the council was in charge of her fate. though she hoped with all her heart and soul they would let her stay with niall and evan, she was too politically aware to think that it was likely. unless no one more highly ranked than evan wanted her.

no matter how wrong it was, she hoped the entire vampire world shunned her.

"dawn's coming," niall mentioned after a weighted moment. "you need to go to ground. debra will help me get her bathed and ready."

evan nodded. when he rose, she realized she'd never seen a vampire look exhausted, depleted, but he did. even paler than he should be. glancing toward niall, she saw the deep shadows beneath his eyes, the grooves alongside them. how much, or, rather, how little, had they slept? fed properly?

"niall, go with him," she rasped. "feed him and yourself. take your rest."

when niall met evan's gaze, she saw a raw yearning in their gazes that stole her breath. they hadn't . . . "niall, who . . ." she coughed, and the pain of it pulled a tiny, screeching noise from her throat, drawing their attention instantly. brian had quietly departed a few moments after jacob, but debra had remained. now she came forward to hold alanna's shoulders as niall put a large hand on her chest, giving her a needed pressure there as she strangled through the simple exercise of talking.

"stop it, muirn