Oleg walked from the room, and the scent of burned spruce left with him. It wasn’t an unpleasant scent, nor was he an unpleasant man no matter what he chose to think of himself.

Kato picked up her hand. “He’s an interesting one.”

“He is.”

“Did you notice the human?”

“He paid her no notice,” Saba said. “None at all.”

“His lack of notice was noticeable,” Kato said.

Saba smiled and leaned against his shoulder. “You’re such a gossip, Kato.”

“It’s hard not to be when you’ve been hearing everything secondhand for centuries.”

“Come.” She rose and pulled him up with her. “I have an appointment with an old friend.”

“Should I be jealous?”

“For this? Definitely not.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Lucien leaned against the cold concrete of the hallway, listening to Baojia and Makeda’s conversation in her room. Everything was quiet. Muted. The blood they’d quickly acquired was the only sustenance she’d taken other than a little rice. Baojia had put her in one of the secure rooms belonging to the Elixir patients after he’d made sure to shield it from daylight. It was comfortable and guarded.

Ruben eyed him with disapproval but said nothing.

If Baojia or Makeda knew he was listening in, they didn’t give any indication of it. He cared nothing for their privacy; his interest was in Makeda.

A week after her transformation and she had still not decided. Or if she had, she’d given no indication of it. She’d spent the first four days swinging between rage and weeping. On the fifth day, she’d allowed Baojia into her room during the night, and his presence had settled her. Her emotions were predictably unpredictable according to her sire, who had overseen the newly transformed under Ernesto Alvarez in Los Angeles. Lucien could understand why his friend would have that duty. Baojia’s quiet, steady strength would put a violently unstable new vampire at ease.

Now she was finally speaking, and Lucien didn’t care if he was being rude.

He had to know.

“You’re going to have to decide soon,” Baojia said. “I don’t want to pressure you, but indecision leads to instability. Katya accepted Lucien’s and my reasoning for changing you without her approval—accidents cannot be predicted, and your life needed to be preserved—but she needs to know what your intentions are.”

A long pause. “I’d like to speak with my parents.”

“Katya has already informed your parents of the situation.”

Another pause. “I see.”

Lucien regretted that. Makeda should have been the one to decide how and when to tell her parents about her new life, but the Abel family was not under his aegis. He had no authority in the matter.

Unless she chose him.

The possessive need for her surprised him. Yet if she chose Baojia, he could not stop her.

Choose me.

“Makeda,” Baojia began, “while I do not want to influence your decision unduly, I do feel an obligation to you. You are a child of my blood. I have no claim over your loyalty per my agreement with Lucien, but whether you choose my aegis or his, I want you to know I will always consider you my child. You are part of my family. Natalie and I are in complete agreement. No matter what you decide, I want you to know that.”

Lucien could smell her tears.

“However much we care for you,” he continued, “I do want to explain some things.”

“What?”

“Lucien…” Baojia took a deep breath. “Lucien is very well-connected.”

“I was guessing that by how he speaks to Katya.”

“He is not under her aegis. He’s a child of the elders, which means he is very, very powerful.”

“You’re saying his aegis would be the better choice,” Makeda said. “But my family—”

“Your parents are under Katya’s aegis. As long as your father works for her, he will remain so, along with your immediate family.”

“And if I choose your aegis, I’ll remain with Katya too.”

“In a sense. But that’s not the only thing to consider.”

Lucien often forgot about Baojia’s political savvy. Those at the top of the food chain didn’t have to think as strategically as those in the middle. Baojia, being a young vampire who had broken from his sire’s aegis, was much more adept at power plays and strategy for the simple reason that he had to be. He was still a relatively small fish in a very big pond.

Baojia said, “I serve Katya’s organization as a choice. She has no blood tie to me. Should you choose my aegis and I leave hers for whatever reason, your loyalty would follow me.”

Makeda let out a frustrated breath. “This is so complicated.”

“Politics is an unavoidable part of your life now. I’m trying to explain what could simplify that.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Lucien.”

A long pause. “Lucien hates me.”

Lucien shook his head and rolled his eyes at her declaration. His feelings for Makeda were so far from hate, he had trouble sorting them in his own mind.

Baojia said, “Lucien does not hate you.”

“Then he really, really doesn’t like me.”

“Whether that’s true or not doesn’t really matter,” Baojia said. “Stop thinking in decades and start thinking in centuries. Lucien has offered you his aegis. As far as I know, only two or three people in the world are under it. Do you understand what that means?”