“I drank from a friend today. Something was able to charm me and I drank from a friend to prevent something even worse.” I winced, the remorse flooding back as I told him about what had gone down in Otherworld, and what we’d come home to. When I told him about Roz and the doppelganger, Roman’s cool look vanished and his nostrils flared.

“Not a good thing. I know you too well to believe you did this willingly. But if something can charm a vampire, we need to know what it is. Doppelgangers don’t have that power innately; someone had to empower it when they summoned it into this plane and gave it a face. Do you have any idea of who it was?”

I bit my lip. How much I should tell Roman about what we were facing was always an uphill battle. Oh, I knew that he’d dug around enough to have at least some idea of what was going down, but that didn’t mean I should just open up and discuss things that might be better off left silent. The spirit seals could be used by vampires, too, and it would make for an incredibly powerful being if one were to get hold of it.

While I trusted Roman—for the most part—to be sane enough not to covet one, I wasn’t so sure about his mother. I’d never met Blood Wyne, but her record of conquest was daunting, and while I appreciated that she had come out of seclusion with the intent to unify the vampire community, her methods were often severe. If vampire nests didn’t fall in with her rules, she systematically destroyed them.

“We think we have an idea. But…let me find out for sure before I say anything. But I wanted…I guess I wanted reassurance that I’m not slipping.”

“Trust me, if I thought you were slipping, I would deal with the situation. I will not have rogues running the streets in my territory. Especially now that Mother has ascended to power again.”

I wasn’t sure just how secure that made me feel, but I nodded. “Thank you. Meanwhile, we have another problem. A friend of ours—an old friend from the OIA—was sent over Earthside and he’s missing. His name is Andrees, and the idiots in charge sent him to the Roxbury Street area, in White Center. I gather there was a covert OIA outpost stationed there, as a massage parlor of all things. A real massage parlor, not a hooker joint.”

Roman let out a laugh. “Your people don’t do their research very well, do they?”

“Apparently not. Anyway, Andrees is missing and we’re afraid something happened to him. We’re going to investigate, but would you put the word out to your men to let me know if they hear of anything?”

Roman tickled his fingers over the back of my neck and I closed my eyes, reveling in the feel. “Of course. I will be happy to help however I can. But do you have the time right now? You and your lover—your fiancée—are planning your nuptials.”

I groaned. “Yeah, we are, though we had another fight over the ceremony the other day. I’d be happy just saying a few words in front of family, but Nerissa’s right, this is an important event and we need to do something special. I just don’t know what.”

“I wish you would invite her to join us. She sounds positively delicious.” Roman leered, and I shivered.

“No drinking off my girlfriend. She’s my love, and I won’t let you hurt her.” I didn’t think Roman would harm her, but then again, he was ruthless in his assessment of issues and how to take care of them.

When he first told me he thought he was falling for me, I’d warned him to backpedal. My heart belonged to Nerissa, no matter how much I enjoyed playing with boys. My heart and body were hers, first and foremost. Anybody else was icing on the cake. And we’d already made ourselves exclusive when it came to other women—the ones who could pose a threat to our stability as a couple.

“But it would be so much fun. Not to drink, and I promise I would never hurt her. But to play. To watch you and your lover touching, kissing, fucking…you know I’d like that.” He whispered in my ear and I shivered again. I wasn’t monogamous, but something about the proposal scared me and I wasn’t sure what it was. “I would join only if both of you asked me to, and I would make sure she was treated with respect and that she enjoyed herself.”

“I’ll think about it.” The conversation was starting to irritate me.

But Roman turned my chin so that I faced him and gazed down into my eyes. His fangs were gleaming sharp and dangerous in the mist that rolled around us. “Do…think about it. You are my consort. It is only fitting that your lover and I should be friends.” And with that, he stood and offered me his hand.

