"Are you going to have purple hands?" I asked, watching Giff mash blackberries. And I wasn't surprised that a Larentii came to help Griffin build a guesthouse—I'd seen Pheligar's talents before. Nothing would surprise me where he was concerned, and I wondered if he were the Larentii in question.

"I do not care if this is so," Giff replied, giving me a big smile and wiggling purple fingers at me. "Oxberries stain hands, too." Gavin pulled me away from Giff and led me over to the stairs that went to the second floor. We walked up and found a beautiful space. It even had paintings on the walls, handmade rugs on wood floors, a full kitchen, an expansive living space, nice windows with views all around and a hall that led to a very large bedroom with its own bath.

"Wow, this is nicer than the one I have," I said. The bathroom was definitely larger; I knew that much.

"René has suggested that I allow you to renovate my apartment in London," Gavin's fingers stroked my neck.

"I think we have other things to do first," I said.

"And those things would be?" he was kissing my neck, now.

"I want to get Xenides out of the way. And his little hand puppet, Rahim Alif. Then we can talk about the outdated color on your walls. Gavin, that bedroom of yours is a cave; anyway, it was the time I saw it. I've only been there once, if you remember."

"Then you will have to decide how to make it not a cave," Gavin said.

"Gavin, this is somebody else's bedroom, not ours," I reminded him, as he attempted to lift my top.

"Then take us elsewhere," he mumbled. I took us into our bedroom by turning to mist and going through walls.

I got a lesson in vampire etiquette and protocol while we sat in the hot tub later, after taking a dip in the pool. I tried to put my one-piece suit on; Gavin wanted the bikini. I hadn't worn it before. He got the bikini.

"If you are meeting a vampire for the first time, the older vampire, if you know he is older, will dictate whether you touch or not," Gavin instructed. "He will turn his right hand slightly while it hangs at his side, to indicate that he is willing to shake hands with you."

"That might have come in handy in the past," I said. "Does this go for female vampires, too?"

"A few very old vampires will kiss a companion's hand if she is human," Gavin said. "Most male vampires will not allow their female vampire mates to touch another vampire. We all know not to offer."

"The only female vampires I've seen have been the two on the Council and Jovana, who turned out to be a real bitch." She had been; I could feel Saxom's taint radiating off her when I carried her as mist.

"I have seen a handful of the others, over the years," Gavin said. "They do not come out often and none attended the annual meeting last year. That is why you did not see any of them."

"Sounds like they're locked in the seraglio," I teased. The faint grimace on Gavin's face stopped me in my tracks. I would have been locked away, too, if I'd been susceptible to compulsion as they all thought. "So, there are thirteen female vampires, all of whom may be locked up and not allowed to go anywhere." I was about to climb out of the hot tub and leave Gavin sitting there. He grabbed me and settled me beside him again.

"I do not believe it is that bad," he sighed.

"They're all more than seven hundred years old, I figured that out for myself," I grumped. "So it's possible they've been locked up or placed under compulsion. For a very long time."

"Lissa, a female vampire is the rarest of jewels," Gavin said, wrapping his arms around me. "You do not leave your precious rubies and emeralds lying on the streets, you keep them safe. Otherwise, someone will come along and take them."

"We're talking females here, not chunks of rock," I muttered.

"The marriage bond must be renewed with the Council every hundred years," Gavin informed me. "If both parties do not agree to continue, the marriage is automatically dissolved."

"Do you think those guys are just going to let their jewels walk away? I've seen that hoarded stash your cousin has—he's not letting any of that go," I said. "You didn't see him when I took those tiaras; he was out for blood, Gavin, no pun intended. That's why I was so afraid of him."

"Lissa, let us talk of something else," Gavin begged.

"Fine, O vampire who wants to dance around the hot topics," I complained.

"Tell me about this dream you had," he said, wrapping his arms around me tighter and smoothly changing the subject.

"I dreamed about my mother, Gavin," I sighed, leaning my head against his shoulder. "She was telling me not to be mad at my father. She said he couldn't help it, whatever that means." I wasn't going into the adoption thing—I had no idea whether that was truth or not and had no desire to speculate. I pulled one of Gavin's hands out of the water and examined it for wrinkles—it didn't have any. "How come you're not all pruney?" I asked.

"That has never happened to me," he chuckled.

"Uh-huh. Not even when you were human? Those Romans were awfully fond of their baths, from what I hear."

"We had large pools available with heated water," he sighed, recalling it. "The marble and tile work was exquisite, you know. There were cold pools too, to refresh you after spending time in the hot baths."

"Yeah, and that was roughing it, I'm sure," I said.

