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a moment as grief swelled over him. She felt ill as she recalled the event. She closed her eyes and let the moment roll through them both, knowing this wouldn’t be the last time.
    When he drew a deep breath and seemed more himself, she asked, “So what exactly is Daniel’s role in your society? I mean, I know that he’s in charge right now, but what does that entail?”
    “Daniel set himself up as head of the Ancestral Council and now rules our five governing courts. He has tremendous power as an Ancestral. But he also has great wealth because of the sex-slave operation he’s built. That wealth has bought him many allies, which is part of the reason he succeeded in taking over the Council. Right now he’s damn near invincible.”
    “And what’s an Ancestral?”
    “It’s the name given to any vampire who achieves a certain level of preternatural power. Only a small portion of our population become Ancestrals, and Daniel’s at the top of that food chain.”
    A knock on the door made her jump.
    “Are you okay with someone else coming in here?”
    Claire glanced at Lucian, almost startled by the question. For some reason, maybe because of the brutality of the situation she’d found him in, she hadn’t expected him to be concerned about her comfort level.
    “And now you look surprised. You don’t think me capable of kindness or consideration?”
    She met his gaze. “I just thought, given what you’ve been through … I don’t know, you just surprised me.”
    He looked away from her, his jaw hardening. She hadn’t meant to offend him, but she could see that she’d touched a nerve. She just wasn’t sure exactly what it was.
    Rumy’s voice sounded through the door. “Okay to come in? I brought food.”
    “Well?” Lucian asked, but this time his voice had an edge.
    “Of course. It’s Rumy. And I’m sorry if I offended you.”
    His jaw worked. “You didn’t.”
    Right.
    “Come,” he called out.
    His voice had an authoritative ring. Rumy had told her that Lucian ran a small policing force in their world, protecting as many innocent people as he could from the depredations of Daniel and those aligned with him. Clearly, he was used to command.
    Rumy came in, along with wait-staff and a trolley bearing two covered dishes. Her stomach rumbled, partly no doubt because she’d just fed a vampire, but she also hadn’t eaten for several hours.
    Rumy glanced at Lucian. “You’re looking better.”
    “I feel much better, thanks to Claire.”
    *   *   *
     
    Later, after he and Claire had consumed a simple but savory meal of burgers and fries, Lucian knew the time had come to get down to business.
    Rumy had left so that they could eat in peace, especially since the subjects that would soon be under discussion weren’t going to be pleasant. But Lucian now got Rumy on the room’s landline and asked him to rejoin them, to discuss how to proceed with finding out what had happened to Zoey and with locating the weapon.
    When Rumy came in, however, he wore a serious scowl.
    “What’s wrong?” Lucian offered Rumy his chair, but the short vampire paced instead.
    “We’ve just had word that Daniel is offering a big reward to anyone who can give him solid information about the whereabouts of the remaining extinction weapons.”
    Lucian’s nostrils flared. “How much is the bastard offering?”
    Rumy turned toward him. “Millions, in increments, depending on the value of the information given. That asshole has set up a goddamn tip line.”
    “Oh, that’s bad,” Claire murmured.
    Lucian glanced at her, then back to Rumy. “Well, the good news is that it won’t be an easy process—he’ll have thousands of crackpots leaving false information. That alone will slow him down.”
    “But his organization is big enough to handle it. I think we’re in serious trouble. All he needs is the right bead on the weapon, and he’ll gain control of everything,”
    Claire tilted her head. “Do you think he did