"ARE YOU SURE I look okay?" Victoria asked. Christian assured her that she did, and they walked down to the waiting limousine. "I can't believe I am going to meet a witch priestess!" she said. "I can't believe I am in Paris!"

The unexpected trip had arisen after an urgent call from Enhard the night before that the Council was being convened at Lucian's request. After the scene with Gabriel, Christian hadn't wanted to leave Victoria alone in Canville even if it meant risking exposure to Lucian. The last two times he'd left her alone, both times she'd almost been killed at the hands of his brother.

At least in Paris, he'd be able to protect her and with Enhard's unknowing help, he'd arranged a meeting for Victoria with the Witch Clans. Her presence in Paris would be under the guise of meeting others like herself, and under his protection because of the recent slew of vicious attacks. As a royal and Council advisor, his position was unassailable. It wasn't the most foolproof plan, but it was the best he could do on short notice.

When they had arrived, she had immediately fallen in love with Christian's apartment on Boulevard Saint-Germain, the evening bustle of the busy street making her as excited as a small child. The two-bedroom apartment was simple and tastefully furnished with old-world charm. It boasted a lovely balcony that overlooked the Seine and the glorious Eiffel Tower luminously draped in golden lights, holding court over her city. Paris was already living up to every expectation she'd ever had and she'd barely been there a day.

The limousine pulled to a stop at their destination in La Défense. They walked into the ominously beautiful obsidian tower and took the elevator to the very top floor. Victoria was awed by the opulence and the magnificent view.

The same beautiful receptionist greeted Christian who had met him before and she extended the same lush invitation as she had the last time. Victoria's eyes narrowed and Christian chuckled under his breath at her jealousy.

"Relax chérie, she's paid to do that."

"Well, she didn't come on to me, so obviously she's not doing her job properly," Victoria said. Christian laughed.

The receptionist ushered them into a small room set up for an informal meeting with deep armchairs around a small coffee table. There was a buffet table at the end of the room covered with an assortment of fruit, bread and cheeses.

Victoria tried to get comfortable as Christian stared at her from beneath a heavy-lidded gaze. He could appreciate why she was nervous, but despite it, she looked lovely, with her thick blue-black hair pulled back off her face and secured in a neat chignon. She had chosen to wear a plain white shirt with a ruffled collar and a black pencil skirt. The overall look was austere, but somehow made him want to kiss her thoroughly and demolish that tidy, proper hairstyle.

"Why are you glowering at me like that?"

"Because that little chignon of yours is driving me crazy," he said honestly, which forced a surprised laugh from her chest. "And Catholic school girls look the same in any era," he added with a grin.

Victoria laughed again. "Perv. I decided jeans weren't appropriate, so I borrowed this skirt from Charla. Considering she's four inches shorter than I am, I'm surprised it fit."

"Well, you look beautiful."

"Merci monsieur, so do you."

Victoria had been so overwhelmed earlier that she'd hardly noticed Christian's appearance. Clad in an immaculate dark navy suit, he looked like he'd just stepped out of the pages of a business magazine, some kind of young tycoon. She couldn't decide which look she liked better. He looked just as good in jeans and a T-shirt as he did wearing a jacket and tie. Her gaze flicked to his. His silver eyes were still smoldering unsettlingly.

Victoria shivered in delicious response dragging her eyes away. She was just about to reprimand him for staring at her in such a suggestive manner when the door opened and an attractive dark-haired man walked in.

He introduced himself as Enhard and embraced Christian warmly. Christian then introduced Victoria. When he said pointedly that her name was Tori, Victoria noticed that Enhard started visibly, his eyes snapping to Christian's who nodded imperceptibly. Enhard smiled with genuine pleasure, engulfing Victoria's hands in his own and telling her that he was honored to meet her. Victoria was taken aback by his effusive greeting but when she looked at Christian, he just smiled.

What's that about? she asked silently.

Nothing really, I just told him a little about this wonderful girl I had met.

She was staring dreamily at his face when she realized that Enhard had asked her a question, a smile on his own face at her diverted expression.

