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H er head was spinning, but no longer from pain. There were so many paintings! And each one bore her face. This man was obsessed. Beyond obsessed. But he was also correct; she could feel the strange pull between them, and it screamed for her to listen to him.

So she listened. But how could she believe such wild claims?

Nine hundred years old…ridiculous. Yet the more paintings she examined, the more familiar some of the scenes began to be.

Glimpses of rooms she’d never entered and snatches of music she’d never heard faded in and out of her mind, making her hands tremble.

It was all so beautiful, despite being hard to believe. When she took herself out of it, a love story spanning centuries played out before her. Two figures destined to be together, yet torn apart over and over again.

And then there was the shadow figure. Like the one in her mirror and the one in the Louvre, it stared at her menacingly.

And Sebastian’s reaction to her pointing it out did nothing to calm the sick feeling in her stomach.

“What do you mean, something is wrong? They’re just paintings.

How do you not know that you painted that creepy thing into all of them? ”

“Because I didn’t, ” Sebastian insisted, backing away from the paintings. “I have no idea how that thing got in them, because it’s never been there before.” The fear in his eyes caused Isabel to clutch her hands to her chest.

“Okay, then something is definitely wrong here. And on top of everything else crazy you’ve told me today, I’ve reached my insanity limit. Can we get out of this creepy dungeon of terrors? Just looking at that shadow figure makes me feel sick.”

Sebastian nodded and reached out to take Isabel’s hand, but she dodged him and began running toward the stairs. This all felt too much like she’d somehow stepped into a horror movie of the supernatural kind. Her least favorite variety.

Once upstairs, Isabel really had no idea what to do with herself.

Should she pack up and demand to go home?

Run to town and tell the police there was a madman living in the creepy castle on the hill?

Not that she spoke a word of Italian. Perhaps she should have thought of that before agreeing to fly to another continent to visit a near-stranger!

Her panicking was interrupted by Sebastian hitting the top of the stairs and slamming his feet into his boots.

“Isabel, you need to make a choice, and you need to make it fast. I have to go to Venice and find out what is going on with my paintings. I don’t know if it’s safe for you to stay here alone, so either you need to come with me, or you need to go home to your family. ”

“What?” Isabel stared at Sebastian, baffled by his urgency. “I still don’t really understand what is going on or why something you painted into all of your paintings is suddenly making you act like the apocalypse is upon us.”

He shook his head and buttoned his leather overcoat.

“I know you don’t believe me yet, Isabel, but I didn’t paint that shadow figure.

I don’t know why the figure is there suddenly.

But those paintings are infused with magic, and I’ve entered them all dozens of times.

You have entered many of them multiple times through the years.

” He pulled on his gloves and hood, leaving his face in shadow.

“Never have you passed out in one of them, and never have either of us seen this thing that makes us both feel ill. I need to get back to the coven keep and either ask Victor what’s going on, or read what the archive has to say about my type of magic.

So you have to make a decision. Are you coming, or am I sending you home? ”

Isabel felt the panic rising into her throat, strangling her vocal cords and making it hard to breathe.

She began to hyperventilate, her chest heaving as her breaths came in short, shallow gasps.

Sebastian took a deep breath himself and cupped Isabel’s chin with his gloved hand.

“Hey, dolcezza, look at me. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like this.

Breathe, okay? In, out. In, out. Concentrate on my face, okay? ”

As much as she wanted to pull away, Sebastian’s touch was magnetic and his voice was hypnotic. She found herself inhaling and exhaling on his command. Her muscles began to relax, and Sebastian smiled softly. “That’s my girl. What do you need to know to make a decision?”

“Who is Victor?”

Sebastian frowned, but remained nearly nose-to-nose with her.

“Victor is the master vampire, and for all intents and purposes, my father figure. But we had a falling out around 1625 or so, and I moved here to Vernazza to live in my birth father’s ancestral home.

He wanted me to know more about my magic, but I didn’t want to listen. And now it is coming back to bite me.”

A deep sense of unease still refused to release her chest, but curiosity sprouted. If all of this was real, she was being given the most amazing opportunity to experience a world that most of society knew nothing about. And if Sebastian was just a crazy man? Well, at least she would know for sure.

“I’m coming with you. I have too many questions to just go home and pretend none of this ever happened. That we never met. I have this weird feeling that I’d regret leaving for the rest of my life.”

