Xavier snorted without replying. It would be a long time before he heard the end of the evening’s adventure.

Raoul sipped his wine. He said, “Are you sure you don’t want me to run a background check on her? She has an edge that I dislike. It’s a little too desperate, for my taste.”

The last of his humor died as he rested his head against the back of his chair and considered the idea.

You’re supposed to protect me, she had said.

In that moment, she had been so upset he didn’t think she realized what she had given away. Her dark eyes had gone wide, and her soft, sensitive-looking mouth had trembled.

There was a certain kind of nobility in her narrow bone structure, and that wonderful, aquiline nose, as if she was descended from unknown kings. Watching her gave him a subversive pleasure, and he had catalogued her every emotion to date.

Thus far she had evidenced an overabundance of fear, along with a spitting kind of defiance, as well as a rather naive outrage at the Vampyre’s Ball, along with the wariness of a young, untamed animal.

Some of it had amused him, but that one moment of raw, uncensored distress of hers . . .

He didn’t like it. It called all kinds of inappropriate responses out of him. He wanted to find out what had caused her such distress and to protect her from it. And none of that had to do with the reason why he had invited her here. Protectiveness was the very last thing he should be feeling toward her.

He frowned.

Raoul was right. Tess was desperate about something. A shadow of violence seemed to hover behind her words. Perhaps she’d had an abusive boyfriend or husband, or she had gotten involved in something illegal. He tried to imagine her involved in the drug trade but couldn’t. That would harm innocents and go against her moral code.

One by one, he considered various possibilities and dismissed them. Whatever the reason behind her distress, the chances were very slim that a non-magical human would have been involved in something dangerous enough to concern him.

Which was, of course, why he was interested in her. Most creatures of the Elder Races would think the same thing. After one glance, they would dismiss her utterly. That dismissal could be very useful to him.

Unbidden, the memory returned of her trembling body as he took her wrist in his hand The blood offering could have been such a beautiful gesture, the trembling evocative, sensual and indicative of surrender, yet the taint of her fear had saturated the air.

His mouth tightened. There were some Vampyres who would have embraced all of it, the trembling and the fear, and would have taken everything from her in a predatory glut.

He had lived for a very long time, and he was under no illusions about himself. He was every bit as much of a predator as any other Vampyre, but he had his own moral code, and none of his predatory instincts were triggered by the kind of fear that came from an innocent woman under his power.

No, his predator instincts were triggered by another kind of fear entirely.

“Go ahead and run a routine check on her,” he said. “I’m not prepared to focus a great deal of time on this, but we should at least find out if she has a criminal record, so we can deal with it, if need be. If we gain her trust and loyalty, she should volunteer information about herself willingly soon enough.”

The other man shrugged. “You got it.

FIVE

Having made his decision, Xavier dismissed the subject, picked up his glass of bloodwine and drank. Even though bloodwine didn’t have the same nutritive qualities as fresh blood, he liked the taste, and on some nights, he simply had no interest in the courtesies and interaction involved in feeding from one of his attendants.

He said, “I’ll be leaving for Evenfall before the hour’s end, and I might not get away before daylight. I’ll text you if I’m staying on.”

Raoul frowned. “Want me to come with you?”

For a moment, he was tempted. Raoul had a cool head, which would be particularly welcome, since tensions between Julian and the council were at an all-time high. But after a moment, he shook his head. “I want you here to keep an eye on Tess.”

Raoul drank his wine too. “The others can babysit her, and Diego could start her training tomorrow, not that I expect that to change your mind.”

“You are correct. It does not.”

Raoul’s mouth tightened. “What good am I as head of your security if you don’t let me do my job? Half the council would like to see you dead, if they could manage it.”

He poured himself another glass of bloodwine. “Surely not half.”

“Okay, Justine and Darius, then. Along with any of the other council members they might be able to coerce or cajole into killing you.”

“I can look after myself,” Xavier said. “And you will do a perfectly fine job of looking out for everybody here, which is all I require.” He met the other man’s gaze. “If you would let me turn you, I might decide otherwise.”

Raoul emitted a sharp sigh. “That’s not going to happen.”

He shook his head. “Then I see no other alternative. I’m not about to risk any of my fragile human attendants, not with all the Nightkind council members under one roof.”

Raoul made a disgusted sound. “You and your damned protective instincts.”

Xavier narrowed his eyes. “Yes, me and my damned protective instincts. You are of no use to me dead. Instead, I want you to focus on what you might make of our new arrival.”

“For what it’s worth, I think she’s a mistake,” Raoul said.

“Why?” He was genuinely curious. “You do not see the promise in her?”

“Oh, I see the promise all right. I also see problems.” Scowling, the human tossed back the last of his Merlot.

“Such is life, old friend.” He shrugged.

Sooner or later, either the promise or the problems would win out. Time always told the tale.

After finishing his bloodwine, Xavier wrapped his desktop in a blanket, stowed it in the backseat of his black Lexus SUV and drove the curving coastal road to Evenfall.

Built in 1800 and sprawling over four acres along the Pacific coastline, Evenfall had been built with old-world crafting techniques and was modeled after a classic Normandy castle in every aspect, including a moat, drawbridge, defensive towers, a great hall and three interior courtyards.

Every night Evenfall was lit all over, a behemoth beacon in the dark, and strong floodlights illuminated the foaming waves crashing on the rock-strewn beach. As Xavier approached, the castle towered against the backdrop of a crescent moon.