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away until I finish speaking.”
    “Is it that bad?” she whispered, her chest so tight she could barely draw breath for the words.
    “It is very serious, and, yes, it is bad, though I suspect not the way you mean it.”
    “Just tell me,” she demanded, unable to stand the stress.
    “You are aware that I’ve been gathering allies lately, beginning with Rajmund , although, of course, my relationship with Lucas is far older.”
    “I’ve had my suspicions.”
    “So have others, although no one but a select few understand my true motives. My enemies assume I’m trying to take over all of North America, that I’m setting puppets on the thrones of the other territories so that I may rule through them.”
    “I don’t believe that. It’s something else, but I don’t know what.”
    “This is the most critical of secrets, my Cyn . It cannot be shared with anyone.”
    “So, why tell me now?”
    “Because I nearly lost you to a secret, and nothing—no secret, no person—is more important to me than you.”
    The tears rolled down her cheeks. Tears of relief that he wasn’t going to lie to her, and of love at the raw emotion in his words. She leaned against his broad chest, resting her head on his shoulder.
    “Don’t cry,” he murmured, holding her close. “Listen, and tell me what you think.”
    She nodded wordlessly.
    “The threat is not on this continent, but in Europe. There are many very old vampires there, vampires who were alive long before I was turned, and who’ve survived by being both wily and powerful. They rule territories in Europe, as we do here. But the territories are small and crowded because these old vampires made too many children in years past, when a vampire was judged by such things.
    “This overpopulation has created a large number of strong and ambitious younger vampires who have nowhere to go. They no longer wish to serve under the yoke of their masters, but there are not enough open territories—or at least not enough with lords who can be handily defeated—and no unsettled lands for them to move into.”
    “They want to come here,” Cyn said, stunned with the realization as she sat up and stared at him.
    He nodded. “They look at North America and see eight vampire lords ruling a vast amount of territory. They assume that makes us weak, that no one vampire is strong enough to rule so much, and they think to replace us with their own number. Not one vampire for a territory, but several. Not eight vampire lords for all of North America, but twenty-five or thirty.”
    “And what about you? What about the others? Do they really think they can take you all on and win?”
    “I am not privy to their strategy or thoughts, only their ultimate goal.”
    “So what are we going to do about it?” she demanded.
    Raphael smiled and hugged her close. “My fierce Cyn . Our first order of business is to continue as we have, to ensure the ascension of vampires we can trust, who will fight with us, and who are capable of consolidating and defending their territories should it come to a war. Which is why the selection of Aden is so important. ”
    “But you don’t know him.”
    “I know Lucas, and while he may seem like someone who doesn’t take life seriously, the reality is quite different. When it comes to survival, Lucas is deadly serious. He also happens to be an excellent judge of others. He tells me it’s a side effect of his being a people person,” he added, grimacing in such distaste that Cyn had to laugh despite the seriousness of the subject.
    “The talent probably lies in the opposite direction,” she assured him. “He’s a con artist, which means he has to understand his victims. It’s the same skill, just applied differently.”
    “Did I ever tell you how Lucas and I met?”
    Cyn frowned at what seemed like a non sequitur. “No,” she said.
    “He thought to pick my pocket, or more likely to steal my purse. Either way, his so-called people skills failed him quite