“His control is slipping.” The priest picked up the disk and showed it to her. “We don’t want a repeat of the Black Death, when bodies lined the city streets.”
“William won’t let that happen.”
“Perhaps not.” He cleared his throat. “Finding you here, with him, changes everything.”
Raven crossed over to him. “Please don’t bring the Curia here. William enforces the laws. The others won’t.”
The priest surveyed her expression, noting her clenched fists. “Then come with me.”
She took a step back. “I can’t. I love him.”
The priest sighed loudly. “I am not eager for war. But I am only one among many. Those decisions aren’t up to me.”
“But they’ll kill him!”
“They’ll free him,” Father insisted. “And by association, you. Don’t you think you deserve to be free?”
“I am free,” she hissed. “I never thought anyone would love me for myself. I never thought anyone would defend me. He does.”
A pained look filled the priest’s eyes. “I tried to defend you. I love you, Raven. You and Cara are the daughters I never had.”
Raven looked down at her shoes.
“I love you, too,” she whispered. “I know you defended me.”
“I still defend you. I’m defending you now.”
She lifted her gaze. “Then help us,” she pleaded.
He drew a deep breath. “Perhaps you love him. Stranger things have happened. But the human being you love is possessed by a great evil.”
She shook her head fiercely. “That’s a lie.”
He pulled at his beard in agitation. “If he is a vampyre, the darkness in him is more powerful than his humanity. Even if that weren’t the case, he will still be held accountable for his choice.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“A vampyre can’t enter a home without being invited. A demon can’t possess an adult human unless the adult grants it entrance.”
Raven’s mouth dropped open. “You’re telling me he wanted this?”
“I’m not saying there wasn’t a seduction. But if the human rejects the darkness forcefully, the demon looks elsewhere.”
“William is different.”
“William is a vampyre.” Father stood, picking up the cross from the table. “Do not be deceived. He’s controlled by darkness, and it’s darkness you see when you look into his eyes. It’s darkness you take into your body when you fornicate with him. If you aren’t careful, that darkness will overtake you as well.
“Reflect on that, Raven, and stay away from him.” He held the cross out to her. “Take it. It will protect you.”
“I don’t need protection from William—he protects me from the others.”
The priest held her gaze for a moment and placed the cross in his pocket. He gathered the remaining objects in his hands.
“I will return to Rome tonight. Come with me.”
“No.”
“It’s dangerous here. He might kill you.”
“He’s as likely to hurt me as you are.”
The priest’s face grew stricken. Raven felt tears form at the sight.
She wanted to go to him. She wanted to hug him.
But she loved William more.
The priest sighed and rubbed at his beard before crossing to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. “Think about what I’ve said. Even if you have nothing to fear from him, you have everything to fear from the other vampyres, especially if they wish to attack him through you.”
The priest kissed her forehead. Then, with his thumb, he made the sign of the cross over her skin.
“May God protect and defend you.”
He walked to the door and unbolted it, placing his hand on the doorknob. “I’m not giving up on you, Raven.”
She nodded, her eyes wet.
“Whatever you do, don’t feed from him.” The priest’s tone was ominous. “That is a line, once crossed, that cannot be uncrossed.”
Father Kavanaugh exited her apartment, closing the door behind him.
A few minutes later, she realized he’d left the cross on the table.
Chapter Twenty-eight
William’s first concern was for the safety of the principality. He ran from building to building, leaping across the roofs, searching for any sign the Curia had invaded. He made a circuit around the city, examining the borders and the patrols with an assessing eye.
Eventually, he stood high atop the Palazzo Vecchio, staring down at the city he loved, and felt fear.
Under normal circumstances, he would have gone to the Consilium, shared his intelligence, and sent out search parties to see if any other Curia members had entered the city. But he couldn’t risk exposing Raven.
The Consilium would demand to know about her connection to the Curia and would likely sentence her to death, a sentence he could commute to transformation, as prince. But either outcome was unacceptable. Raven didn’t want to be a vampyre. And the thought of her death . . .
William shuddered.
How was it that his love for Alicia had been reduced to a small ember in comparison to the raging fire of his love for Raven? He thought he’d known love. But the warmth and affection he’d felt for Alicia was nothing compared to what he felt for Raven.
He felt desperation and desire.
The Consilium would have to be told about the infiltration of the Curia in the city, if they didn’t know about it already. The intelligence network would inevitably discover the priest’s presence. He would have to conceal Raven’s involvement, through whatever means necessary.