There was a collective sigh from the watching vampires as Florin staggered backward, then spiraled slowly to the ground.

Knowing what was coming, Elena turned her back. It did little good. Perhaps it was because she had been focused so strongly on Drake, perhaps it was simply because of the bond they shared, but she heard the whisper of the sword slice through the air, saw the blade cut easily through preternatural flesh as Drake severed Florin’s head.

She swallowed hard, but she wasn’t sick this time. Instead, she was only grateful that the man she loved still lived.

Drake came for Elena later, after Rodin’s body had been carried away by the members of the Council.

His gaze burned into hers. “What the hell was Stefan thinking, to bring you here?”

“I begged him to do it. Don’t be mad at him.”

“I told you to stay home.”

“I . . . I thought . . . I had this horrible feeling that something was wrong, that you needed me.” She squared her shoulders and stiffened her spine. “I guess I was wrong.”

The hurt in her eyes melted his anger. Murmuring her name, he pulled her into his embrace. “I will always need you, but you should not have come here.” He shuddered to think what would have happened to her if she had been discovered by a vampire who didn’t know who she was. Out here, alone, she would have been mistaken for a runaway sheep. Those who tried to escape were beyond the protection of the Fortress and were considered easy prey for any who should find them. She would have been drained before she had time to mention his name or explain who she was. The thought made him hold her closer, tighter.

“Drake, I can’t breathe.”

“Sorry.” He loosened his hold immediately. “Come with me. I will take you to my quarters. Katiya is there. Promise me you will not leave.”

“I promise.”

Keeping his arms around her, he willed the two of them to his apartment.

Katiya looked up, her expression troubled. “I heard what happened to your sire. I am sorry.”

Drake nodded. Rodin had been destroyed. It was unthinkable. Unbelievable.

“What will happen now?” Katiya asked.

“The Council is meeting in an hour.” He glanced from Katiya to Elena. “I want both of you to stay here. Keep the door locked. Do not open it for anyone.”

“Except Andrei,” Katiya said.

“Andrei will not knock,” Drake said. After bolting the door, he kissed Elena on the cheek, and vanished from the room.

Elena blinked, amazed, as always, at how quickly vampires could come and go.

“What are you doing here?” Katiya asked.

“I felt that I needed to be here, for Drake. I guess I was wrong.”

“Do sit down and make yourself comfortable,” Katiya said. “Can I get you anything?”

“No.” Elena worried her lower lip with her teeth. “What do you think they’re doing?”

“The Council will decide who is to take Rodin’s place. Tomorrow night, all of Rodin’s wives and children will gather here. His body will be cremated and they will never speak of him again.”

“Never?” Elena asked.

“It is our way.”

“Are you happy, being a vampire?”

“I was, until I came here. Rodin ruled his Fortress differently than my sire rules his.”

“Differently?”

“Rodin ruled as if he were a king and his wives and children and those who took refuge here were his subjects. His word was law. My sire’s rules are less stringent, our people given more freedom, except when it comes to marriage,” she said, her voice suddenly tinged with bitterness. “That is where all vampires are the same.”

“So, vampires never marry humans? Never have children with them?”

“Not to my knowledge.” Katiya canted her head to the side, her expression thoughtful. “There was one case, where one of Rodin’s sons impregnated a mortal female.”

“Which son?”

“I do not know. I am not supposed to know it even happened. All I know is that it did not end well. The mother and baby both died in childbirth. The strange thing was, the vampire was fifty years shy of being five hundred. He should not have been able to father a child at all.”

Elena sighed, wondering if she would ever learn all there was to know about this strange society. And then she frowned. “A drone carried Gerret’s body away, but Florin’s body was left in the clearing. What will happen to it?”

“In the morning, the sun will burn it up.”

“Oh.” The more she learned, the less she wanted to know. Sitting back in the chair, she folded her arms over her chest and prayed that Drake would return soon.

Clad in unrelieved black from head to foot, Liliana sat in her chair on the dais in the Council chamber. Drake stood beside her, his arms crossed over his chest, his face like stone as he watched the Council members file into the room and take their places.

Earlier, he had met with Andrei and Ciprian, who’d informed him that Olaf was missing, no doubt destroyed by Florin’s hand.

