Circle of Death Read Online Free PDF Page B

attention.
    “Why should I? We have had our altercations before, and both of us are still alive.”
    He reached out to put a stray strand of copper hair behind her ear, and her smile widened. His gesture wasn’t proper, but she had never cared about it… And neither had him.
    “Would you like to stay the night, then?” She invited, gesturing towards the house behind her.
    “I would love to, but not tonight. There is too much going on to risk it.” He seemed truly regretful, but he was also right.
    She nodded, even though her eyes had a strange light on them, and there was a hint of a laugh in her expression, as if she knew more than she let on.
     
    I shook my head, trying to erase those images. I missed my copper hair, but that was all I missed from the past… Or what I let myself miss. If I was being honest, I missed the chance of happiness I had had in my grasp, once.
    But it didn’t matter if Lucio was the man in those memories or not – and I carefully avoided trying to compare him with what I could remember of that man. He moved me in ways that no one had been able to do for longer that I wanted to remember. It was easy to smile with him, and each of his smiles left me unsure about how to act. His small gesture of making coffee had me with a silly smile until I arrived at the classroom. It had been too long since anyone had done anything like this for me. And the worst was that I knew it had nothing to do with a vampire’s natural allure. I was immune to all that. But, since that first moment sitting beside him on my living room, he had made me feel something I hadn’t felt in a long time. And I, truthfully, didn’t think I would ever feel again, after all that had happened.
    “Kelene?” Artur’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
    “Sorry, Artur, my head was miles away. What is it?”
    “Group activity.” He pointed to the board.
    We had been doing all college group activities together for so long that once in a while one of us wouldn’t do it. And that was a day I’d rather take to think about what was going on and decide how to act from there.
    “Do you mind…?”
    “The next one is yours.” Was all he said before starting to work.
    I hid my surprise. Usually he would be asking a lot of questions, trying to figure out why I was like that. But not today. Weird.
    But in the next second my thoughts were back to Lucio and what his presence meant. How can someone trust again after learning that the man she gave her life to was a traitor? How could I even dream about falling in love again, after all that had happened when I felt like this before? But I should have guessed that only another vampire would be able to make me feel again, even if I hated this idea. Only one of them would be able to understand and accept me… And have a power that was equivalent to mine.
    And there was also the problem of my memories. Those years were clear in my mind, as if nothing would ever erase them, no matter how much I tried. The love, the suspicions, a chance of a bright something I wasn’t sure I could name, and then the worst betrayal. The two men that had destroyed me. No. One man. The other one had been only a catalyst, the last straw that made me take a stand.
    But, unlike Seth, Lucio didn’t know what I was. And even if he did, Death couldn’t send any other servants against me, I had made sure of that.
    I was no longer that naïve girl.
    I barely heard what was said at the other classes, and was still lost in thoughts when I went home.
    When I arrived at the apartment, the technician who had gone there to install the cable TV was just leaving. I locked the door after him, surprised. They usually needed two or three days to send someone. Lucio noticed my surprise and smiled.
    “Vampires and their tricks to get everything done in record speed.” I muttered, with a trace of laugh in my voice. I knew perfectly well that there were no trick, only lots of money involved. It must be nice.
    I did have money, but