The Scarlet Deep
Page 16

Henry had been another earth vampire, so she knew any children he sired would be, as well. “Does Hans live near you?”
“Not too far. Bavaria.”
Her client chatted about her children for a while longer, and Anne couldn’t stop the surge of envy.
What friends? Who in there knows you? Knows you really?
She hated that his words still haunted her. She had friends! She had lots of them.
Okay, she mostly had clients, but she was friendly with them. She had Dan and Ruth. She had Brigid and Josie. Not that she saw them much, but she had them. And once the bond with Murphy had faded, she’d be able to be a real partner for someone again. Someone who didn’t drive her crazy and take advantage of her. Someone who respected her. Someone—
“Anne, you’re drifting again.”
“Dammit, Murphy!” She threw her pen down, the tip digging into the floor where it struck.
Covering her face with one hand, she took measured breaths. She could feel her client watching her from across the room.
“Elke, you’re probably right. We should reschedule. I had an unexpected visitor last night, and I am completely distracted.”
Elke’s mouth had turned up at one corner. “You know, I don’t know that I have ever seen you so perturbed. This is a man you’re involved with, I presume.”
“No. Yes. He’s… I’m sorry. This isn’t your problem.”
“I was mated for two hundred years, my dear. I might be able to offer some advice. Plus, I’m a physician myself. You’d be amazed the things people feel comfortable confiding.”
“I knew we got along for a reason,” she muttered. “Still… it’s not professional for me to do this. You’re my patient. You come to me for counsel. I shouldn’t.”
Elke laughed. “We’re not human, Anne. The lines, they are not so clear for us, yes? Tell me about this man. Is he human or vampire?”
“Vampire. We’ve been mated…” She took a deep breath and noticed the older woman’s eyebrows had risen in surprise. “Yes, I was mated. I am mated. We are estranged and have been for many years.”
“I’m so very sorry.”
“It’s fine.” She waved a hand. “It’s in the past. With enough time, the bond grows weaker. Eventually, it fades.”
“How long since you…? If you don’t mind my asking.”
“It’s been around one hundred years since we last exchanged blood.”
Elke’s eyes grew wide. “And you still feel this connection with him? After all that time? How long were you together?”
“Around thirty years. Isn’t that… I’d always heard that it took time, so—”
“Time, yes.” Elke’s voice turned professional. “The biology isn’t strictly clear. It’s an emotional connection as much as a physical one, of course. Friends and allies can exchange blood without any serious bonds forming, so we know there is more to it than simply biology. But for most blood bonds, should the couple stop exchanging blood, the connection fades in roughly half the time they were together. So for you—”
“Fifteen years?” Anne asked. “It should have faded after fifteen years? At fifteen years, I still woke up in the morning smelling him next to me.”
Elke’s mouth opened, but she said nothing.
“Fifteen years?” Anne said again.
“Your connection must have been very strong.”
“It was,” she said roughly.
“May I ask what happened?”
“We had a falling-out.”
“It must have been a serious one.”
“It was.”
“Why won’t you do this for me?”
“How could you even ask?”
“It’s not like you haven’t done it before, Anne. When it suits you—”
“Not for politics, Patrick! Not for bloody, bloody politics! It’s the only thing that matters to you anymore.”
“If you loved me…”
Anne cleared her throat. “We parted ways because he asked me to compromise something very important to me. Even years later, when he apologized… Well, he never really apologized. I think he intended to, but he lost his temper. It wasn’t pleasant.”
“Hot-blooded men,” Elke said. “We love them, and yet they drive us mad.”
Anne smiled. “From what you’ve told me, Henry seems like he was a very level-headed partner.”
“Of course he was. After two hundred years.” Elke smiled. “We didn’t start out that way.”
“No?”
“Anne dear, anytime you have two strong individuals—and we must be strong to conquer our demons and survive this unnatural life, no? Anytime you have two such people, there will be passion. And with passion comes arguments and fighting. For our kind, we only hope there is no blood.”
Anne smiled. “No blood. At least not the violent kind.”
“Who left who?”
“I did. He stayed in Dublin and I…”
“Ran away.”
Anne’s mouth dropped open. “Of course not. I’m originally from here, so when we parted, I decided to return to my home.”
“Far enough to keep your distance and yet torment him.”
“What was I supposed to do?” Anne asked, somewhat perturbed by Elke’s presumption. “Leave the country?”