I stared at it, thinking at first to ignore him, but then wisdom won out and I accepted his help even though I didn’t need it. Roman hadn’t reached the age he was without good reason. He could be as cold and ruthless as they came, and he was also smart. While I trusted him, my trust was within reason, and I knew that if I really pissed him off, he’d make me regret it.

“I’ll talk to her. But if she’s not interested, you’ll drop it, right? And you won’t hurt her?”

Roman inclined his head. “I would never harm her. She holds your heart, and if I were to break her pretty neck, you would hate me. So no, I will do my best to protect her, and I will never make her regret your association with me.”

I watched as he smoothly strode through the rising mist.

And then, he turned, stopping to look over his shoulder. “Oh, Menolly, there’s a meeting of Vampires Anonymous tonight—well, what will be tonight. You will attend? I will be there and, of course, you will appear as my consort.”

“Of course.” And there was nothing more to say.

When I woke to dusk’s sweet summons, I was almost relieved. The meeting with Roman had unsettled me. While it was all done on the Dream-Time, it was still as real as if we had met in person. My body showed none of the scratches or bites that he’d given me, just as his would show none of mine. While we healed fast, any damage that happened on the Dream-Time stayed there. At least I’d gotten the bloodlust out of my system without hurting anybody.

I dressed, trying to sort out my feelings, but decided to leave them for later. Right now, I wanted to find out what the others had discovered while I was sleeping. I slid into a pair of black leather jeans and a crimson cowl-necked sweater, then picked up my stiletto boots and scampered up the stairs.

The kitchen was a blur of motion. It seemed that everybody had descended for dinner. The table was huge. Smoky had bought one that filled the available room, and we’d already planned to put an expansion on the kitchen this summer, after Iris’s house was built, to create a huge formal dining room. The men would take care of that. They were as handy with saws and hammers as they were with swords and daggers.

Iris was sitting in the rocking chair holding Maggie, while Hanna and Trillian handled the dinner preparations. Delilah and Bruce were setting the table. I smelled chili and toasted bread and my mouth watered.

Sometimes I hated the fact that I could only drink blood. Food would make me sick—the moment it went down my throat—and so would any other drink save for blood. But bless Morio, he’d managed to find a way to enchant blood for me so that it tasted like some of my favorites and—as he saw me glance at the bubbling pot on the stove—he grinned and held up a thermos.

“Chili-cheese flavor.”

“Seriously, dude, you rock! You should go into business with this stuff. You could make a fortune.” I grinned at him. “Why don’t you come to the VA meeting with me tonight and take a few orders? Do a few for free and get them hooked. How hard is it to make this?”

Camille laughed as she pulled the salad out of the refrigerator and handed it to Delilah. “That’s not a bad idea. It would be a handy sideline and could become very lucrative. Or you could teach others how to do it—franchise the concept out.”

Morio scratched his head. Even though he normally wasn’t my type, he was gorgeous, really—all of Camille’s men were. His shoulder-length black hair was shiny and straight, caught back in a ponytail most of the time. He was of Japanese descent, and the shortest of her husbands, but in no way less handsome or dangerous. He was dressed in a green tank top and a pair of black jeans, and his muscles gleamed in the dim light of the kitchen.

“That’s an idea, actually. I don’t have a lot of spare time, but I could take a limited number of orders each week.” He grinned. “I could become a gourmet blood dispenser.”

Smoky harrumphed. “No offense to you, Menolly, but we really don’t need a lot of vampires hanging around the property.” His ankle-length silver hair shimmered as it rose to thunk Morio lightly on the head.

I snorted. “I tend to agree with you. Morio, if you’re serious, you should take orders at the meetings and then have them delivered, by vampire messengers. No use in taking a chance on setting up some poor delivery person for being somebody’s dessert. So what did you find out today?”

Morio shook his head. “Wait till dinner so nobody misses it. Shamas will be here in a few minutes. We’ve brought him up to date on what’s going down in Otherworld.”