"Sorry?" she said, turning red. Christian pretended to study his fingernails but she knew that he was laughing inside at her embarrassment. She glared at him.

"Did you have a pleasant trip?" Enhard asked, his voice mellow like butterscotch. Victoria felt like she was going to melt from the tone of his voice. What was with these vampires and their ability to charm the senses!

"Yes, it was fine, thank you," she responded with a winsome smile. She felt the gentle brush of his mind on hers that was undoubtedly intended to have been unnoticed, and responded with an answering touch of her own, leaving him in no doubt of what she was. Enhard's eyes widened as he whirled to face Christian.

"She's ... a witch!" he accused.

Victoria tensed in response to the almost angry tone of his voice.

"Yes," Christian agreed, his face implacable.

The reproach in Enhard's expression was obvious. If she had simply been a human, it would have been acceptable. But Victoria was a witch. Their shared history was far too dark, and centuries of hate meant that no relationship between witches and vampires would be tolerated.

Victoria could feel the palpable change in the air as Enhard regarded her in stunned silence. She stared back just as fiercely until Enhard looked away, noticing that Christian had moved to stand behind her. She leaned into the length of his body and absorbed the strength he offered. His hand caressed her lower back in slow soothing circles.

"The meeting will start shortly in the main conference room," Enhard said, the warmth gone from his voice. "The High Priestess is already here." He left the room without a backward glance. Victoria was stung by his frigid manner, but Christian squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry, it's about me, not you," he said, leading her across to the Council room where Enhard was waiting near the doorway.

"Christian, do you have a minute?" Enhard asked.

"Not right—"

"It's okay, Christian. I'll wait for you inside," Victoria said.

"Christian," Enhard began the minute the door swung shut behind Victoria. "I can't even begin to guess at what the Council will say to this. You are flouting ancient laws and this little flirtation—"

"It's not a flirtation. And if you think I give a damn about what the Council thinks, then you really don't know me at all," he said.

Enhard was quick to back down from the veiled fury in Christian's voice, and he sighed. The Council would not tolerate it should they realize Victoria was a witch, and despite Christian's considerable power, he would not be able to save himself. Or her.

"Does anyone know?" Enhard asked.

"Lucian does, I imagine."

Enhard gasped, his eyes flying to Christian's. His face was whiter than Christian had ever seen it.

"Then today will be even worse than I imagined. You know your brother has long craved your complete exile from your House and coveted your birthright. My fear is that he has called this meeting to discredit you with the Council ... because of her. He will use this to destroy you," Enhard said.

Christian didn't bat an eye. He had guessed that Lucian had had some sort of ulterior motive but now, everything fell into place like missing pieces of the puzzle. Lucian had known that Christian would not leave Victoria behind, and something he intended to do or say in that room had something to do with her.

He regretted that Victoria was already inside but there was little he could do at this point to remove her without drawing more attention to them both. He would have to deal with Lucian—and the Council—if Enhard's speculations proved correct.

Christian met Victoria's eyes reassuringly where she was sitting near the back of the room as he walked in with Enhard. Victoria noticed his eyes narrow as he stared at her, sensing that something was different about her, and it was her turn to smile reassuringly at him.

It's a non-detection spell. If it works so well for you, then it should work for anyone looking for Le Sang Noir.

Christian shot her a puzzled look. This space is warded against magic.

Yes, I can sense the wards. She frowned in concentration. But my spell is fine.

The meeting was called to order interrupting their silent exchange, and Victoria looked around the room. It was as beautifully decorated and furnished as the other room had been, with spectacular floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the city of La Défense.

There was a long glossy cherry-wood panel table at the end of the room that curved in a semi-circle, where twenty people were seated, obviously the Council. Enhard sat at the same table. The Council members ran the gamut of age, but they all had two things in common, their fierce mysterious beauty and pale white skin. It was difficult not to stare.

