smells so good?” Olivier asked, walking directly into the kitchen.

“Chicken fricassee,” I said, reaching for the diced shallots.

Olivier stood behind me, watching my every move. “It’s just like how my mom used to make it,” he said.

“I’ll take that as a compliment?” I asked.

He nodded. “Is there enough for me, too?”

“Sure,” I said and reached for three plates out of the cabinet.

“Wait,” Jen said. “You said they don’t eat food.”

I looked at Olivier, waiting to see if he wanted to explain, since I couldn’t. “We don’t, usually. Nico doesn’t. I have just recently started to enjoy some food again. Not often, though.”

Jen groaned, likely out of confusion. I couldn’t say that I blamed her. Trying to figure out what was going on with Olivier and why he was gaining an appetite for food again was frustrating for Nico and I, so I was right there with her.

The chicken was ready, so I plated and squeezed a lemon over each piece before handing some over to both Olivier and Jen. I took my plate over to the dining room table and sat down. Everyone followed me.

“Riesling?” Nico asked, holding up a bottle.

I nodded and he brought it over with two wine glasses. He poured some in the glass for me and some for Jen.

“So you found Violante?” I asked, cutting into the chicken breast.

Nico nodded. “We did. It appears that she has been spending time with one of the vampires in Paris, one that has hoped to take power, but has not been a vampire long enough to obtain the power on his own.”

“Is he feeding information hoping that she will make a move that will benefit him?” I asked.

“That is our thought,” Nico said.

“Is there a way to find out for sure?” I asked. Violante had no power in Paris and technically, for her to have any power, it would require her to kill Nico to become the sovereign or kill Olivier to become Nico’s second in command. I didn’t see that happening on any level, but it didn’t stop her from being a constant pain in my ass.

“We have spent some time with both Violante and this younger vampire. He has not told us anything, but we have given him a warning,” Nico said. “We are hoping that is enough to scare him into submission.”

“Otherwise he dies?” I asked, knowing enough about vampire politics to know how it works.

“Yes.”

Jen set her fork and knife down and stared at everyone at the table. “Death? That is the punishment for disobedience?”

Nico nodded. “Usually. It is something to keep in mind if you should ever decide to be disobedient, regardless of where you choose to live throughout your life as a vampire.”

“Good to know,” Jen said, and resumed eating.

“This is delicious,” Olivier said, looking up from his plate, which was almost empty. It was as if he was oblivious to the conversation taking place. He was focused entirely on the food, which made me feel good about my cooking abilities.

“Costin is on his way from Florence,” Nico announced. “We had no choice but to call him since she is not listening to me. While I could order her death for disobedience, she has been a friend of mine for years, as has Costin. He can make the decision on her behalf. I owe both of them that much.”

I shook my head and reached for my wine. “I don’t understand why she would decide to try and make a power move in a city where she has no authority.” She was in a good position in Florence. She worked her way up to second in command at Costin’s side now that Nico had moved to Paris. For her not to listen to what Nico ordered didn’t make any sense.

“It does not make sense to me, either. She has said that she is trying to help and sort out the issues. The only thing I can think of is that she is trying to prove herself as a more worthy second than Olivier so that I would allow her to stay in Paris,” Nico said.

Well, that made a lot of sense. She was in love with Nico and since he was no longer in Florence, why would she want to be in Florence? I didn’t have anything to say to that, so I took another sip of wine.

Jen decided to make some more sense out of the situation. “Does she have the ability to move to Paris if she wanted?”

“She does,” Nico explained. “Every vampire has the ability to move to wherever they want as long as they make themselves known to the sovereign and pledge themselves. She has not made the attempt to pledge herself to me. She also hasn’t said anything about wanting to move to the city. Right now, it is a power move only, which is dangerous.”

“We will go over all of the rules when we start with the grooming process,” Olivier said, standing up with his empty plate.

“Okay,” Jen said and stood up with her plate in hand as well.

“When will that start?” Nico asked, turning his direction to Olivier.

“We will start tomorrow evening. My intention was to start tonight, but with Costin on his way here, it does not appear that will happen,” Olivier said.

Nico nodded. “Very well. I must leave to go pick up Costin from the airport. Violante has been told to come over this evening. My hope is to be back before she arrives.”

Great. Fucking great. I kept my mouth shut, but folded my arms over my chest and glared in Nico’s direction.

“My apologies, Dylan. But it must happen,” Nico said, standing up and coming to kiss me on the forehead. “I will be back as soon as traffic allows.”

He walked out of the front door. I could only hope that Violante didn’t show up until Nico and Costin were here. I hated dealing with her and the feeling was mutual. Olivier and Jen were giggling in the kitchen about something, so I let them do the dishes without me. I didn’t need to stand there and watch them flirt back and forth.

