“What?” Beatrice looked around. “Really? And she’ll just have to welcome you back? Even after the stunt we pulled tonight?”

“You mean the stunt I pulled? Remember, B, you did nothing but defend yourself. She’ll have no excuse to keep you out of court. With their natural sympathy for Gio and the Roman fascination with the new girl, you might be our most valuable asset.”

She just shook her head. “This makes no sense.”

Carwyn said, “You have to remember, as powerful as Livia is, she’s not the only member of the Roman court. There are many others with their own interests, and she has to placate them, too. She can’t piss everyone off and remain in power. Tenzin, what did you think of Conti?”

Tenzin paused for a moment to think and Beatrice thought about the quietly confident water vampire. Like Carwyn, she was curious what Tenzin would think of him.

“Conti may be poised. With the right push, he could take power. He’d be far better than Livia and his connections are more consistent.”

Beatrice asked, “More consistent? What does that mean?”

Carwyn leaned forward. “Emil Conti is a bit older than Livia. He was born during the Republic, not the Empire, so he has more... democratic ideals. He’s an elitist, but he tends to keep the same friends over the years, unlike our favorite empress. He’s also a much better businessman, which means he likes stability and avoids drama. If Livia was pushed out of power, it would be best for everyone if someone was poised to take her place so there wasn’t a vacuum.”

Beatrice said, “And, Tenzin, you think he’s ready?”

She nodded. “He’s positioning himself in all this. He senses an opportunity. He could be an ally, so you should get to know him.”

Beatrice said, “But does that help us get Gio out?”

“Oh,” Tenzin said, “none of us can get Gio out. We’ll need to be in her presence when he escapes. That way, Livia can’t point to any of us.”

“But then how—”

Carwyn broke in. “Leave that to me.” He gave her a quick wink. “Just a few days and I’ll have something worked out.”

Beatrice looked over to Tenzin, who was exchanging some kind of wordless communication with the priest. All of a sudden, her friend nodded. “Ah, yes. Send him to me when he gets here, and I’ll fill him in on what I know about the castle.”

“Good.”

Beatrice felt her anger spike. “Will someone clue me in, please? It is my husband we’re talking about.”

Carwyn reached over and patted her hand. “Not just now. I’ll fill you in, but I have a feeling our friend here is tiring.”

Beatrice looked at the sky, which was still pitch black. Then she looked at Lucien, who had been listening silently to their conversation while leaning his head back and letting his fingers brush through the tangled ferns that lined the edge of the fountain.

“Oh,” he murmured, “don’t mind me. I’m quite comfortable and quite happy to stay out of all of it.”

“Lucien,” Tenzin said, “you’re neck-deep in all this, and you know it.”

He opened his eyes, looking around the courtyard for a moment before he locked his eyes on Beatrice. Eyes that could never belong to a mortal man. They were stone-grey and ringed by a deep brown. Like bits of rock emerging from the earth. Despite the lack of lines on his face, she knew Lucien Thrax had seen many centuries.

As if guessing her thoughts, he said, “I’m almost as old as this one.” He winked at Tenzin.

“Where—”

“I come from the mountains, like my mother. But farther north. Not all that far from here, as the crow flies.”

Beatrice took a deep breath. “Not that you’re unwelcome, but why are you here? I know you’re not one of Geber’s four if you’re an earth vampire. You’re old enough, but Geber’s earth immortal was a woman.”

“What a wonderful mind you have, Beatrice.” He smiled and drifted in the cool night air. “And you ask an excellent question. Ever since Tenzin found me near my home, I’ve been hoping I might be able to help you. You see, in addition to being a good friend, Ioan and I were colleagues, as you would say now.”

“Colleagues?”

“Yes, though we trained centuries apart, the healing of vampires and humans was our shared interest, and we often corresponded. I’ve brought some letters and papers that might be of use to you.”

“Letters? From Ioan?”

“Yes, there were number of books and papers he sent some time ago that he asked me to look over. They concerned his research into vampiric blood and his theories on what might alter it. His ideas were interesting, even going back to our origins, as mysterious as those are.”

Beatrice sat forward, enthralled by Lucien’s quiet voice. “What do you mean?”

“Why do we live as we do? Why do we have an affinity for the elements? Why must we drink from the blood of living humans or beasts to remain as we are? Why do we heal from injury?”

“And why,” Carwyn asked in a quiet voice, “is our blood unable to heal humans as it heals others of our kind?”

Lucien nodded. “Ioan and I both researched this question over the years. We both had our own theories. He was convinced that there must be some way that we could harness the power of our blood to make humanity stronger. A trade, if you will. That we might drink from them, but that we could offer something good in return.”