That sounded bad. She tried hard not to let the image of her torn and bloody body show, but it was tricky when she got scared or worried or tired. “What is that supposed to mean? Attached itself how? What kind of power?”

He held his hand out. Nothing happened. “It’s not working. That’s the problem. I can’t control it.”

“Control what?”

With a snarl, he punched his fist into the metal wall, making her jump. His eyes flickered green-gold, the pupils slitting down to razor-thin slices.

Flames burst off his hands and forearms.

“That,” he said, splaying his fingers. The blue fire danced over his skin, mesmerizing her. Then she blinked and looked at him. His eyes, no longer leopard, held fear and anger.

“It’s okay,” she said. “Actually, it’s better than okay. It’s cool! You have a new power. What other varcolai can wield fire?”

The flames had begun to die but sprang to life again. “It’s not cool,” he growled, shaking his hand to kill the fire. “I can’t control it. When my emotions peak, the fire just shows up.”

“Does it hurt?”

“Not me.” He exhaled. “But the fire is very real.” The last wisp of blue disappeared off his fingers. He leaned against the wall he’d just punched and stared up at the ceiling. “I’m afraid to touch you, Fi.”

She drifted close enough to cup his face in her transparent hands and brush her mouth over his. “When I’m like this, nothing can hurt me.”

“But when you’re not? When we’re in bed together?” He shook his head and took a few steps away from her down the corridor. “That can’t happen. Until this is fixed.”

Her heart sank. She loved being curled up in bed with him. It was a safe place for her. Or had been. Worse, she had no real way to comfort him. And she hated that. “Who can fix it? Aliza and Evie are dead. Not that they’d help anyway.”

“Maybe it’ll play out.” He glanced at his hands. “That’s what I’m hoping.”

“And if it doesn’t? We have to talk to someone. Find somebody to help.”

“There might not be anybody to help.” He raised his head and met her gaze. “We just have to accept that.”

“What are you saying?” She charged forward until only inches separated them. “Are you breaking up with me?”

“Fi, you can’t look at it like that. This is for your own good. And my sanity. If I ever did anything to hurt you…” He turned away.

She went corporeal and dropped to the floor with a soft thud. As soon as her feet touched, she kicked him in the shin. “You are not breaking up with me over this. Do you understand me? Hell no.” She shoved past him and headed for the car. “I’ll tell you when we’re broken up, and it’s not now. Men. Unbelievable. Like a little fire is reason to break up. Seriously, I can’t even believe—”

“Fi.”

She stopped her march and looked back at him, hands on her hips. “What?”

He smiled and tiny flames wobbled on the tips of his ears. “I love you.”

“You better believe you love me. Now let’s grab some weapons and go find Creek so we can start working on the real problem.”

He caught up to her in a few strides. “The fire?”

“Yeah, I’m concerned it’s making you stupid.” She shot him a sideways look. “We’re going to figure this thing out, and then you’re going to ask me to marry you because I’m tired of waiting.”

His mouth opened, but he had sense enough not to say anything.

“Keep walking, kitty cat.”

Chapter Thirty-nine

Tatiana bounced Lilith on her knee while across the room Octavian went over some ledgers at the desk. It was shocking how quickly they’d become the happy little family. She watched him for a moment, his head bent, his concentration fixed on the pages of numbers that represented everything now under her control as Dominus.

He was a good man. Becoming a vampire had yet to change him. Maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe he would stay the way he was, without the harsh cynical edge that so many of her kind developed. Only the years would tell that.

He looked up, caught her watching him, and smiled. She smiled back. Did she love him? She might. It was hard to tell if the emotion was true or born out of the buoyant joy Lilith brought her. Either way, she liked having him as part of this new stage of her life, even if it scared her a little to have people close to her that she cared about. But being Dominus meant she needed that sacred inner circle more than ever. And now with Lilith to protect…

She kissed the sweet child in her arms, burying her face in the baby’s sweet-smelling skin. It wouldn’t take long for the other houses to find out about Lilith, to speculate where the child had come from, what her powers were, what she meant for them and their future.

So many would want to hurt her. To possess her for their own. Use her in a way that would benefit them. The Castus had chosen wisely by bringing Lilith to Tatiana. They knew her past, understood that she would not allow another child to be taken from her.

A knock sounded at the door. “Come,” Tatiana called.

One of the servants entered, bowing. “My lady, Lord Edwin, Elder of the House of Bathory, is here to see you. Would you like to receive him here?”

Tatiana glanced at Octavian. His gaze came to rest on Lilith. “There’s no point in hiding her.” He closed the ledger and stood. “They will all know soon enough. And Lord Syler is an ally.”