“How many children does Carwyn have, Beatrice?”

“Um… eleven, right?”

Giovanni nodded. “Eleven in over a thousand years. And that is considered a very large family.”

“Oh… so Lorenzo—”

“Is not making himself look very responsible if he can’t even remember the number of humans he has turned.”

Lan still questioned Lorenzo. “Have you ever taken a mate to help care for all your children?”

“What? Are we questioning his family values here?” Beatrice asked between clenched teeth. “Is Lan going to ask if he uses corporal punishment next?”

“Well, the answer to that is yes, but I have no idea where Lan’s going with this,” Stephen said.

Lorenzo looked confused, as well. “I have never taken a mate, no.”

Lan broke into a huge smile. “But your father has!”

Lorenzo returned a tight smile of his own. “Yes, he has a mate now.”

“I have met her. She is a scribe. She spent many years training to care for books in her university. I like her very much. Do you?” Lan leaned forward with a dancing smile. “You must like her, too! I heard she was a guest of yours for some time. Is that true?”

Lorenzo spoke carefully. “Yes, Miss De Novo was a guest at my home in Greece for some time.”

Beatrice’s ire spiked, and she whispered, “Why do people keep forgetting the whole kidnapping and murdering thing?”

“Calm down, B,” Stephen said behind her. She could feel the water in the air drawn to her, and her skin became damp.

“She’s very intelligent, is she not?” Lan continued. “And your own child, Stephen, sired her. You must be pleased since you like having a large family.”

“Of course, I’m very pleased.” Lorenzo didn’t look pleased; if anything, he looked a little green.

“And so Mistress Scribe is part of your family and mated to your own father, as well. It’s all so wonderful, is it not?” Lan clapped again, seemingly delighted by the happy circumstances. The rest of the council looked either confused or disinterested, most of them accustomed to Lan’s odd outbursts.

“Yes, it’s… very wonderful,” Lorenzo forced out.

Just then, Beatrice caught a strange light in Lan’s eyes. “It is, isn’t it?”

She was bewildered, and Giovanni looked as lost as she did. Her father placed a protective hand on her shoulder, and Baojia seemed to stand at attention. Beatrice glanced at Tenzin and Zhang, but both wore completely impassive expressions that were impossible to decipher.

Beatrice looked back to Lan, who had sat back on her throne and seemed to be thinking. Finally, the elder piped up, “I have no idea which vampire should have the book! It’s all quite confusing.”

A collective breath seemed to leave the crowd. Everyone had been waiting for Lan’s judgment, but if none came…

She looked around. “Does that mean Gio and Lorenzo will fight?”

Stephen leaned forward. “If the council cannot come to some agreement, that is the only option.”

Even as he said it, Beatrice sensed a buzzing from the crowd. What had been anticipation and interest was slowly building into a more heated energy. The vampires that surrounded them seemed to be preparing for a confrontation. She could see some silently moving to the edges of the hall, slowly shifting position as a new current swept the room.

Giovanni was tense, and she could feel the heat building on his arms. Beatrice reached a hand out for him, only to hear the hiss of steam when their fingers touched. Her own body seemed to be preparing for a fight without her mind thinking about it; she felt damp air at her collar.

“What’s happening?” Stephen asked.

Through it all, Beatrice kept watching Lan. She sensed, somehow, that the small vampire had not finished, though the crowd’s attention had left the elder. Lan lounged in her throne, examining her fingernails and playing with the ends of the hair that had slipped out of her topknot. Suddenly, the innocent-looking vampire took a breath and Beatrice tensed.

Lan murmured, almost under her breath. “Unless…”

Every eye focused on Lan as the small vampire spoke. Lan’s eyes lifted and sought Beatrice again.

“Perhaps there is some sort of compromise we can reach, after all.”

Chapter Eighteen

Penglai Mountain, China

November 2010

Giovanni blinked. Though he tried to remain impassive, the unexpected statement from Lan startled him. His mind raced, trying to predict and plan around the unknown.

“What kind of compromise could there be?” Zhongli asked. The wind vampire was looking around the room with suspicion. “Either the book belongs to Vecchio or Lorenzo. What compromise—”

“Perhaps the book belongs to the world.” Lan sat up on his knees again. “It sounds very important. A book of universal knowledge? Wisdom to be preserved and shared? I don’t know…” Lan flicked his wrist carelessly. “Perhaps it needs only a caretaker. Someone”—Lan’s eyes swept the hall, landing briefly on Beatrice before he looked at Lorenzo—“who both parties can agree is a learned and able steward. A scribe who could care for the book. One that has a connection to both Lorenzo and Dr. Vecchio.”

Giovanni’s eyes flicked to his wife. They wouldn’t…

In a flash, Lan’s peculiar questioning made sense. He had constructed the trap perfectly, and Lorenzo would be forced to walk in. Giovanni’s heart began to race, though his face remained blank.