“It has to do with the gold from the ring of sorrows.” Mal eased her onto the black leather sofa, then kneeled beside her. Where his right sleeve hadn’t been torn by his transformation into the beast, his skin was soaked with her blood, causing the names there to writhe. “When the signumist melted it down, she thought that would erase the ring’s power. It didn’t. Instead the power transferred to her.”

“What kind of power?” Doc stared down at her.

“She didn’t know, but whatever it is, it brought her back to life after the Aurelian ran a sword through her.”

“I hate to tell you this, but I don’t think it’s working.”

“It will.” It had to. Mal brushed hair off her forehead. Her signum sparkled in the overhead lights. “Give it time.”

“Sun’s gonna be up soon. Just how much time are you talking exactly—”

Chrysabelle gasped, her body bowing off the couch as though yanked upward on a thread. She collapsed back down, breathing hard. Her eyes opened, and after a few seconds, she pushed herself up. “What happened?”

Mal sank back onto his heels in relief, but the emotion passed quickly. No way was she getting out of talking about what had happened this time. As sternly as he could manage through the joy of her returning to him, he answered, “You died. Again.”

Chapter Ten

Grigor will come with her.” Tatiana studied the invitation under the desk lamp’s glow. Octavian’s penmanship was beautiful. Too bad it had been wasted on Svetla’s name.

Seated beside her at his desk, Octavian finished the last invitation with a flourish, then looked up. “Let him. He is invited.”

She sighed. “I hate that he is.”

“It would seem odd to invite the Elders without their Dominus as well, don’t you think? And if he comes, we’ll find a way to distract him. Besides, the idea is that we’re bringing the Dominus here for the courtesy of meeting Lilith before the ball. The Elders are just a bonus.”

Tatiana tucked the invite into its envelope and laid it on the desk beside the others. “A brilliant bonus. If this plan works—”

“It will.” He smiled. “I thought of it.”

She swatted him. “Don’t be cocky, my pet. If this works, the rest of the plan must still be perfectly aligned.”

He tugged her onto his lap. “Everything will go off beautifully—you’ll see. Once we have Svetla here, you’ll use your powers of persuasion to plant the seed of kidnapping Lilith in her head. The moment she acts on it, you’ll alert Sam—”

She pressed a finger to his lips. “Don’t speak his name. We mustn’t call him before we need him.”

He nodded, pressing a kiss to her finger before she removed it. “Forgive me. My excitement got the best of me. You’ll alert him, who will catch Svetla in the act and strike her dead.” He nipped Tatiana’s neck, his pleasure at thinking up such a cunning plan obvious. “There’s no vampire alive who would come against you after hearing about that.”

She rolled the hem of her blouse between her fingers. “I agree, but fitting the pieces of this puzzle together is going to be difficult.”

“You worry too much.” He frowned. “Or are you still concerned about Daciana?”

Unsettled by the reminder, she rested her head against his. “I will be until I hear from her.”

“It’s good that you have this new project to distract you, then.” He held out the four envelopes, each addressed to the other noble houses. “You have messengers waiting?”

“Yes. The House of Rasputin’s will go out today, the others tomorrow. I just hope Svetla’s as eager to see Lilith as I think she’ll be. I’d much rather accomplish this before the others arrive.”

He shifted beneath her, moving so that they faced each other more. “But if the other Dominus and Elders are here to witness the ancient one’s actions, it can only benefit you.”

“True.” She stroked his cheek. “Protecting you from Grigor’s and Svetla’s mind reading isn’t going to be easy. They get one jot of a thought about what’s going on and they’ll kill you without hesitation.”

He patted the breast pocket of his jacket. “I have the potion from Kosmina. She assures me it’s what the kine in St. Petersburg use to keep their masters from knowing their thoughts.”

Tatiana clucked her tongue. “I can’t believe you’re willing to trust your life to a kine.”

“My darling,” he cooed. “If something happened to me because the potion didn’t work, whose wrath would Kosmina face?”

She smiled. “Mine.”

Through the opening of her blouse, he traced the curve of her breast with his finger. “Knowing that, do you think she’d give me something that might fail?”

“No.” When he put it that way, it did seem rather convincing. “How is it you always know what to say to me?”

“Because,” he said, drawing her closer and nuzzling his mouth against her collarbone, “I only want your happiness.”

She unbuttoned her blouse, inviting him in. “You are my happiness. You and Lilith. I cannot imagine my life without either one of you. The words sound odd even to my own ears, but having a child again has changed me. I want you both around me always.”

He pulled back, an unexpected look in his eyes. “Are you implying… No, never mind.” He laughed like he’d made a mistake. “My emotions make me foolish.”