The rest of the room was divided into two sections, similar to a courtroom set-up with two other rectangular tables at the head of each of the sections. She recognized Lucian at one of the tables talking to a tall woman whose face she could not see, but who seemed vaguely familiar. Victoria remembered their last encounter with unease. As if he had felt her discomfort, he turned toward her, a disturbing, triumphant smile playing on the corner of his lips. His cold stare made her flesh crawl.

She looked away, distracted by two new attendees who had been ushered in by the helpful receptionist: a petite pretty woman and another older man. They were not vampires, which she could sense immediately and her breathing quickened as she guessed who they were. They were introduced as the delegates from the witch clan, Grande Prêtresse Aliya and Monseigneur Fardon. Aliya had soft blond hair and looked surprisingly young. The older man had a lined face and white hair. They both sat after bowing respectfully toward the Council.

With their entrance, the tension in the room became almost solid. Despite the fact that they were invited guests, the mutual enmity was, at best, thinly veiled. It was Victoria's first taste of the hostility that Christian and Leto had often spoken about, and it shook her.

She was surprised to see Christian sitting just to the right of the Council panel on a raised dais with two other empty chairs. Despite how young he looked, he radiated authority and everyone around him treated him with deference. It disconcerted her a bit because she had never seen Christian in this light. He was the leader of a House after all, she told herself, but still the thought niggled in her head, it wasn't just that he was treated with deference by his own House, he was treated like that by everyone, including the Council members. She tucked the thought away as Enhard, Council speaker, called the meeting to order.

Christian sat tensely in his chair waiting for the moment when Lucian would make his end-game clear. The minute the meeting began, Lucian's body language changed and he became alert, ready, and predatory. This farce of a grievance was only for show and Christian knew it the instant he saw his twin brother's calculating expression. This had been a pretense to get Christian here along with the representative factions of the witch clans, just as Enhard had feared.

He glanced at Victoria, realizing even more that her presence may have been Lucian's main focus. Her face was pale but composed, and she'd never looked more beautiful or fragile. He took a breath and nodded to Enhard to commence.

Lucian stood, his bearing arrogant as he faced the Council. He barely looked at the witch and wizard sitting to his right, his distaste for them evident, even to Victoria. He addressed the Council.

"My Lords, you have threatened me countless times with your contempt for my actions when I only seek to better our future. Yes, I concede that people have died, but that is the price of power." Lucian's voice echoed into the room and Victoria could see the clenched fingers of the petite witch on the arms of her chair. He turned to address Aliya and Fardon, his voice carelessly insolent. "But let's get to the point. You got what you wanted, your traitor died. By another witch's hand no less."

Victoria suddenly felt the world tilt at Lucian's words and her gaze locked on Christian. His jaw was clenched, and she could sense that he was furious. Lucian, now performing for a suddenly captive audience, turned to face her, his face twisted with an evil cunning smile.

"There's your killer right there." And he pointed straight to her.

Victoria felt all eyes in the room boring into her. Now it was her turn to grasp the arms of her chair with bloodless fingers. Through the haze, she felt Christian gently brush her mind giving her strength even as she could feel his restrained wrath beneath it. The amulet stung the skin of her chest as the stares converged upon her and she fought the urge to flee.

Enhard cleared his throat. "Lord Devereux, what is this about?"

Lucian faced him, his face a mask of cold rage. "My point, my lord," he said, "is that you censure me for seeking a better future when he seeks to destroy us all." Lucian spat the last words viciously staring at his brother with venomous eyes. Christian remained unmoved, his face chiseled from granite. The Council members muttered among themselves staring from Lucian to Christian and back again. The witch and wizard remained silent though their attention was clearly centered on the two brothers.

"Ask him," Lucian jeered. He indicated the woman sitting beside him. "Lena has seen his disgrace with her own eyes."

As Victoria heard the name, her eyes snapped to the woman who turned in slow motion, her eyes connecting with Victoria's. The malice in their ice blue depths was obvious, and Victoria recognized her as the woman who had attacked her as well as the one from Christian's memories. She felt her blood surge.