Chapter 20

VIOLANTE WALKED THROUGH the door, uninvited. Jen, Olivier, and I were sitting in the living room talking when we heard the front door open. I assumed it was Nico, back with Costin, but heard the click of her high heels on the hardwood floors. Hearing the sound sobered me up instantly.

“Where is Nico?” She asked with one hand on her hip.

“Good evening, Violante,” I greeted her in the entryway as nicely as I could. Considering she walked through my front door without even knocking, she could at least acknowledge my presence.

She looked down her nose at me. “Where is Nico?”

I sighed. We could go round and round with this, but it would go nowhere. She refused to acknowledge me. I stared at her for a moment, waiting to see if she would say anything more to me.

After a few moments of awkward silence and a stare down that I would not win, I finally told her what she wanted to here. “He went to get Costin from the airport,” I said and wondered if that was supposed to be a surprise. She didn’t seem surprised, so it was possible that they had already told her that he was on his way into the city.

She tapped her foot methodically on the hardwood floor as if waiting for me to do something for her. I stared at her. If she wanted something, she would have to ask for it.
Go away
. She spoke the words into my head, which was a gift that she possessed that pissed me off to no end. Nico and Costin had both told her not to do it, but it didn’t stop her.

“Fuck you,” I said out loud. “You are in my house right now.” She crossed so many boundaries and no one seemed to notice. Maybe that was her problem. Everyone let her get away with so much at all times that she thought she was invincible.

“This isn’t your house. It is Nico’s house.” She stood there with a smirk on her face. It was as if she was daring me to make a move.

“And he is my husband, therefore it is our house. Not yours. You should remember that.” I stood in front of her and wondered where the hell Olivier was. He should be at my side right now to make sure that she didn’t do something stupid, like reach over and snap my neck.

She took a step forward and hissed at me. Her fangs flashed and I was proud of myself for standing my ground. “I can go wherever I wish. You are nothing but a mortal who has proven to be a speed bump.”

“A speed bump?” I asked, unsure of where the hell she was going with such a comment. “Towards what?”

“Nico and I
will
be together,” she said with a smile of satisfaction spreading across her face. She took a step into the kitchen, walking around. It was as if she was trying to mark her territory. Her perfectly manicured fingers slid over the granite countertops and then along several of the cabinets.

My fists clenched instinctively as I walked into the kitchen after her. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but that’s never going to happen. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You will go somewhere. And I will be the one to send you there,” she said and smiled, revealing her fangs once again.

“Don’t threaten me in my own house,” I said.

“It’s not a threat, dear,” she said, leaning down into my face.

My fist reacted before I could think about it. I punched her square in the face. While I hadn’t intended on doing it, there was a sense of satisfaction after making that connection. She finally pushed me over the edge. My hand throbbed, but it was worth it.

The look that flashed across her face was one of shock, which quickly changed into anger. “You fucking little mortal,” she said to me, wiping at her nose. I didn’t see any blood and secretly wished there had been some. Something to mess up that face of hers would have been the icing on the cake. She took several steps at me and I was suddenly backed against the kitchen counter.

Olivier quickly entered the kitchen. She made a reach for me and Olivier was instantly between us. His speed was impressive and very handy.

“Move,” Violante hissed at him.

“She is the sovereign’s pet and wife. To attack her would mean your death,” Olivier said.

“Move,” she said again and seemed to be staring through him instead of at him.

“You will have to go through me. And hurting either one of us will come with consequences.”

She shook her head. “I do not follow the rules of others.”

“I will kill you myself,” Olivier threatened, “and I will enjoy it.”

My back was still pressed into the kitchen counter and I tried to step to the side while watching Olivier go head to head with Violante.

“Just sit down and wait for Nico to arrive with Costin,” Olivier said.

“I do not need to listen to the likes of you,” Violante said. “Move out of my way or I will go through you.”

Olivier stood straight and I saw the muscles in his back flex through the shirt he wore. She was not aware of the second bloodline he had and that could give him the advantage to wipe the floor with her.

Just kill her
. I said it in my head to Olivier, but knew very well that she could read my thoughts if she was tuned in as well.

“He does not have the power or the skill to do such a thing,” Violante said and laughed. Her lips were drawn over her fangs and she went back to hissing at Olivier.

Before he had a chance to do anything, Costin walked through the front door with Nico following close behind. Both stopped when they saw the confrontation that was taking place in front of them.

“What is going on here?” Costin asked to no one in particular and stepped into the kitchen. He was smaller in height and stature than Olivier, but he commanded the space with the power that he exuded.

Olivier spoke. “Violante was about to attack Dylan.”

Violante rolled her eyes and took a step back, allowing Olivier to move away. It also freed me from the kitchen counter so I could move away from her as well.

“Violante?” Costin questioned, his face turning cold as he looked at her.

“The bitch punched me in the face,” she answered.

Nico looked at me and his head shook slightly, silently condemning me. I shrugged in response, not feeling guilty about what I did.

