And I, the wil ing lamb, put myself in her hands.

After we were both satiated, I leaned back in her arms, curled on the sofa with the afghan lightly tossed over us. The snow was stil fal ing outside and we were in for a cold morning. I pressed my head against her heart as she embraced me and sighed with contentment.

“Hey,” I said after a moment. “What about you move in here, with us? I can’t have you in my lair, but suppose we fix up a room for you out in the studio? Camil e and Delilah won’t mind, and that way we could be together as much as possible.”

She brushed one of my braids back from my face. “Oh, sweetness, I thank you for that, but I think I need my own place. I’ve always lived in a compound, always lived by others’ rules, and I need a space that is mine alone. At least as far as setting the rules and decorating . . .” With a smal sigh, she added, “It’s not that I don’t love you or want to be with you, but . . .”

“But you need your lair, just like I have mine.” I gazed up at her. “I get it.” And I did. Nerissa needed to stretch her wings and see how far she could fly sans the Pride. I was along for the ride, so I wasn’t going to complain about her wanting a space that she could mark as her own territory.

“I do have something I want to ask you, though. We’ve been together what . . . almost a year?”

She tenderly trailed her hand down my arm.

I nodded. “Yeah, about that.”

“What say we turn these promise rings into something a bit more . . . official? I don’t think either one of us is ready for marriage, but let’s have a promise ceremony. Give it another year and a day and see where we’re at? Maybe by then I’l be ready to move in. Maybe by then the demons wil have broken through. Maybe by then . . . who knows?” She sat up abruptly, and I had no choice but to sit up with her. “Let’s do it. Something smal —for family and close friends only?”

I stared at her. I’d given up ever thinking to promise myself to someone. Marriage, a family, even something like a promise ceremony had seemed out of reach once I had been turned. We’d given each other rings, but that had been that, I thought.

Now . . . was I wil ing to honor a year and a day? Was I ready to commit to a specified length of time? Of course, if it got bad, we’d go our separate ways, but this was a test. A test to see if I was ready for more than just lip service.

I took her hand, kissed the ring on her finger. “Nerissa, you are the only one in the world that I would say yes to. Yes—let’s have a promise ceremony. I have no idea what the future wil be like, or if there wil even be a future, but yes.” And with that, we were off making plans, until the approaching dawn drove me down into my lair, into satisfied slumber.

CHAPTER 12

The next night, Nerissa was there when I woke up. She’d gone during the day to apply for the position with Chase, and he’d hired her on the spot. We celebrated and—during the early dinner Iris had fixed—sprang the news of our promise ceremony. We opted to hold it on the Vernal Equinox, during the spring festival of new growth, when life springs forth from the soil and the balance of the year once again hangs forefront. This would give us enough time to find outfits and real y hammer out what this meant for us. Nerissa would be in her new condo by then and we could spend time truly alone.

Camil e had immediately launched into a fashion discussion with Nerissa about dresses and makeup, while Delilah used the news as an excuse to talk Iris into making cookies, even though I couldn’t eat any.

Iris stopped by my chair—I’d vacated my usual place near the ceiling for once—and gave me a tight hug. “Menol y, you deserve this. You deserve so much, and she’s a wonderful woman.”

Touched, I squeezed her hand gently, then let go as she headed over to the stove. Tril ian rushed to help her put dinner on the table—they were having fried chicken and mashed potatoes.

Morio winked at me. “Taking the plunge, are you? About time.”

I shook my head at him. “We aren’t getting married, dude, but thanks. And I’m happy about it.

She’s my girl, she is.”

Nerissa giggled and blew me a kiss. “I’d better be your only girl.”

“No doubt about that.”

As Tril ian passed by with a tray of food, I moved out of the way. The smel of food had been torture until Morio had come up with the enchanted blood for me, but it stil wasn’t easy.

Morio motioned toward the fridge. “Bottle of chicken soup-flavored blood in the refrigerator, and one that tastes like rhubarb pie.”