"My Lord Devereux is correct," Lena said. "His Grace brings dishonor to both our worlds by his ... affiliation with this witch."

The whispers in the room became deafening. Victoria could feel the heavy weight of the stares of the witch and the wizard boring into her on top of the dozens of eyes already locked onto her. She sat coolly, her head high even though her skin was flushed.

"Lord Devereux, this is a grave accusation!" cried a Council member, supported by vocal affirmations from several others. Lucian's ferocious scowl silenced the Council member who had spoken and the vampire shrank back, cowed. Lucian's lip curled in ominous fury as if daring any of them to speak again. They did not look at him. The tension in the room thickened like quicksand.

Suddenly Christian stood and the room became still. "Cease," he commanded. "Lord Devereux is correct in his statement." Dead silence followed his statement amidst shaken looks. Enhard seemed physically pained. Christian continued. "She is under my protection as Lord Devereux's companion has attacked her twice now. Given the strained relationship between our societies, I thought it best to take her under my protection. Our laws do not forbid this."

"If by protection, you mean something else entirely, then I will say she is surely well protected," Lucian said, his insinuation clear. The room twittered in response. Christian's hands clenched at his side, and Victoria knew that it was time. He couldn't do this alone, not without her help. She stood, walking to the middle of the room and commanding everyone's attention.

"My Lords," she said, addressing the Council, "I confirm that I have been attacked twice by this woman and threatened once by Lucian Devereux himself. In fact, the protection of His Grace," she said, echoing Lucian's sarcastic emphasis as well as Lena's strange formal address to Christian, "is the only reason I stand here before you today."

Victoria didn't mean to consciously do it, but her sincerity was delicately and cleverly amplified by her magic. The Council nodded in unison, some even sitting forward in their seats at the unexpected power of her simple words. She heard the soft gasp of the blond witch sitting behind her, and could feel their startled glances. Compulsion on one person was not something easily done—it took immense skill and concentration to magically sway conscious thought. Compulsion on a roomful of vampires in a space warded against magic was another thing entirely.

"But I saw him with her!" Lena said. "He wants her!" Christian turned but Victoria beat him to the punch.

"Of course he does, he wants me to be safe from you," Victoria said, deliberately misunderstanding her words and diffusing Lena's poisonous exclamation. Lena opened her mouth to argue but Christian's crisp command pierced the room.

"Leave us, please," he said quietly. Victoria was amazed that everyone left without so much as a whisper in deference to his command, and the room emptied until it was just Lucian, Lena, Enhard, herself, and Christian. Lucian had told Lena to stay which seemed to anger Christian. He turned to him. "You forget your place, brother," Christian said.

"And you forget your duty!" Lucian said. "She is a witch!"

"That didn't stop you from wanting her, did it?" Christian's retort was just as quick. Victoria noticed the stunned look that flashed across Lena's face. "And why is she here?" Christian said, indicating Lena. Lucian looked at him coldly, spitefully.

"She is, after all, your Companion, is she not?" he said, his eyes glittering.

Christian glanced at Victoria, seeing shock crack her composure. "Lena chose another path, Lucian, you know that and she knows that," he said, but Christian knew the intended damage had been done. Victoria refused to look at him. "What do you want, Lucian?"

"You know what I want."

"I have already given you control of the House of Devereux. Anything more is impossible, you know that," he said.

Christian stared at Lucian, knowing exactly what was going through his head; there was another alternative, the right of succession. Lucian wanted the title Christian held as the first-born Devereux son. But Lucian was too cowardly to fight him in a fair fight, and he was afraid of the combined strength of the Council and the sway they held over the six other vampire Houses. Lucian believed that if he controlled Le Sang Noir, then he would have complete dominion over Christian and over all the Houses.

Challenge me then, Lucian, Christian silently said. Take what you think is rightfully yours. Slowly and with open loathing, Lucian stared at him.

Another day perhaps, brother. The time will soon come, that I promise you.