“What did you do to deserve that?” Costin asked. I was thankful that he was already coming to my defense.

Violante rolled her eyes and took a step away from Olivier and towards Costin and Nico. “The mortal is out of her mind.”

“She has a name,” Nico reminded her. “It is Dylan and you know this.”

“Nico, I will address her by name when she is my equal and not before,” Violante said.

Nico’s entire posture stiffened.

Costin walked past her and came to greet me properly. He gave me a kiss on each cheek and walked with me into the living room, where Jen sat on the couch. “I’m so sorry that this has happened to you and your friend.”

I nodded. “I trust you are going to do something about her?”

He pulled at his jacket. “She will be going back to Toscana with me. There, she will have to answer to what she has done.”

“Good. She has been out of line since she got here,” I said.

Nico stepped into the room and put his hand on my shoulder. “Dylan,” he said quietly.

“My friend would not be in this mess if Violante did not feel as though she had something to prove,” I continued.

“Dylan,” Nico warned.

“No,” I said. “Costin needs to know that she was out of line. She made the assumption that I told Jen about vampires when I hadn’t. Jen would still be ignorant to the fact if Violante had not opened her mouth.”

“I can hear every word that you say,” Violante said, walking into the room after everyone.

“And?” I said, challenging her to deny any of it.

Costin looked over at Jen. “You are already marked. I am glad to see it.”

She nodded with wide eyes, not knowing who he was or what was going on.

“My manners, my apologies,” he said and reached to tighten his blonde ponytail. He extended his hand out to her. “My name is Costin and I am the sovereign of Toscana.”

She sat up to take his outreached hand. He took her hand with both of his and he kissed the pulse point on her wrist and then released it. She looked at me with panic written across her face and then back at him.

“It’s okay,” I said to her. “Costin is here to make sure that Violante gets out of Paris since she is not welcome.” I knew everyone could hear what I was saying, which was part of the fun of saying it out loud.

“I’m fucking warning you,” Violante said, taking a step forward.

Feeling confident that I was protected by all of the vampires in the room, I squared my shoulders and stood in front of her. “Warning me about what? What is it that you think you are going to get away with in a city where you have no power and in a home that does not belong to you?”

“Ladies,” Costin said, stepping in between the two of us. “Violante,” he said, turning his attention to her. “Why did you not return to Florence when Nico and Olivier returned from Berlin?”

She didn’t make an attempt to apologize. It was a series of excuses as to why she felt she had to stay in the city. Anyone could see that she was smitten with Nico and wanted to do anything she could to be in his good graces. The only one who seemed to not take notice of this affection was Nico.

“My help is still needed in the city,” Violante said to Costin.

Costin shook his head. “It is not your decision to make. You are my second and therefore your help is needed in Florence. At this point, you need to return and face everyone to determine what your fate will be.”

She opened her mouth to defend her actions, but Costin shut her down.

“Silence. I don’t want to hear anything from you until we return to Florence.”

Her head dropped into a submissive pose and she went to stand by the front door.

“Jen, it was nice to meet you. It is my hope that when we meet again, it is under better terms,” Costin said. “As for the rest of you, thank you for taking care of things here and elsewhere.”

We all nodded at him and he walked to the front door and took Violante out the door with his arm around her shoulder. They walked out and Nico went behind them to lock the front door.

“What the fuck?” I asked, sinking into the couch. The adrenaline that raced through my body during the encounter with Violante drained out of me and I started to shake.

Jen reached over to give me a hug. “I don’t really know much about what just happened, but I’m really glad to see that bitch leaving the city.”

I laughed and nodded. “Well put.”

“The night is still young,” Olivier said, looking out the window. “Jen, would you like to learn more about being a pet and what there is to know?”

Jen looked at me and then at him. “Okay, Ollie,” she said and stood up to go over to him.

“We can go to my place in the city,” he said. “Would you like to stay the night with me?”

I raised my eyebrows at him, but he ignored my concerns.

She nodded and said that she would go pack an overnight bag.

“Go ahead and get the car warmed up. She will be right out,” I said and ran upstairs to help her pack.

She was all smiles when I got up there. “This is exciting,” she said.

“What do you think is going to happen?” I asked. While I knew what she wanted to happen, I also knew that there were dangers with it. The bruises that I suffered during sex with Nico on occasion was proof that it could be dangerous.

She looked at me. “Seriously?”

“Please remember that he is a vampire and you are a mortal,” I said, trying my best not to sound like an over protective mother.

“You and Nico have sex,” she stated.

“And I can tell you all about the bruising, too.”

That seemed to get her attention. “Bruising? What the hell?”

“Vampires are more powerful than you realize. If he does not shield properly, it can hurt. He won’t mean to hurt you, but it can happen.”

She didn’t seem to like my answer because she pouted as she finished packing her overnight bag. “I can get some answers, though.”