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Italy

Three years later

Marisa stood on the balcony of their villa, reveling in the quiet beauty of the warht that surrounded her The scent of earth and trees and a profusion of flowers filled her nostrils

Grigori had promised her the world, and he had kept that promise And it was an incredibly beautiful place when seen through her vahts and sounds, colors and textures: all were clearer, brighter, more intense - as intense, it often seeori He was everything to her, life and breath, heart and soul He had brought her across so tenderly, hovered over her as the change took place, his deep voice soothing her, assuring her that there was nothing to fear, holding her safe in his arms as her old life slipped away and she had been reborn a new varet her decision once it was done, that she would hate her new life and hate hi her the Dark Gift

He had assured her that she would not have to hunt, that he would hunt for them both and nourish her with his own blood, and for the first six h she&039;d had no doubts that she wanted to join Grigori in his life, the thought of what she must do to survive had filled her with trepidation But it had not repelled her She was not overcoori&039;s nourished her so coly Whatever the reason, it was but a small part of the whole

Soon after their ized for not going to see theori had been offered a job in Italy that was too good to pass up, and that it had been iori had kept in touch with Kelly and Edward and Duncan, their lives forever bound together by that one terrible night when they had destroyed Khira She had been taken aback when she learned of their plans to open a school to train vahed "It sounds just like soe of the school, which was funded by Edward and Kelly They took on only two candidates a year, putting the them that they were to hunt only those va them that, should they break faith with the school, they thehts turning toward her husband And a moment later, she felt his presence in the house, felt her heart beat faster as he h the house toward her And then he was there, his arainst him

"Cara"

"Il ht, isn&039;t it?"

"Not so beautiful as you, il ainst his shoulder, content to be held in his arms They had left the States shortly after Khira had been destroyed Marisa had been reluctant to leave at first Her faori said it was for the best, that it wasn&039;t wise to re Duncan knohere they lived, just as she knew that, in spite of all they had been through, Grigori didn&039;t trust Ramsey completely She had bowed to her husband&039;s wishes without question His instincts for survival were, after all, er than her own

But none of that azing down at her through fathomless black eyes, eyes filled with love and desire; not when he was kissing her, wiping everything fro love and need for thismoment after sundown