“Yes, of course.” She straightened. “He betrayed you. He must be dealt with. And I confess, I was dying of hunger after being held prisoner.”

Tatiana shook her head. “You are a remarkable woman, Daci. And a good friend.” As the sky above them lightened with the coming dawn, she hesitantly reached out to Daci and squeezed her arm, the gesture alien and yet somehow appropriate. Amazing how much being a mother again had changed her.

Octavian cleared his throat. “I’ve put Damian in the soundproofed rooms in the west wing. He’ll be fine there for as long as you wish. I’m sure Daciana would like to rest after her ordeal.”

“I would,” she agreed, stifling a yawn. “I haven’t had a decent daysleep since I left.”

Tatiana felt the need for sleep as well, but she wasn’t ready for this moment to end. She reached out to Octavian and Daci, pulling them both to her. She smiled at Octavian. “Isn’t it wonderful that Daci’s back with us?”

He nodded and slipped his arm around her waist. “Absolutely.” His gaze shifted to Daci. “Tatiana and I were very concerned about you.”

Daci smiled, but it didn’t last. “I have failed you, though, Tatiana. I was unable to capture the comarré.” She dipped her head and backed up a step. The sky behind her was golden with morning sun, but the house’s shadow covered them. “I am fully prepared to return and try again.”

“Nonsense.” Tatiana waved her hand through the air to dismiss the thought. “We’ll deal with the comarré soon enough, but not now. There are too many other things to attend to. After all, the four of us are a family now. We need you here.”

“The four of us?” Daci looked from Octavian to Tatiana. “I don’t understand.”

Tatiana smiled uncontrollably. “There’s someone you must meet. Come.” She walked back to where Lilith was playing, but Lilith was gone. “Lilith?” Panic bubbled in her gullet like acid.

She searched the garden’s shadowed depths. “Lilith!”

Octavian was at her side instantly. “Where was she?”

“Right here in the grass.” Tatiana pointed to the stark white pebbles scattered against the green turf.

“She can’t have gotten far.”

Daci joined them. “Who’s Lilith?”

“My—” Tatiana stopped cold as she found her child. Lilith crawled toward the far edge of the garden, her little fingers skating the dividing line between shade and bright sun. “Lilith, no!” She started forward, but Octavian caught her arm.

“Wait.”

She tore out of his grasp, almost snarling. “My child is in danger.”

“She’s not or I wouldn’t have stopped you.” A curious expression came over his face. “Look again.”

Tatiana turned her head. Lilith sat in the sunlight, her face tipped into the killing rays, clapping her hands and laughing. No smoke, no fire, no flames.

The sun had no effect on her.

“How… how is that possible?” Tatiana asked. The adrenaline left her in a whoosh, and a new sense of confusion took its place. She leaned against Octavian.

“I don’t know, except that with Lilith we should learn to expect the unexpected.”

Daci shook her head. “I don’t understand. Where did the baby come from?”

“The ancient ones gave her to me to rear. She’s the first vampire born into this life.”

Daci pointed. “You mean to tell me that child, sitting in the sun, was born a vampire. Is a vampire?”

“Remarkable, isn’t she?” Tatiana nodded, unable to take her eyes off the miracle before them.

“Bloody hell,” Daci whispered.

Octavian began to laugh softly. “Things just got a lot more interesting.”

Tatiana joined him, buoyed by the knowledge that her daughter was even more powerful than she could have imagined. “Kine or vampire, my child shall rule them all.”

Doc tapped his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, waiting for the light to change. Where the hell was Fi? He was running out of places to look. He’d gone after her when she’d slipped through the wall, but getting to ground level from the penthouse had taken too long. There’d been no sign of her. Not even in the uptown shopping district, one of her favorite places to walk and look at store windows.

He glanced in the rearview mirror at the entrance to Mephisto Island. No luck there either. He’d thought Fi might have gone to talk to Chrysabelle or Velimai, but Chrysabelle was already in bed and the wysper hadn’t seen Fi. The red flipped green and he took off toward Mal’s freighter.

The ketamine in his system had kept the flames from bursting off his skin when Heaven attacked Fi and had kept him from striking out even though it went against his upbringing to hit a woman. Protecting Fi was his main concern. Which is why he’d yelled at her to leave. Dammit. It had come out wrong. The anger in his voice had been at Heaven, not Fi, but he knew his woman. She was sensitive. Especially with all that was going on.

He had to find her, explain. Calm her down. Make sure things were okay between them. She was all right, wasn’t she? Fi was pretty good at taking care of herself. She was a ghost, after all. If someone threatened her, she could slip away easy. Unless they surprised her. Like Heaven. Nothing had stopped Fi from disappearing when he’d told her to, though.

He growled softly. The whole situation was a complete mess. He loved Fi so much he couldn’t fully explain it. What he’d said to her had been spoken in the heat of the moment. In the interest of keeping her safe and away from Heaven. He’d never banish Fi from his life, but he’d bet good money that was what she was thinking. Cripes. Why had she come to the penthouse? She had to have known that was a bad move. He shook his head as he maneuvered the car around a corner. Women could make a man fool crazy, although he could guess why she’d come. He missed Fi so much it hurt.