Ben froze. “Why?”
“Because I asked him to be there,” she said. “When I told you that he fell asleep in there accidentally the other day, it was a lie.” She turned to him before he could speak. “I apologize for lying to you.”
Ben wanted to be angry, but an apology from Tenzin was too rare. “Why did you lie?”
“Avoidance. I did not want to cause a larger fight than the one we were already having.”
Ben felt a piercing pressure in his ear. “But why, Tenzin? Why did you ask René, of all people—”
“Oh!” She walked into the wreckage and kicked aside a trio of pipes running the length of the trailer to reveal a gash in the earth. “He was insurance.”
He stared at the trench. “Insurance?”
“It’s always nice having an earth vampire around,” she muttered, kicking a pile of ash. “Very useful creatures.”
Ben’s eyes went wide. “Wait, is René still under—”
“No, I flew him back to the caravan. He was quite grateful to be rid of me; not a fan of flying.” She kicked aside the dirt. “I knew what they were planning once I smelled the kerosene. I broke through the floor when they walked away, waking René when we landed. You’ll be happy to know I slapped him quite hard. He buried us under the vehicle, and as soon as the sun went down, he dug us out.”
Ben stared at her. “You stayed underground with René fucking DuPont all day? Is he alive?”
“Yes. I was surprisingly calm when I was underground this time. I believe my irritation with René overrode my instinctual fear. He’s surprisingly affectionate in his sleep. Very… handsy.”
Ben cocked his head. The fuck you say? “Tenzin—”
“You’re not allowed to kill him,” she broke in. “Don’t even think about it. He was and is part of the plan.”
“What plan?” He spun with his arms held out. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. We need to find a cave or something fast, because I do not trust that thing in daylight.” He pointed at the trailer. “We have no plan.”
“My Benjamin.” She rose in the air, holding her hand out. “Of course we have a plan.”
They took shelter in one of the natural limestone caves in the area. Ben stripped the blankets and pillows from the trailer to make a pallet on the ground and grabbed the few belongings he had with him, leaving the electronics in the caravan, wanting nothing that Vano might be able to use to track him.
“Vano will believe I’m dead,” Tenzin said. “With René back in the camp, no one will know he wasn’t in his trailer last night.”
“So you know where the Poshani are?” Ben felt the dawn coming.
“It wasn’t hard since I knew their last location. I can travel faster than human caravans.” She pressed him down into the pillows and blankets. “Sleep, Benjamin. I’ll tell you the rest tomorrow night. We have time.” She pressed a kiss to his mouth. “Sleep.”
For the first time in his immortal life, Ben settled down for his day rest with Tenzin curled into his side. Her amnis ran through his blood, and her scent filled his senses.
Sleep.
Ben murmured, “‘You must learn to be strong in the dark as well as in the day, else you will always be only half brave.’”
“I remember reading that to you.” Tenzin laid her head on his chest. “You told me once that it was a greater compliment to be trusted than to be loved.”
“I remember,” he murmured.
“I trusted you to come back to me.” She whispered something as he fell asleep, ancient words that crept into his mind and settled in his heart like a mantra.
“What…?”
“You’ll learn,” she said softly. “I will teach you.”
They watched the Poshani camp from a distance, surveying a landscape dotted with crystal clear lakes and ponds where water birds roosted in the long grass. The sky overhead was clear, unmarred by a single cloud, and the moon was waxing nearly full. The circle of caravans and trailers was lit by the moonlight and torches. A large bonfire burned in the center, and Ben could smell the lingering scent of meat roasting over a fire.
“The festival will take place here in two nights, when the moon is full.” Tenzin turned to look at him. “By that time, we will have all three goblets in our possession and we’ll be able to expose Vano and his plot against Radu and Kezia.”
Ben still had his doubts about Radu’s sister. “How do we know Kezia doesn’t know about this? She took Vano to Kashgar. She invited you to the caravan.”
“Precisely because of that. They burned my trailer and believe they killed me.” Tenzin nodded toward the camp. “I was Kezia’s invited guest. Her beliefs would never permit it. She had no idea what Vano was planning.”
“Are you sure?”
“Kezia and I both honor the Kali,” she said. “And she knows I am a devotee of the goddess. Trust me on this.”
Ben used the binoculars he’d stolen from the trailer. “Okay, but when we’re done with this, you’re going to explain the Kali thing. I thought you were an atheist.”
“Why would you think that? I have a spiritual system; it’s simply not as easily classifiable as yours.”
“I’m nearly an atheist.”
She laughed. “Being nearly an atheist is not a thing. You are a Catholic, like your uncle. Trust me, I recognize the signs.”
“Can we discuss this later?”
“Just to be clear, I do not believe in marriage contracts.”
Ben dropped the binoculars and glared at her. “Did I ask?”
“No, but it seemed relevant to the conversation.”
“It’s not.”
“Okay.” She leaned her chin on her hand. “I’m bored.”
“You’re the one who said we needed to wait for René.”
“I know. Right now Vano thinks I’m dead and you’re gone. It’s a great advantage.” She pouted. “But it’s boring to wait.”
“If we weren’t sitting in the middle of a forest, I’d think of something to amuse you,” he murmured. “But we are and I’m not an exhibitionist. Looks like you’re out of luck.”
Tenzin swung her legs. “Are you going to return to New York?”
“Yes. It’s past time I checked on the loft. God knows what you’ve done to it the past couple of years.”
She didn’t shoot him a quick comeback.
Ben glanced over to see her smiling. “What?”
“Nothing.” She reached for the binoculars. “I want to see.”
He handed them over. “They’re setting up some kind of stage.”
“For the ceremony.”
Ben watched the flickering bonfire in the distance. “Why are they doing it? Radu, Kezia, and Vano aren’t getting older. Why is it time to choose new leadership?”
“I don’t know. It might not be all three of them—that would seem unwise. Maybe there is a timeline they agreed to when they became the terrin. But I believe any vampire choosing a successor will choose from Poshani candidates who present themselves.”