The Recruit

Chapter 33

The assassins regrouped at the base under St. Peter Basilica and Raina went downstairs to update Lucius on their progress.

"So did you find her?" Lucius asked his eyes showed hope for the first time since his confinement.

"No, but she survived the Dagger. She killed Mario and Eduardo Vargas, Lucius. You have been blessed by the God of Blood with a fierce mate." Lucius felt pried roaring in his chest, but couldn't help feeling disappointed that his lover decided to disappear again.

"She'll come back Lucius. We'll find her and we'll return her to you." Reina promised the vampire.

"What if she doesn't want to come back? You said it yourself; she didn't come back with you and you said she got Eduardo Vargas killed before you got there, so she could have went back here. What if she decided to take this chance to free herself from us and build a life elsewhere?"

Raina doubted that. She saw how the recruit always stole glances at Lucius. As a woman secretly in love herself, she could spot love when she saw one. As much as she wished to tell Lucius love will conquer all, she couldn't help but think that there was a possibility of what Lucius said could be true. Livia had done her task, so if she wished to return she could have just walk on her own two feet into the Ordinatio.

Unless... unless she figured something more and go after it.

Reina remembered that Luca told Livia that as long as she stayed alive the vampire wouldn't go into bloodlust. Clearly, Livia was still alive and yet Lucius' temper grew worse and worse every day. Proving Luca's theory about 'merely' keeping Livia alive would suffice to prevent Lucius from turning into a bloodlust vampire was a wrong one. They needed to be together and Livia need to accept him for the vampire to keep his wits. Luca told her that Lucius was barely holding it together the first time Livia left him, but he still had hope that she was alive somewhere and at some point along the line, little Jacob came along.

Having someone to care for helped the vampire picked up his broken heart pieces by pieces, while he sorted his heart. But seeing his son got attacked in the Ordinatio he worked for, seeing Livia with another man and traipsing into the enemy's base? Seeing someone try to hurt his son? She wasn't even a vampire and she knew she would see red.

Raina told her vampire Master Assassin to hang in there. She told him she might took her time to come back to explore Rome and promised him to keep an eye out for her. Lucius' form slumped into the wall he was chained on and the blank look on his face reappeared.

A few hours later still no words from the other Masters about Livia. Lucius prayed silently to all the gods out there to protect his Livia. Then he heard his cell door opens. It's Kojiro and his son. His son looked away.

"I'm sorry I kept him away from you for quite awhile, Master Octavius." He gave a curt nod to Kojiro.

"Jacob, I know you have been missing your father. Would you like me to leave you two to talk? I'll wait outside." Master Kojiro asked the young boy.

"I neither wished nor have anything to say to Master Octavius, sir. I told you this, I need to get back to my study now." The boy still refused to see his father's eyes, who winced at his words. Lucius knew he only had himself to blame.

"Fine then. I'll update your father on your progress, you stay here." Kojiro commanded and he directed his attention to Lucius.

"Lucius, your son is behaving well at home and his teacher has reported that his grades got back up again. He studies all day and night. The teachers' only complaint is that your son doesn't smile anymore and he doesn't interact with his friends. After school, he never plays and I often heard him cry." Jake's face reddened that Master Kojiro told his father about it.