Camille was foraging in the fridge for salad dressing, butter, and all the usual condiments. “He took it hard. The guilt about his foray into sorcery is exacerbated by the news about Telazhar.”

I nodded. Shamas was our cousin, and he’d escaped our former queen’s wrath by using sorcery to wrest energy away from a triad of assassins who were out to kill him. He’d teleported himself out of the dungeon, and later we’d been reunited and brought him Earthside.

Shamas was the spitting image of our father and Camille. He and Camille had feelings for each other when we were younger, but she was long over him. However, Delilah and I privately believed that he was still in love with her, though he tried to deny it.

“He’d better get over that guilt. What happened, happened. He fucked up and he knows it, but the best thing he can do now is to use what he learned to help us instead of trying to repress it.” I frowned, looking around. “Is Nerissa home yet? That fucking doppelganger has spooked me and I won’t rest well until she’s back from her conference.”

Delilah grinned. “She called an hour ago. She’ll be here any minute. I asked her to come directly over instead of going back to her condo first. I figured we might want to go with her to check it out and make sure everything there is safe. She won’t make it here by the time we start dinner, but she’ll be here soon.”

Relieved, I jumped up and gave her a hug. “Thank you. I was worried about that. The demons have broken into our house before. Our enemies could easily get into her condo. I wish she’d just come here…”

“Speaking of houses, Bruce and I got word that our trailer will be delivered tomorrow. So there will be a little more breathing room in here, though I’ll still be here all day. But Hanna will take over making supper for me. I’m starting to tire a little quicker now.” Iris patted her belly. “The bun is extremely active.”

“Do you know whether it’s a girl or a boy?” Trillian glanced over at her.

Iris blinked like a deer in the headlights. “Actually, yes, I do know. And I have some news. I saw the midwife today and she did a scan—think of it as a magical ultrasound that my energy and nature won’t interfere with. Um…” She paused. “Bruce, honey, sit down.”

Bruce, the curly-haired leprechaun she’d married who looked like a slightly older Elijah Wood, gave her a long look. “You are all right, love, aren’t you?”

“I’m fine. Fit as a fiddle. But we’re having twins.” She blushed and ducked her head. “A girl and a boy.”

Bruce blinked. “We’re what?” Then, with a laugh that belied his stature, he slapped his knee. “Oh, girl, that is too fitting. Twins run in my family and I’m not at all surprised. We’re off to a good start, my love.”

I grinned at them. “Twins, huh? You’re determined to make up for lost time, aren’t you?”

Iris snorted. “I know very well what a handful they’re going to be. But I’ve waited for this for a long time, girl. And I intend to enjoy every moment I can. Except for the morning sickness—that can go away, especially since it lasts all day long.” She sighed. “I’m just sorry it means I won’t be able to help out more.”

“You’re part of the family. We’ll be helping you for a change.” Camille walked over and took Maggie from her. “Here, Smoky, will you feed her while we finish getting dinner on the table?”

And so, for the next few minutes, the chatty bustle continued. Smoky took Maggie and put her in her specially designed high chair, feeding her the cream drink she so loved, but only after she agreed to eat a few bites of the ground lamb Iris had prepared for her.

Maggie was starting to eat the meat she needed in order to grow, but it had been a fight to get her to give up several of her bottles in exchange for solid food. She’d still get her cream drink three times a day—morning, evening, and right before bed, along with three meals of ground meat and other foods she needed for growth.

Our little gargoyle would be a baby for a long, long time, but we were seeing the gradual changes in her as the weeks went by. While she wouldn’t grow out of toddler stage for a good fifty years or more, she was gaining more balance, using more words, and learning.

While Smoky fed her, Iris helped Hanna with the last of the dinner and everything was ready by the time Shamas walked in. He washed up and joined the fray around the huge oak table, looking grim.

“What’s wrong?” I thought it was the trouble in OW, but when he spoke, I realized I’d missed the mark.