Crossing his arms, he leaned against a demilune sideboard. “Give her a chance. She might surprise you.”

Tatiana turned. “You know something? Or are you speculating?”

He shrugged and dropped his arms. One finger traced the swirl of inlaid maple on the table’s top. “She’s ambitious, like you. And she wants to please you desperately. If I had to guess, I’d say she wants to repay you for freeing her from Laurent.”

“She could have killed him at any time.”

He pushed off the table and came to stand beside her, his hands landing on her waist. “But you paved that path for her. Gave her a support system.” He kissed her nose. “And a way to cover the death.”

She pushed at him, but there was no force behind the move. Octavian’s sweetness was one of her secret pleasures. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to smile with Daci on her mind. “She might die in Paradise City.”

“She knows that.” His gaze grew serious. “She went willingly.” He tipped his head, narrowing his eyes a bit. “Are you worried about her? That’s so unlike you.”

She pursed her mouth. “I would worry about you, if you were the one in her place.”

He laughed softly. “Yes, but you’re mad for me and cannot live without me.”

“How fast the lowly have risen,” she teased. It was sad how right he was. Octavian was unlike any of her past loves. Sweet, affectionate, able to anticipate her every need and blessed with common sense, something that might have kept a few of her late paramours alive. And she had no fear that he, unlike some of them, wanted to take her power for himself. He was content to bask in her glow.

He shook her gently. “Tell me why you worry about Daciana.”

She lifted one shoulder and looked back toward the room where Lilith was. “As my power grows, so does my need to trust those around me. And now with Lilith, I must have a secure inner circle. Daciana has been an upstanding member of the House of Tepes for almost four hundred years. She is as good as any to stand with me.”

“There are several nobles in Tepes who fit that description, so why her?”

She pushed away with real force this time, loosening his hands from her waist. “You ask too many questions.”

His eyes silvered. “We have a child to protect now, Tatiana. If you do not share what you’re thinking with me, how can I help you do what must be done?”

He was right. She flexed and relaxed her metal hand, watching the way the light glinted off it, the way her reflection distorted in the curves of the knuckles. She was Dominus now. A lifetime position. There was nothing the council could do to take the position from her, so hiding her hand was no longer necessary. She looked up at him. “Daciana feels like… a sister. I never had one.”

More questions filled his eyes, but she didn’t see the one thing she’d dreaded. Pity. Instead, he smiled. “Good. You’ve been alone too long. And you’re an excellent judge of character. If you feel that way about her, I’m sure she’s worthy of it.” He closed the space between them with a few steps. “If you’re worried for her safety, I can go to Paradise City and help her.”

“No.” Tatiana shook her head and tried to smile, but revealing such an intimate thing as how she felt about Daci made her skin seem too tight. She hated being vulnerable. “Daci wants to do this on her own. To prove herself. Whatever happens, happens. I will accept that.”

He held his hands up. “As you wish.”

“Besides,” she continued, clearing her throat and the weakness that threatened like a storm cloud. “I need you here. Someone has to goad those kine into finishing the nursery.”

“Say no more.” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll make it my first priority.”

The door to the room opened and Oana stood there, cradling a sleeping infant in her arms. “My lady, your daughter is fed.”

Tatiana took Lilith from her, kissing the baby’s head. She smelled like honeyed copper. Her dark lashes fringed over her shell-pink cheeks with such angelic sweetness, Tatiana almost forgot there was vampire blood in either of their veins. “You may keep this room as your own until the nursery is done, then you’ll move in there to take care of her.”

“Very good, my lady.” Oana curtsied and went back inside, closing the door.

Lilith’s innocence worked on Tatiana, thinning the wall she’d erected around herself. Without looking at Octavian, she confessed one last thought. “If Daci does not come back, I will not take it well.”

“She will come back,” he whispered, slipping his arms around her from behind. “And she will come back triumphant.”

“I hate not being able to contact her. I can’t even send a messenger because I have no idea where to send it. Council policy about the use of electronics is outdated. Mortals know we exist. Why do we continue to hide?”

He separated from her as she began to walk toward her suite, keeping pace. “You’re Dominus now. You may do as you like.”

She nodded. “If I weren’t so distracted by Lilith, I would have remembered that.”

He smiled. “You’ve only just been made Dominus. It’ll take a while for that to sink in.”

“I want a phone. And a computer. But they must be secure. In fact, find the company that makes these things and buy it. With access to Ivan’s accounts, I have more money than I could spend if I live another thousand years.” The more she thought about it, the more she liked it. “I’m going to remove the council’s restrictions on electronic communication for all of the House of Tepes. Starting immediately.”