I cocked my head. “Weird mix, but sounds good.” I wasn’t going to complain; anything was better than the taste—day after day—of blood.

As I contemplated floating up toward the ceiling, it occurred to me that first, I should cal Tavah at the bar to ask how Erin was doing. The phone rang at that moment and Delilah answered. She turned around, hand over the mouthpiece.

“Tavah.”

Speak of the devil . . . I took the phone and moved into the hal .

“What’s up? Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just thought I’d check in with you. Listen, Erin is happy as a clam to be working again.

It’s al we can do to find enough work for her. She genuinely seems content.” There was an undercurrent of tension in her words.

“I hear a but in there.”

“Yeah . . . just that . . . I hate locking her in the safe room during the day. I know she’s safe there, but after I leave at night, that leaves her alone for several hours. She’s able to talk to people in the bar, but she hasn’t been socialized much over the past year, boss. I think she real y needs to meet more vampires and learn how to interact with breathers.”

There was one place where she could do that, and I knew it. “Let me cal Wade. He was There was one place where she could do that, and I knew it. “Let me cal Wade. He was supposed to let me know about his decision anyway.”

“Decision?”

“Never mind. I’l see what I can do. Meanwhile, thanks for looking after her. I’l try to be in tonight, but we have an emergency and I’m not sure if I’l be able to get there before the bar closes. Ask Chrysandra to watch Derrick, and tel Erin good night for me, please.” As I hung up, I was already dialing Wade’s number.

He answered on the second ring. “Dude, we need to talk. I need your answer and I need to ask you a big favor.”

“You kil ed Sassy,” he said softly.

“I had no choice.” I didn’t bother to ask him how he found out but ran over my meeting with her.

“She lost it, Wade. She lost it in a big way. I had to keep my promise.”

“Yeah, I understand. Listen, nobody else knows. I only know because her lawyer contacted me.

Sassy left her mansion to the VA. There’s so much we can do with it—we can run a hotel and have a ful meeting space.”

“You mean you can. I’m not part of the group, remember?” I couldn’t help myself. My voice was bitter. I was stil pissed over the situation.

“I wanted to talk to you about that. I was wrong, Menol y. I’m sorry. Please, come back to the group. I’l smooth out any hard feelings there. And, I thought about what you said. I’l step down—as long as you promise Terrance won’t win the position.”

“That, I can promise. Ro—my . . . source . . . has no desire for Terrance to be in charge.”

“Then color me cooperative.” Wade paused, then added, “Menol y . . . I know we don’t have a chance of dating again. Too much water under the bridge. But I real y miss our friendship. If I promise never to screw up again, wil you give me another chance?”

I stared at the phone, then let out a sigh he could hear.

“Whatever you say is gonna be serious . . . you never breathe unless you have to.” He tried to laugh, but I could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

“Wade, I hardly ever give second chances. But . . . one more chance. Screw up again and we’re forever on the outs. You owe me big for saving your life. Normal y I don’t keep score, but this time, I am. And I’m going to start cal ing in my markers now.”

“What do you need?”

“Erin needs a mentor. I am so bogged down with . . . wel . . . you don’t want to know what, but it’s terribly dangerous. Erin needs a place to stay, she needs to learn how to interact with both other vampires and breathers. That’s what Vampires Anonymous is al about. You give me your word you’l help me with her. I’ve given her a job that she likes, but she needs more than that in her life.”

I waited. Wade was silent for a moment, and then he laughed. “Is that it? I thought you were going to ask for one of my fingers or something. Yeah, I’d be glad to help, Menol y. You’re right, that’s what the VA is al about. I’l drop in at the bar tonight and have a chat with her, if that’s okay.”

“Thanks, Wade. I’l cal and let them know you’re on the way. Now, I have to run. We have a serial kil er to catch.” As I hung up the phone, it felt like two big weights had lifted off my shoulders.

Being on the outs with Wade had bothered me, and I’d missed the VA more than I wanted to admit.

And now, Erin would meet others in the life and learn how to interact with the living without losing control. I thought for a moment about Roman and sent him a brief mental kiss. Without him, Wade and I would stil be fighting, and Erin wouldn’t have much more of a life than she had with Sassy.

Maybe this was al going to work out after al .

After dinner, Tril ian, Shade, and Nerissa stayed with Delilah and Iris. Camil e and Morio headed out in her car, Vanzir and I in mine. We met up with Chase down in the Greenbelt Park District, in a deserted street near a manhole cover. The snow had let up for the time being and the streets had been plowed, but there was a thin layer of black ice spotting the city, and twice on the way, I swerved and almost lost control of the car.

Vanzir coughed. “Babe, I know you’d survive a crash and I probably would, too, but damn it—I have no desire to get hurt.”

“Chil . We’l make it in one piece.”

And we did. I parked without further incident and climbed out of the car into the night. Chase headed over in our direction as Camil e parked a few spaces up the street. His breath came in little puffs of white, and he was wearing a parka over his suit. I looked up at the overhanging trees that lined the street. Their bare branches were whipping in the wind, and with the clear sky, the temperature was dropping rapidly.

He blew on his hands, rubbing them together, then pul ed out a pair of gloves. “You sure you’re going to be warm enough?”

I stared at him and snorted. “Johnson, when wil you learn that I don’t need a coat? I wear them for fashion or when I want to pass, but tonight it would just hold me up. Camil e— she needs the coat.”

At that moment, my sister and Morio wandered over from her car. She had dressed in a heavy spidersilk skirt and top but wore no gloves. They interfered with her magic. Morio had cast a spel against possession on her, and we had to hope it worked, because we needed her with us.

“I real y wish your unicorn horn were charged up,” I said.

“I wish it were, too. In a day or so it wil be ready to go again, but I don’t like to touch it so soon after recharging.” She looked around. “Quiet here for this time of day.”

“Yeah.” It was barely six and the streets in the Greenbelt Park District were, for the most part, empty. Nobody on the sidewalks, nobody driving past. I nodded to the manhole cover in the center of the street. “That the one?”

Chase shrugged. “Apparently. I figure what’s the worst that can happen? We’l get down there and find nothing.”

But as he led the way over to pry the cover up, a voice ran through my mind whispering that the worst that could happen would be that we would find something. Something big, something bad, something we couldn’t fight.

“Let me go first.” I pushed ahead of him. “If our vampire is down there, I’m the best one to take him on.”

Chase nodded. “Good point. Vanzir, how about if you go next, I’l fol ow, then Camil e and Morio to watch our backs?”

Vanzir clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re learning, dude. You’re learning.”

I sat down on the edge of the hole and attached a flashlight to my belt, then felt for the rung ladder with my foot. It was best if we saved any lights until we were down in the sewer. Within seconds, a metal rod met my foot, but when I swung down and grabbed hold, there was a hissing sound and pain registered through my palms. I yanked myself back up again. Quickly.

“Iron. The bars must be wrought iron. That makes no sense—wouldn’t it rust in the weather?”

Chase frowned. “This part of the town hasn’t been renovated in years. It could be one of the original sewers, back when they used iron for everything.”

“Wel , I’l need gloves, and Camil e damned wel wil .”

Chase held up his hand, ran back to his car, and returned with several pairs of nylon gloves.

“Always keep spares. I lose a lot of gloves due to this job. They get filthy when I’m rooting around crime scenes. I save my leather ones for business and keep a few of these in the car.”

The gloves were far too large for Camil e and me, but they would work until we got down into the sewer tunnel. I pul ed on a pale blue pair and swung back over the side. The gloves cushioned my skin from the iron. Since I’d become a vampire, wrought and cast iron bothered me a lot less, but it could stil do major damage to Camil e and Delilah. Iron blends and steel weren’t nearly as much of a problem, given our mother’s heritage, but sometimes a piece of metal would trigger the response when we least expected it.