Lucian turned on his heel and sat insolently in his chair. Christian did not respond to his barely veiled threat and after a few moments, he signaled Enhard to bring in the Council. He wanted this over with quickly, so he could turn his attention to Victoria. He could already feel her anguish consuming her.

The Council members resumed their places, and as the meeting came to a close, Victoria slipped out the doors feeling Christian's eyes follow her exit. She went to the small room they had been in when they had arrived and collapsed onto a chair. Christian had a companion. She didn't have to be a vampire to know what that meant.

The very same woman who had tried to kill her, the one that she herself had said would be perfect for him. She felt sick with jealousy. Christian had made someone. He had loved someone enough to have made them a vampire. He'd made her. Hot tears leaked from her eyes as she sat hunched over. After everything they'd been through, the betrayal was crippling.

Hearing voices, she hastily composed herself, standing just as Enhard escorted Aliya and Fardon into the room. Without looking at her, Enhard explained courteously that they had wanted to meet the witch responsible for the death of the traitor. It was the last thing Victoria needed, but she forced herself to be civil and introduced herself. When she touched the woman's hand, the spark of energy between them did not go unnoticed, and Fardon eyed her with sharp interest.

"It's good to meet you," Aliya said smiling, her voice musical. "Do you mind if I ask how you ..." Victoria knew what she meant even before she finished her sentence. They wanted to know how she had killed the witch.

"I'm not entirely sure how, but I destroyed a crystal necklace she had," she said evasively, trying to avoid reliving the ugly memory of the witch's power running through her veins. Aliya nodded as if the simple explanation made sense.

"I see how that could be effective, considering that she was an exile and forbidden to wield magic," she said. "Are you self-taught?"

"My ... familiar helped with my training."

"And the compulsion in the meeting room? Where did you learn that?" Victoria was startled. "Don't worry. Some of us have natural gifts." Aliya smiled again, and Victoria felt her discomfort recede as quickly as it had come. Aliya's gift was clearly her ability to control emotions.

"You're a high-priestess?" Victoria asked. "You seem ... young."

A smile. "I am entering my fourth century as the liaison for relations with other societies, like the vampires, so not that young."

"And him?" Victoria asked, indicating the silent man at Aliya's side.

"Fardon is a Seer," she said. "He sees the unconscious mind of a person, and their true intent." At Victoria's confused look, she continued to explain. "A witch or wizard, or vampire for that matter, can block their conscious mind with the proper training but the unconscious part is more difficult to veil, just as it is also more difficult to interpret. Fardon sees what is hidden." She waved a hand to indicate where they were. "Which is also why he is here with me. If the vampires meant us harm, we would know it even before they did on a conscious level. We can't use offensive magic here, but we can teleport if we need to leave quickly."

Victoria nodded. It made sense that the vampires would have their own protective wards in place to inhibit a magical attack from the witch delegates. Smart.

"And what do you see then, with me?" Victoria directed her question at Fardon, who smiled at her boldness and then frowned soon after, his eyes widening.

Aliya was right, Victoria couldn't distinguish between her conscious and unconscious, but her blood certainly could. She let her energy flow, following the guidance of the blood magic, and kept her mind a blank slate. The harder Fardon focused, the more elusive what he was searching for became. She could feel his mounting frustration and smiled inside.

"I see nothing," he said after several minutes. He exchanged a baffled look with Aliya who had put a calming hand on his arm as if she'd also sensed his frustration. She watched Victoria circumspectly.

"That's impossible," she said slowly. "No, not impossible, but it would take a very accomplished witch to block Fardon. Not many can thwart his Seeing ability. And yet you do so effortlessly ... and untrained

"Maybe there's just nothing to see," Victoria said.

Fardon frowned. "There's always something to see!"

Victoria remained silent, and they stood staring at each other, at a curious impasse until a knock on the door interrupted them.

Christian walked into the room without waiting for an answer, clearly looking for Victoria. He took in the scene right away—Victoria's discomfort, Fardon's interest, and Aliya's frustration. As soon as Victoria saw him, he didn't miss the immediate darkening of her eyes or the walls that fell into place over them. He cursed Lucian's earlier revelation for the hundredth time.

