They drove for hours, leaving Shanghai behind, heading into the mountains where the city lights faded to darkness and the only sound was the wind and the motorcycle's engine.
Adrian's arms ached from holding on, his body pressed against Kieran's cold back. He should have been terrified—he'd just killed someone (something?), witnessed a massacre, and was currently fleeing for his life with a vampire who claimed Adrian was his reincarnated lover from a thousand years ago.
Instead, he felt strangely calm. Safe, even, which was absolutely insane.
When they finally stopped, it was in front of an old temple built into the mountainside. The structure looked ancient, with traditional Chinese architecture that had weathered centuries of storms.
"What is this place?" Adrian asked, climbing off the motorcycle on shaky legs.
"A Buddhist monastery," Kieran said, helping Adrian when his knees nearly buckled. His hand on Adrian's elbow was gentle, steadying. "Abandoned for two hundred years, but protected by wards that vampire magic can't penetrate. The monks knew what I was, what I'd done. They blessed this place before they left, made it a sanctuary."
"What you'd done?" Adrian followed Kieran up the stone steps. "You mean the curse?"
Kieran's jaw tightened. "That, and everything that came after. I wasn't always... controlled. In the first century after your death, I killed a lot of people. I was mad with grief, with rage. The monks found me, helped me regain my humanity. This was the place they rehabilitated me."
Adrian absorbed this information. He should be horrified. He'd just learned the man protecting him was a mass murderer. But all he felt was a deep, aching sadness for what Kieran must have gone through.
Inside, the monastery was surprisingly well-maintained. Someone had clearly been caring for it. Candles lit automatically as they entered, revealing beautiful murals on the walls depicting Buddhist teachings, and in the center of the main hall, a serene Buddha statue gazed down with peaceful eyes.
"You're safe here," Kieran said, finally releasing Adrian's arm. He moved away, putting distance between them, and Adrian felt the loss of that touch like a physical ache. "Viktor's vampires can't enter. The wards will hold."
"What about you?" Adrian asked. "Can you stay?"
Kieran smiled sadly. "I'm the exception. The monks made sure of that. This was meant to be my sanctuary too."
Adrian sank down onto a meditation cushion, exhaustion finally catching up with him. His hands were still stained with blood—vampire blood—and he could still see the moment that creature turned to ash, over and over in his mind.
"I killed someone tonight," he whispered.
Kieran knelt in front of him, close but not touching. "You killed a vampire who would have killed you. Who would have used you to kill thousands more. There's a difference."
"Does it get easier? The killing?"
"No," Kieran said honestly. "It never gets easier. The day it does is the day you lose your humanity."
Adrian looked up at him, at this ancient creature who'd loved someone so much he'd cursed himself to an eternity of waiting. "Tell me more. About Elias. About... us."
Kieran's eyes softened, and he sat back on his heels. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything."