anwyn herself would be part of that compensation. that much was clear, sending a ripple of fire through gideon"s blood. however, he tried to hold steady, have faith in anwyn"s words.

trust daegan.

lady barbra lifted a questioning brow. "quite frankly, lord daegan, we are puzzled that anwyn, as a human, was providing you such a haven without being marked as your servant." anwyn was unaware of the weighted politics behind such a query, but alarm bells went off in gideon"s mind. "the role i serve for council isn"t entirely servant-compatible. but anwyn is a remarkable woman, as you can see for yourself. our arrangement has existed for five years, where she provided me a clean blood source and a bed underground when i needed it.

an arrangement that has never been compromised until someone leaked my name and location to the vampires who attacked her."

"we are not senile, lord daegan. you"ve already made it clear that you are accusing this council." lord uthe spoke for the first time, his expression neutral. "that issue will be addressed."

"with respect, lord uthe, i am not accusing the council. i am accusing the specific council member or members responsible for the transgression. i do not know which of you felt that it was necessary to endanger the humans at anwyn"s club in this way, but if you no longer desired my services, you only needed to tell me so."

"you have been part of this fledgling"s life for five years," belizar noted. "a human life.

how do you know that she did not let the name slip in a moment of carelessness?"

"because i know." daegan swept a cool look around the room. "it"s not a point that requires debating. my only wish is to underscore that i serve this council. if you feel someone is better suited for the role, or wish to handle it differently, you need only request i stand aside."

"and what would you do with yourself if that was the case, lord daegan?" lord welles spoke. gideon recognized him from the red hair that spoke of an irish heritage in his vampire parentage. "what territory would you suit, what region? you can"t move as a free agent, no more than she can. she must learn our ways, and lord walton can provide that." everything sounded so civilized, but the undercurrent was getting ugly. gideon hadn"t had a front-row seat to what had happened to lyssa in council chambers when they found out how her fey blood made her different, but he"d seen the fallout that had made her a fugitive and almost cost jacob his life. daegan was useful to them as an assassin, but it was clear that, since his mother"s death, somebody-or perhaps it was simply the council"s prejudices coming to the forefront without her meliorating influence-had been spreading poison, reminding them that since he was different, he wasn"t one of them.

"i am more than capable of teaching her how to get along in our world, my lord." daegan smiled, this time showing tips of fangs. as gideon stood behind him and anwyn, he experienced that cold ripple again. if the unease that joined the sensation were any indication, he wasn"t the only one. "let me make this clear. anwyn inara naime belongs to me. no other vampire will be touching her without my consent, so unless someone wishes to challenge me on that matter, i will assume you have confidence in my abilities to ensure she is