"Are you teasing me?" he asked, his eyes crinkling just a little at the corners. He was amused, for some reason.

"Yeah," I replied with a shrug. Gavin leaned down to kiss me; probably just to shut me up.

Rolfe and Charles came in to join us after a while. "It's good to see you getting to relax," I told them.

"This is nice; the Honored One hasn't considered installing a hot tub," Charles sighed, sinking into the hot water. He and Rolfe wore swimsuits, but I wondered if they'd go in naked if I wasn't there. I wasn't about to ask, though. I was the only woman in the house and wasn't prepared for a bunch of men wandering around in the nude, should they be so inclined.

Within five minutes, we were joined by Franklin and Greg, then René and Tony, and then the two werewolves showed up. Deryn and Paul both grinned at me as they slipped into the hot water. Now I knew why Merrill had built the hot tub to hold fifteen people or so. Franklin and Greg seemed to like their bodyguards quite a bit; the two werewolves settled in near them. I was completely shocked, however, when Merrill and Wlodek showed up. Before then, I don’t believe I could have pictured Wlodek in a swimsuit. He was well put together, I'll give him that, but then most vampires weren't hard to look at.

"I was going to call a meeting, but as everyone was together already, it was easier to merely join in," Wlodek announced. Well, I'd heard that politics and other things were often discussed in the Roman baths. This probably wasn't anything new to Gavin and René.

Gavin took my hand under the water, lacing his fingers with mine. I leaned my cheek against his arm and watched Wlodek, curious as to why he wanted to hold a meeting. "I have received several messages from the new Director of the Joint NSA/Homeland Security Department," Wlodek began. "He wants to continue working with us to capture Alif and take down Xenides. I returned his call earlier in the evening and spoke with him at length about this." Wlodek's countenance was inscrutable, as usual.

"Merrill was with me while I placed this call, as was René, as this will involve him and his newest child," Wlodek continued. "I informed Mr. Jennings that Anthony was made vampire when he was found dying in the bombed hotel. Mr. Jennings was quite relieved and asked immediately to work with him on this matter that concerns both our races." Wlodek's gaze touched on Gavin and me as he paused for a moment.

"René has agreed to this as Anthony's sire, on the condition that he be allowed to go along and continue teaching his child as time permits. I am also requesting that you and Gavin join them, Lissa. Xenides has been seen in the U.S. in the past two days, according to Director Jennings. We believe he is making his way toward the central portion of the country, and as yet have not determined whether he is traveling to Oklahoma or Texas."

"Crap," I muttered. "He really does want to find some of my friends or relatives, doesn't he?"

"We are afraid this may be true," Wlodek agreed.

"When will we leave?" Gavin asked.

"You will leave in two nights," Wlodek replied. "Merrill will remain here for now, in case any of Xenides' spawn are instructed to cause trouble in Europe or in the event that Xenides returns without your knowledge. You will meet with Director Jennings in Dallas and travel from there as Xenides' movements dictate."

I glanced across the hot tub at Tony, who was grinning. He winked at me slightly. I stuck my tongue out just as slightly. His grin widened. He was back in the game, looked like, only as a vampire this time. Settle down, I sent to him.

We're going to get him this time, I know it, Tony returned.

"Will anyone else be joining us?" Gavin asked.

"Dalroy and Rhett will be available, should assistance be needed," Wlodek replied. "I have already spoken with them, and Weldon Harper and William Winkler have offered to provide help. If we have support from the werewolf community, it may work out well in this respect; Rahim Alif is still human and likely has other humans at his beck and call. Werewolves will certainly be helpful in guarding you during the day."

"Was Rahim seen with Xenides?" I asked.

"Not yet, but that does not mean he is not nearby," Wlodek informed me. "Alif has not been seen since the bombing in Paris."

"What about Thaddeus and Lorenzo?" I asked. I hadn't seen them since they'd come back with us from the Council meeting.

"They are with Russell and Radomir," Wlodek replied. "They are searching for their sibling, Dominic, and are questioning humans and others where he was last seen."

I thought Dominic might be in the U.S. with Xenides and ventured to say so. "Honored One, Xenides has mindspeech. Might he not have taken Dominic with him, just for that reason alone?"

"Xenides has mindspeech?" Wlodek quirked an eyebrow. Yeah, I was probably in trouble, but wasn't I always?

"He was sending out a blanket message when I killed the vampire holding the First Lady," I said. "But so many other things happened that it slipped my mind."

Wlodek gave a sigh of exasperation, something that I hadn't seen from him before. "Lissa, come over here," he demanded. I shrank down in the hot tub instead, the hot water nearly to my nose. It was as far down as I could comfortably go.

