"Thankfully I am capable of producing a passable meal when called upon." He gave a faint grimace. "Well, perhaps passable is a rather generous choice of words, but it is edible."

With a faint pang, Amelia realized that she had not even considered Sebastian's own loss. He would no doubt blame himself for the death of his servant.

"Thank you for caring for William," she said softly.

" 'Tis nothing, my dear."

"It is far more than most gentlemen would do," she uttered unthinkingly before abruptly blushing in confusion.

Swiftly realizing the cause of her discomfort, Sebastian offered her a wry smile.

"I may be a vampire, Amelia, but I also hope that I am a gentleman."

Her blush only deepened at his words. "Of course you are. I am sorry."

Regret, and something that might have been pain, flashed through the silver eyes as he studied her bewildered unease. Reaching out, he lightly touched a curl that lay against her cheek, his touch sending a poignant sweetness through her body.

"Perhaps we should finish our conversation," he murmured.

She bit her lip. A cowardly part of her wanted to close her ears and pretend that none of this was occurring. Perhaps if she ignored it all, it would simply go away.

But the greater part of her rebelled at such foolishness. She had always faced the world as it was, not as she desired it to be. Even this.

"Yes."

His fingers continued to toy with the stray curl, but a distant quality entered the silver eyes, as if he were looking within himself.

"I will not bore you with a long history of vampires, any more than to say that once my brothers roamed freely among humans. Unfortunately, the tales of our savagery were not a myth.

A vampire is both blessed and cursed by bloodlust."

She shivered in spite of herself. "Bloodlust?"

"It is a vampire's hunger to consume the warm blood of mortals. By taking the life and soul of a human, we are granted many powers. We possess great strength and are capable of changing our form."

Her breath caught in her throat. She had to distance herself from his words to keep the horror at bay.

"Such as becoming a shadow?" she demanded, anxious to keep talking.

His eyes darkened, easily sensing her raw nerves.

"Precisely. But along with such powers it also brings with it the curse of being vulnerable to both fire and sunlight."

Her brows rose as she noted the pool of light that even now surrounded him.

"Sunlight?"

He smiled faintly. "I speak of the years before Nefri, our leader, created the Veil."

She struggled to follow his peculiar explanation. "What is the Veil?"

"It is a boundary that separates our worlds. Beyond the Veil, vampires are no longer plagued by the hot passions that once ruled us. We live at peace with one another, able to devote our considerable intelligence to elevating ourselves far beyond the brutal predators we once were."

Perhaps unconsciously, his features softened as he spoke of his home. She did not need to be told that he deeply felt the loss of being with those of his kind. "The Veil also purified the curse of blood-lust. Unless I were to consume the life of a human, I remain immune."

Amelia attempted to ignore the wistful pang of loneliness that she sensed within Sebastian. It made him seem vulnerable, and almost. . . mortal. And echoed far too closely her own feelings of isolation.

It also threatened to distract her from the troubles at hand.

"But not Mr. Ramone?"

"No." His hand dropped to lie clenched upon the blanket. The mention of his fellow vampire was clearly distressful. "He has chosen to return to a life of violence."

"Why?"

He slowly shook his head, his gaze shifting toward the distant window.

"It is difficult to say. There are always those vampires who believe that it is their right to have dominion over humans. They resent the loss of the powers and their sense of divine superiority."

Amelia regarded him with a frown. It was odd to consider that vampires would be so plagued by human frailties. Pride, conceit, the lust for power.

Whatever their superiority, it did not seem that they had managed to progress far beyond the weaknesses they had hoped to leave behind.

"I still do not understand what this has to do with me."

The piercing gaze returned to her. "The Veil was created with the powers of an ancient vampire artifact. The Medallion."

Suddenly and sharply, she was aware of the heavy weight of the necklace as it lay against her skin. The odd warmth of it spread through her body, bringing the sense of peace and courage that she had come to depend upon. "My amulet?"

"The amulet is but a piece of the Medallion."

She should no doubt have been terrified of the thought of possessing such a strange and formidable artifact. Who could possibly know what it was doing to her? Or how it might affect her in the future?

But she could conjure no unease. The amulet had not harmed her. Indeed, she had never felt more keenly aware, more involved with the world about her. She found it very difficult to imagine a future without its comforting presence.

Almost as difficult as a future without this gentleman who had so tangled himself in her heart and soul.

"And it was Nefri who gave it to me?" she demanded.

"Yes, in the guise of an old Gypsy."

"But why?"

He took a moment to consider his words carefully. Amelia felt a rueful impatience racing through her. He was a man who always weighed and thoroughly pondered his every thought and action. It was a trait that she both admired and found oddly frustrating.

Just once, she wanted to see him stripped of his stark self-control. She wanted to see the truth of his soul without the carefully constructed barriers that he hid behind. She wanted him to be as prey to his emotions as she was.

A childish, and perhaps even dangerous, desire, she was swift to chide herself. She had already seen the horror of one vampire who readily wallowed in his darker side. Did she truly wish to have Sebastian be-have in a similar manner?

"Some time ago it was discovered that three renegade vampires had slipped through the Veil with the intention of gaining command of the Medallion," he answered in careful tones. "Nefri realized the danger should the traitors succeed. She made the decision to divide the Medallion into three amulets and bind them to mortal maidens. As an added precaution, I was sent, along with Lucien and Gideon, to ensure that the amulets were kept safe."

She pressed herself deeper into the pillows, her eyes wide. There were other vampires roaming through the streets of London? And other maidens who were being hunted just as she was?

Her brows drew together at the thought, and then suddenly she regarded him with a question in her eyes.

"Bind the amulets? What does that mean?"

"The amulet is a part of you," he said softly.

She was not unduly shocked. Even now, she could recall the strange warmth that had flowed through her when the Gypsy had pressed the amulet into her hand. She had known then that it was more than a mere piece of metal. The only true mystery was why she had accepted such a dangerous gift.

"I see."

Sebastian leaned forward, his features severely outlined by the sunlight. There was a quiet, relent-less strength in that countenance that spoke of a dangerous adversary.

"It was necessary, Amelia," he said, although she was uncertain whom he was attempting to convince. "It was the only way to keep the traitors from merely killing you and taking the Medallion for their own. If you die, the power within the amulet is lost."

"Dear heavens," she breathed, her heart missing an entire beat. "Then why does Mr. Ramone hunt me if it cannot be taken?"

"It cannot be taken but it can be given freely." He regarded her with a solemn expression.

"That is what he seeks."

She shuddered as she recalled that dark, glittering gaze as it had regarded the amulet with a savage de-sire. At least she now comprehended why he had not simply slaughtered her and taken what he so wanted.

The knowledge should have been reassuring, but the thought of Mr. Ramone attempting to lure the amulet from her grasp made her skin crawl.

"Freely given," she muttered. "That is what the Gypsy warned me of."

His hand once again gently cupped her cheek as he regarded her with a fierce expression.

"The amulet must be protected, Amelia. For the sake of both vampires and humans. Should the Veil fall, both our races would suffer unbearably."

Lost in the smoky silver of his gaze, she slowly nodded her head. There was still far too much that she did not comprehend. Questions continued to whirl through her mind. Not the least of which was what Sebastian intended to do with her now. But for the moment she was willing to follow his lead.

"I understand."

His grip tightened upon her cheek. "My dear . . ." His words were abruptly cut off as a sharp knock upon the entrance door echoed through the house. A light flare of impatience crossed his features before he reluctantly rose to his feet. "I must answer that."

She sat upright, her eyes wide with sudden apprehensiveness. "What if it is the runners?"