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should have never come in there. It had been a stupid, impulsive idea. Markus would never be the answer for anything she needed. “Like I said.” She looked once more in the direction of the dark vampire. “It’ll never happen again.”
    Alex made her way out of the containment area, darted upstairs, down the hall, and into the kitchen. And came to a halt. No, no, no… She did not need this now. Elle stood with a coffee can in her hand, chatting it up with Kenric’s personal assistant, Michael. Damn. Why did they have to be such social butterflies this morning?
    Michael was also the Enclave’s trusted human driver and cook. But that’s where his role ended. He didn’t serve them as a Calyx, a vessel used for feeding. They respected him, and the feeling was mutual.
    The majority of humans didn’t realize vampires existed outside of a horror movie. But Michael did, and Kenric trusted him. So for the rest of the Enclave, that was good enough. And from what Alex could tell about the human, Kenric was right. Michael was a good guy.
    Alex took a step in reverse. Maybe if she were careful enough, she could make it out of there before her sister ever noticed her presence.
    Silently she turned, aiming for a quiet but quick exit.
    “Alex!”
    A sigh slid from her lungs.
    “Hey there, sis.” Elle’s hand brushed Alex’s arm. “I almost missed you.”
    “Hey.”
    “What’s going on?”
    “I’m fine.” Alex shrugged.
    “You don’t look fine.” Elle’s brow wrinkled. “Were you downstairs in headquarters?” She nodded in the direction from which Alex had come.
    “Why?” Shit. Elle was like a dog with a bone when she had something on her mind.
    “I’m surprised to see you coming from that direction of the house. That’s all. You never go down there.”
    “Maybe it’s time I do.” Alex shrugged once more and sauntered back into the kitchen. “Is there coffee?” No matter how many centuries she lived, Alex couldn’t imagine ever outliving her taste for the dark brew. And right now, she really could use a cup.
    “Yup. Just finished,” Michael replied.
    At that moment, Eve strolled into the kitchen wearing a white cotton robe and a pair of flip-flops. “Morning, Michael,” she said, pausing behind him to grab a mug and pour a cup.
    “Good morning,” he said. “You heading outside for your morning swim?”
    “Yes, I do enjoy watching the sky brighten as I get in a few laps,” Eve said. “A girl’s got to keep her shape.” She laughed and flexed her free arm.
    Watching the sky brighten… How wonderful would it be to experience a sunrise once more? Alex lowered her eyelids, recalling how the horizon would burn with the fiery brush strokes of a South Carolina summer sun. Yet she would never experience that again. Neither she, nor her sister.
    However, Eve, being the only born-vampire, could survive in daylight. Having become close friends over the past several months, they had discussed Eve’s differences from a typical vampire. She could tolerate sunlight and she could knock out her opponent with a mental pulse. Eve had also shared how she could implant vivid telepathic images in the minds of people and had done so once, to an enemy—crippling him. But it was her ability to walk in the sun that had made her a target in the vampire world back in Europe. Thank God, Guerin and Kenric had located her when they had and brought her back to the States, where she was safe among the Enclave.
    “Wish I could join you,” Alex said. “I could use the exercise and the distraction.”
    Eve rounded the counter. “I would love that, too.” The softening of her expression telegraphed the sincerity of her words. “I’m sorry. I hope you don’t feel as if I am boasting about going outside at this hour?”
    “Don’t worry about it.” Alex smiled. “I didn’t take it that way.” Eve had been nothing but kind to her ever since they’d met. There wasn’t a cruel bone in her body, despite who her mother