Bloodlines

Three

Elair's mind whirled at the revelation. Why in the hell would an ancient vampire that had been alive since the era of the Gods suddenly decided to turn a human for the first time in thousands of years? And, like Dante had said, why her? Why now? What made her special enough for Lazarus to leave his home and travel halfway across the globe to find her and turn her? More importantly, how did a Master vampire even know her? 

Elair tried to calm herself, but the more she thought about Lazarus and what he'd done to her, the more she was overcome with bloodlust. Her need to find him, get the answers she wanted, and then kill him was almost primal in its ferocity. Dante was telling her something, but she wasn't listening. Infuriated and full of malevolence, she cut him off.

"Where can I find him, Dante?" she asked. 

Dante looked at her, surprised by her unfriendly tone. "Elair, you can't rush off to confront him. You're far too young and experienced to take on an ancient Master Vampire," he said.

"Fine. Then train me," she demanded. "Because I want that son-of-a-bitch to pay for what he did to me."

Dante sighed and nodded. "I can do that, but there are some things we need to do first."

"Like what?"

"You need a coven," he replied.

"How is a coven going to help me kill Lazarus?"

"By helping you survive and giving you people you can count on. By giving you shelter and friends. By being your family," Dante explained.

Dante's words made her heart ache. She'd just lost all of those things, and the chance to make all news for herself nearly brought tears to her eyes.

"Okay, well, do you know any that would accept me?" Elair asked.

"All of the ones I know of would. But only one will work for you."

She smiled, eager. "Oh, yeah? Which one?"

Dante smiled back at her. "Mine. The Ashes Coven of Thessaloniki, Greece."

Elair blanched. "Greece? Your coven is from Greece?" she asked, getting excited. "I've always wanted to go there!"

Dante smiled. "Well now you get to not only go there, but live there."

Elair was about to start gushing like a starstruck fangirl when she realized two things. One, Lazarus was from Greece. Two, why had Dante been in Cluj-Napoca, Romania when his coven, his home, was in Greece? Curious, she decided to ask him.

"Dante, why are you are here instead of in Greece?" 

Dante hesitated. "I was tracking Lazarus. He's been kidnapping women from the Ashes for some time now."

Elair's hand flew up to cover her mouth in horror. She wrapped her arms around her bondmate and squeezed, wanting to provide him comfort. 

"I'm so sorry, Dante. That must be horrible," she cooed.

He hugged her back for a moment, his grip gentle. Then, they both pulled back.

"Well, we'd better get going," he said.

"How are we getting there?"

Dante's grin could only be described as wicked. "I have my ways."

Wary, she started to step back; only for him to grasp her wrist and pull her towards the doors. They stepped out into the frigid night, sending a shiver down Elair's spine. They walked over to their horses, who'd huddled close together to share body heat and keep warm. Elair smiled and walked over to her mare. Eadlyn snorted and bumped the young vamp's hand with her snout.