"Lissa, the Honored One has issued a command," Gavin hissed.

"Lissa, come," even Merrill was telling me to go. I wanted to whimper and mist away. Gavin pulled me up and set me on my feet and I had to force myself to take three steps to the other side of the hot tub. Merrill, who was sitting two feet away from Wlodek, grabbed my arm and pulled me down to sit between him and the Head of the Council. Yeah, I was shaking. I was wishing for my one-piece suit right then; it covered more of me than the bikini did.

"Lissa, you must tell me things like this," Wlodek gripped my face in his hand. I was so terrified my teeth were chattering and I could barely nod at his words. Everybody in the hot tub was holding their breath, I think. I was still blinking, my gazed locked with Wlodek's dark eyes. "You must tell me," he went on, "no matter when you remember it. It could be very important, as I may have information you do not possess. Do you understand?" I couldn't help it; a half sob came, though I desperately tried to hold it back. "Moro mou." I was crushed against Wlodek so fast I didn't know what was happening, and he was crooning to me in Greek, begging me to stop shaking. I couldn't help it, my entire body was trembling, I was so scared.

"He will not harm you," Kifirin was there suddenly, standing before Wlodek in the hot tub, stroking hair back from my forehead. "Avilepha, relax or I will be forced to place you in a healing sleep." Kifirin sat down on Wlodek's other side. "Tell her," he said to Wlodek. Wlodek nodded. I had no idea what they were talking about and I was desperately trying to control my shaking.

"I performed the second turning to bring you back after you tried to give yourself to the sun," Wlodek whispered. "You have my blood and are now listed as my half-child in the records, Lissa. Half-children are rare; they generally do not survive their bout with the sun. Nevertheless, there are a few and their new sire is listed along with their old one. If both sires live, they share custody. I chose not to reveal this to you before, as there was too much between us and you were not in a charitable mood toward me. That is my fault; I should have asked for better records."

Well, as shocks go, that was a big one. What did this mean? Was Radomir my brother, now, along with Flavio and Merrill? Was Charles my nephew? That was really weird. Those absurd thoughts skittered across my brain as I attempted to keep my hands from shaking and the rest of me from shivering in Wlodek's embrace. He pulled my head against his chest and placed a kiss on top of my head. Kifirin was chuckling.

"She's wondering if Charles is her nephew now," he said.

Charles found that amusing and laughed out loud. "I'll settle for brother or cousin," he said.

"I th-think the information c-could go b-both ways," my voice was still wobbly and I stuttered getting the words out. Why hadn't somebody told me this before? I was listed as Wlodek's half-child? What did that mean, exactly? I had two sires to answer to, in addition to two mates?

"You have three sires, but I'm the most important one," Griffin slipped into the hot tub; Kifirin had moved aside to let Griffin have his space. Wlodek's arms tightened about me, perhaps in the hopes of keeping me there. Honestly, I was too shocked to move.

Chapter 4

"I have a story to tell you, little girl," Griffin said, watching me closely as Wlodek held me in strong arms. I was afraid to move from Wlodek's grip, blinking at Griffin stupidly from the jolt I'd received. Merrill reached over and stroked my cheek.

"I knew the vampire and werewolf races were dying on this world," Griffin began, an unreadable expression in his hazel eyes. "As you've already determined, I was vampire before the Powers That Be and the Nameless Ones chose me to become the first Saa Thalarr. They made me what I am now, but before that, I was a quarter Bright Elemaiya and a King Vampire. I had mindspeech and foresight. Those were my gifts. As Saa Thalarr, I have the ability to Look; that is reaching out and obtaining needed information simply by searching for it with my mind. Combined with the foresight I already had, it made my talent in that area formidable. Those two abilities enable me to see many things. I saw you, Lissa. My daughter. You are the answer to so many things that were troubling me. I had to go Looking for your mother. I intended to keep her safe; keep you both safe. Unfortunately, I didn't Look for what might happen in the meantime, I was so happy just to have seen you in the future."

My mouth must have been hanging open, I was so shocked. This was my real father? How in hell had that happened? I had no idea what to do. I mean, I liked Griffin, but this—how do you react to this?

"When your mother became pregnant, my immediate supervisor punished me," Griffin went on. He was watching my face closely, I could tell. His hazel eyes held concern; it was almost tangible. "Saa Thalarr are not permitted to interfere with any race or world; which is why I was being punished. Your mother and you were hidden from me; I could not find you—the information was blocked. I would have willingly sacrificed myself, just to make sure you were both safe. I would have come to you if I could have, Lissa. I promise you that."