Relief blossomed into joy on Sebastian’s face and he threw his arms around her. “ Vita mia, I am so glad! Go get ready. Pack for three days, okay? I suspect we’ll be gone at least that long.”

Isabel nodded and hurried into the bedroom before she could change her mind. She tossed three days’ worth of clothes and other necessities into her backpack, thoughts spinning the whole time. What was she getting herself into?

She wouldn’t really know until she was there.

Less than five minutes later, she returned to Sebastian’s side and he took her hand.

“Okay. We’ll have plenty of time to talk while traveling, so I promise I will answer any questions you have.

In return, please promise you won’t publicly freak out at all the strange things I’m going to show you?

The coven won’t take kindly to anything that puts our existence in danger. ”

“I’ll do my best,” she agreed. “That’s the best I can do.”

“Fair enough. Alright, let’s go. Just trust me, follow my instructions, and you’ll be perfectly safe.”

She didn’t really believe that, but the decision had been made.

Isabel nodded and took Sebastian’s hand.

He winced as they stepped out into the daylight and pulled his hood down lower.

“So how much of the vampire lore in the movies and stuff is true? I always thought you’d like…

burst into flame or turn into dust if you went out in the daytime. ”

“It’s not that dramatic. Yes, the sunlight burns like hell if it hits our skin, but unfortunately it won’t kill us.

It sure feels like bursting into flame.” Sebastian’s nose wrinkled and his fangs poked out a little.

“I try not to go out at all if I don’t have to.

But when I do, as long as the sun can’t directly touch my skin, I’m alright. ”

“Huh.” Isabel wanted to ask more questions, but the pace Sebastian set stole her breath and forced her to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

This was a far different experience than their leisurely stroll last night.

The vampire made no effort to engage her in conversation; in fact, he hardly acknowledged her short of ensuring she kept up once she’d fallen silent.

They arrived at the train station far faster than Isabel would ever have believed she could walk. She collapsed onto a bench while Sebastian purchased their tickets. Her breathing was heavy and her chest and muscles screamed. “I need to join a gym,” she panted between breaths.

Once she’d caught her breath, Isabel straightened and began watching the people around her.

Parents chased their giggling children, lone riders hid their faces behind newspapers and phone screens, and small groups chatted quietly amongst themselves.

Though the scenery was different, the people behaved the same as passengers in the Trax station back home.

“Next train doesn’t get here for 20 more minutes,” Sebastian grumbled as he sat on the bench next to Isabel. He placed her ticket in her hand and crossed his arms over his chest, mumbling about unnecessary delays.

“That’s not too long, really.” She tucked her ticket into her pocket and pressed her hands between her knees. “And if the paintings are what you were worried about, then we should be safe here, right? We’re not anywhere near them. Plus, grumbling isn’t going to make the train show up any faster.”

Sebastian glanced at her with angry eyebrows, but sighed and slumped forward. “I suppose you’re right. I can’t believe I’m going back to the coven keep twice in one year, and of my own free will.” He sounded so dejected that Isabel couldn’t help giggling.

“What’s so bad about going back there, anyway? You said you had a falling out with your dad, but why do you still go there at all if you’re so unhappy about it?”

Sebastian didn’t answer right away. He scanned the immediate area, then sighed.

“It’s a vampire thing,” he whispered, so softly she could barely hear him.

“A celebration and ceremony of sorts. Probably best that you don’t remember that bit.

I wish I could forget it, but Victor doesn’t allow any members of the coven to miss it. ”

Isabel wanted to push for more details, but the look on Sebastian’s face made her stop. Instead she decided on casual small talk to pass the time. Favorites, dreams, the usual surface-level topics used to fill the silence.

The train whistle filled the air and Sebastian shot up to his feet. He grabbed Isabel’s hand and hurried to the gate, getting them on board moments after the doors opened. Together they walked to the very back of the train and took the last cabin on the left.

Sebastian locked the cabin door and tossed his small bag into the luggage rack above the seats.

“Do you want your bag up here, too?” he asked, and Isabel passed it over.

She settled against the wall of the train with her legs stretched along the seat.

In an attempt to loosen the muscles, she began massaging her calves.

“How long is the train ride?” she asked without looking at Sebastian.

He let out a sound of annoyance and closed the blinds. “Five and a half hours.”