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toward study and a fascination with specific intellectual pursuits. Mr. Thomas here is what would have been called a magician.”
    “That’s me, full of magic,” Chad said with an odd little laugh.
    Marini shook his head. “They were not the most stable of vampires. Mr. Thomas is the first to rise in centuries, and he finds himself alone. Most of his class don’t survive long. There are other classes who never leave the underground. They are misshapen and deformed, but their brothers care for them anyway.”
    I decided then and there to never spend much time in the underground.
    “To get back to the topic at hand,” Marini said, relaxing again, “Mr. Thomas was fascinated by the fertility rites of the prince’s people. He said they contained some powerful magic.”
    Chad’s eyes closed like he was experiencing it all over again. “They made me stay far away, but I could still feel it. I was so full. I hear the wolves were happy, too. Many of the couples who were there managed to conceive.”
    “Yes,” Marini murmured, “I’m sure they feel a debt of gratitude toward Daniel. I know they paid him well.”
    I didn’t like where this conversation was heading. I frowned and pouted. Hopefully it was a pretty sight. “They should be grateful to me. I was the one who nearly broke my jaw.”
    Both the vampires thought that was very amusing. Marini was still smiling when he said, “Perhaps you will perform this little ritual of yours for the Council. We meet next month and we always have certain entertainments to make our political sessions more palatable. Your husband is already required to be there. I think you and the prince should come as well. I would like to feed from this magic as Mr. Thomas has, as Daniel does every night.”
    “You’ll have to speak to Daniel,” I said quietly. Daniel would never agree and it would cause a lot of trouble, but I would have to deal with it later.
    Marini stood now and he held out his hand to help me up. “I’ll do that. If you will excuse us, Mr. Thomas, Zoey and I have some business to discuss. I assume we can use the office.”
    My eyes went wide. “You want to go to the office?”
    He reached down and hauled me up. “Yes, we shall speak privately. I don’t think you have my item in the pocket of your charming little pants, do you?”
    This was the moment I’d been dreading. This was the moment I’d been trying to find a way out of for months.
    “Or do you want out, companion?” Marini asked, his deep voice silky. “I do have an eject button, if you recall.”
    And there was no way around that. I took a deep breath and let him start to lead me out of the VIP area. Ivan gave us a look that had me worried.
    “Have fun, boss,” he said in a thick accent as we walked by.
    I glanced back at Chad, but all he did was wink.

Chapter Three

    As a person who has actually been escorted to her own execution before, I can safely say that walk with Marini up to Dev’s office was the longest of my life. I kept trying to come up with a way to not give him the Blood Stone, but I couldn’t think of one that would work. I was going to have to turn it over and then figure out a way to get it back later.
    “Zoey?” The bouncer at the bottom of the stairs stared at me with questioning eyes. “Should I come up with you or maybe call Mr. Donovan?”
    I tried smiling at the shapeshifter named Erik, but he didn’t look very convinced. Neil wasn’t the only one having trouble telling a lie tonight. “It’s fine. I just have to get Louis something I left in the office. He’s an old friend, really.”
    “Yes,” Louis said in that dark seductive voice vampires used when they went into persuasion mode. All vampires had the talent, some more than others. “Allow us to pass. Your mistress is in no distress. We’re…good friends, she and I.”
    Erik smiled suddenly and let us pass. “Good night, Zoey.”
    I hated the blankness in his eyes. Sometime in the near future he would