"Will you please excuse us?" he said to Aliya and Fardon.

As Aliya left the room, she looked at Christian with a shuttered, speculative expression as if she had detected something transpiring between the two of them that had made her suddenly uneasy. She frowned but left as he'd asked.

Christian closed the door. He stared at Victoria where she sat on one of the chairs staring into space, steadfastly refusing to look at him.

"Tori, please talk to me," he said. "It was a long time ago, and it ended a long time ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Her voice was a whisper.

"Because it doesn't mean anything. You have to believe that."

"She still loves you, you know," she said finally, looking him in the eyes. "And I can never compete with that, Christian."

"Compete with what, exactly?" he said, detecting a strange finality in her voice.

"That she is a vampire, like you, that you gave a part of yourself to her. She is who she is because you chose her. She will always have that piece of you ... that I won't." Victoria pressed her hands to her face, her torment apparent. Christian knelt at her feet and took her hands in his. She tried to pull them away, but he held on tightly. "She doesn't want to let you go, I saw it in her eyes."

"Victoria, that doesn't matter. Do you know why?" he asked. "Because I let her go a long time ago. I don't want her. I want you. I love you."

"You love me?" she echoed dumbly.

"What do you think this is all about?" he asked. Victoria turned her face away, unwilling to look in his eyes, knowing what she saw there would be her undoing. She shook her head in angry denial, refuting his gently given words.

"No. You were right. What we are doing is wrong. There's a reason for the laws," she said, bleak. "They hate us ... they hate me." And then fire flashed again for an instant in her eyes as she remembered something else. "And I can't believe you never told me you're a stupid Earl or whatever!"

"A Duke. My father was the cousin of the King of France. Remember? I did tell you that he was the Duke of Avigny." As he said the words, Victoria remembered that he had said that, but at the time she had been more concerned with what had happened to him to make him what he was, rather than details about who he was. She nodded. "Well, that same title has passed to me and its royal lineage is recognized in our world," he said.

"And Lucian?"

"He has other titles, but as first-born, I inherited this one. Although it means little to me, and I would give it up in a heartbeat if I could."

"Couldn't you?" she blurted out.

"Only by dying."

Victoria blanched at his response, knowing that Lucian would be more than happy to have him dead.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "Don't you know by now that I do as I like? Tori, I gave you my mother's ring because it is my pledge to you, not to anyone else ... to you. It doesn't matter to me what the rules are in my world or in your world, I only care about us and our world because anywhere that is, is where I want to be. It's the only place I want to be," he said, desperately willing her to believe him, to trust him.

He could see her on the verge of it, just about to grasp the hand he offered, when suddenly the door swung open and Enhard walked in, taking in the scene of Christian, a vampire royal, kneeling before Victoria.

His glacial response was all Victoria saw, and the tiny flicker of warmth struggling to stay alive between them abruptly faded, her expression deadening in seconds. Christian clenched his jaw swallowing his ire at Enhard's untimely entrance and whispered, "Please Tori, trust me."

"I can't, Christian." Her eyes closed in distress. "I'm sorry." She couldn't even look at him, knowing what she would see in his face.

Tori ... please.

I can't. We are impossible. It has always been impossible. No matter what we tell ourselves, there can be no happy ending for us. We are just another tragic love story waiting to be written.

Before Christian could even guess at her intent, he saw her grasp her amulet and she disappeared before his very eyes. He was left holding air as her hands vanished, leaving nothing but a cold memory of their presence. She had left him, he thought desolately, and he sank back to the floor his head in his hands. Enhard looked completely shaken by Victoria's unexpected exit, but the sudden lifeless expression on Christian's face troubled him far more than her startling vanishing act.

"Christian?"

"I'm sorry, Enhard." Christian's voice was like a staccato. "I can't let her go."

"You can't be serious, Christian. You do know what this means, don't you?"

"I don't care what it means." His words were hard, final, implacable. "I won't live without her."