But at the moment, Drake had a more pressing concern on his mind. He held his breath as Liliana rose to her feet.

“You all know why we are gathered here.” Though she spoke quietly, her voice echoed off the walls. “My husband has been killed. We will lay him to rest tomorrow night. But appointing someone to assume his position cannot wait. There is only one among us who is old enough, wise enough, strong enough, to take Rodin’s place.”

Drake went still as every head in the room turned in his direction.

“It is no secret that Rodin’s firstborn son is the only one qualified to take his sire’s place. I ask—nay, I demand— that the Council name Drake Sherrad as Master of the Carpathian Fortress. How say you? Yea or nay?”

As one, the members of the Council stood. Heads bowed, each one said, “Yea.”

Liliana faced her son for the first time. “So be it, Lord Drake. The Fortress is now yours.”

As one, the members of the Council bowed their heads again. “As spoken and agreed, let it be done.”

With a faint smile, Liliana embraced her son.

One by one, the members came forward to declare their allegiance to Drake before leaving the Council chambers.

“You knew I did not want this,” Drake said when he and his mother were alone in the room.

“It was your sire’s wish. And mine also.”

“You will regret it,” he said, and with a courtly bow in her direction, he stalked out of the room.

Chapter 29

Katiya’s face lit up with a smile of welcome when Andrei materialized in Drake’s apartment. Cupping her face in his hands, Andrei kissed her once, twice, three times before acknowledging Elena’s presence.

“Where’s Drake?” Elena asked anxiously. “Is everything all right?”

Andrei wrapped his arm around Katiya’s shoulders. “My brother is not particularly happy just now. Liliana demanded the Council name him as Master of the Coven. It is a position he never wanted.”

“So, where is he?” Elena asked again.

“I cannot say for sure, but I think he has left the Fortress to meditate.”

“Left?”

“Only to go outside,” Andrei said. “I believe he needs some time alone to come to terms with all that has happened.” He shook his head. “Although why he needs to think about it is beyond me. He must have known there was a chance, however slim, that Rodin would one day be defeated in battle. As the eldest son, he should have known he would be first in line to take our sire’s place.”

Elena nodded. She didn’t know what to think, what to say. Couldn’t begin to imagine how this would affect her relationship with Drake. Would he be expected to stay here now? Permanently? What of Katiya? And Andrei? What of their child? She hadn’t seen any vampire children in the Fortress, nor had Drake ever mentioned them. Were they that rare?

“I need to go home,” Elena said.

Katiya and Andrei stared at her.

“I can’t stay here,” Elena said. Rising from the chair beside the sofa, she began to pace the floor. She didn’t belong in this place, and she never would. “And if Liliana finds out I’m here. . . .” She shook her head. “I don’t even want to think about that.”

Suddenly nauseous, she sat down again.

“Elena, are you ill?” Katiya asked.

“I’m fine. It’s just all this stress,” she said with a shrug, “plus I haven’t had anything to eat.”

“Of course,” Katiya said. “How thoughtless of us, not to offer anything. Andrei, please find her some nourishment.”

With a nod, he left the room, only to return moments later with a tray bearing a roast beef sandwich, a bowl of sliced fruit, and a cup of tea.

Murmuring, “Thank you,” Elena picked up the sandwich.

Katiya and Andrei sat side by side on the sofa, trying not to stare at her as she ate.

Elena did her best to ignore them, but she couldn’t help wondering if they ever missed solid food. She loved malts and chocolate milk and orange juice, but she wouldn’t be happy living on a liquid diet, especially one as stringent as theirs. Malts were good, but so was chicken and French fries and steak, not to mention pie and ice cream.

Katiya cleared her throat. “Andrei, what do you think Drake will do now?”

“I have no idea, but I would not be surprised if he turned the Fortress upside down.”

Elena was trying to figure out what he meant by that when Drake entered the room.

“Not now, Andrei,” he said, seeing the curiosity in his brother’s eyes. “I am in no mood to answer questions. All I want is to spend what’s left of the night with Elena.” Taking her by the hand, he drew her to her feet. “If that is all right with you?”

“It is more than all right, my lord,” she murmured.

“Andrei, we will need to use your apartment.”