Chapter 4

XXXXXXX

"They could have killed all of you," Don Rafael said, his tone regaining some of its smugness. "The way you all crowded into the passageway, it is fortunate for you they did not realize their error."

"Yes, very lucky," Eric responded, sounding surprisingly like Arlene sounded just before completely losing her temper with her children. "Don Rafael, it might prove wise for you occupy yourself with listening, rather than attempting to make verbal contributions. We are pressed for time at the moment. Perhaps you could take notes, so there is an accurate accounting of events for the histories." He turned from Don Rafael, and glared at Ermessen.

"His Majesty, King Eric," Ermessen said pleadingly, reminding Don Rafael of Eric's position, "has made an excellent suggestion. Having the written record appropriately detailed is so often neglected in times of crisis."

To prevent the possibility of Don Rafael wasting any more time by launching into any sort of protest, Eric stood. "The method of attack tells us several things. As Don Rafael's acute grasp of the indisputable attests, the opportunity to kill nearly all of us existed, during the time we were in the hall.

Since we were not killed, it is reasonable to assume the aim was not for us to die, so we are not dealing with a declaration of war from the faeries as a whole. Our enemy is an individual or a small group who had a very specific goal tonight.

They failed to achieve their goal, so we expect them to come back to try again. When they do, we must be prepared to defend what is ours, even as we work to recover those who have been taken from us."

"We also know their leader is female," Ermessen announced.

No one needed to ask how she knew. The question filled the room. It was written on all their faces, even Eric's.

Ermessen's eyes sparkled when she saw she had surprised him. "Is it possible I have deduced something about our common enemy which had not yet passed through the mind of The Norseman? Will wonders never cease? Shall I continue?"

"I defer to your superior knowledge of your sex," Eric said with a wide grin, bowing his head and spreading his hands in a mocking sign of surrender. "Amaze us."

She laughed and went on. "A man would have killed you all anyway, as a demonstration of strength, a scare tactic, something big to astound the vampire community, or maybe just because he could. The reason is unimportant. He would have found one to justify it, if only to himself. He would have created a scene of carnage and picked through the remains to see if his target was left alive to be hauled away.

Any oaf with an automatic weapon or an explosive device can commit a massacre. Subtlety is much more insidious. It is a woman who lures all the children away with something sweet; yet unappealing to the child she seeks.

Thus it is possible the target actually was your Mina, and not a vampire at all, since the lure was faerie blood, which would be ineffective for drawing out humans.

"Well done, Ermessen," Eric said. "I believe you are likely correct about our adversary being a woman, but she was not expecting to leave with Mina when she came here tonight. The prize was Sookie. She is the only vampire not drawn by the scent of faerie blood, because she is descended of the fae."

Don Rafael lost his battle to resist asking questions. "Your Queen can be linked to Alexei through you, but how can she be connected to Saaset? Why would someone, already in possession of Don Perdigo's progeny, need yours?"

"They wouldn't," Eric answered with a scowl. "You are not writing. Take down my words. When your master asks what transpired tonight, I do not want to be misquoted.

Even before her turning, My Lady's association with vampires, along with the impurity of her bloodline, made her the object of scorn among many of the fae. She has made enemies among them. Most faeries are unpredictable creatures, often driven to extreme actions for reasons I cannot pretend to fathom.

It is my theory Saaset and Alexei are part of some large-scale scheme, which involves the kidnapping of many more vampires, as evidenced by the amount of blood the group had put aside. They would have used only a small fraction of their store each time they targeted a single vampire.

When Sookie and I arrived, they were apprised of our presence, probably by a spy, for such a massive operation, they likely have many humans under the influence of a simple spell, similar to our glamouring, instructing them to report on vampire movements.

They saw an opportunity to try and take Sookie. They deviated from their plan. They acted on a whim. They took Mina simply to avoid leaving empty handed.

The only good news about tonight is their idea probably involved using their entire supply of blood, so we will have a lapse of time with no more kidnappings, while they replenish. Saaset and Alexei may thirst during this time, but they will survive it."

Eric leaned over and glanced down at the note pad in Don Rafael's lap. "Did you get everything?" The only answer he got was an angry stare.

Oliver had been flinching and fidgeting in his seat during the last few minutes. Eric was keeping an eye on him, but hadn't said anything. Now Sookie noticed as well. When he saw the look of concern on her face, he stopped theorizing about faeries and turned to face the vampire bound to his wife's service.

"How is she, Oliver?"

"Frightened," Oliver replied miserably.

"Good," Eric said.

Oliver looked as if his king had struck him.

Sookie shifted in her seat and almost accused Eric of cruelty.

"You did not say she was in pain," Eric went on, more gently than Sookie normally ever heard him speak to anyone but her. "If she is merely frightened, she is not being harmed."

"I can't bear feeling how afraid she is," Oliver mumbled.

"You can," Eric stated. "There are things worse than fear, and you will bear them as well if necessary."

A shiver ran down Sookie's spine and settled at the base. She remembered Pam telling her about Eric curled up in his office at Fangtasia suffering with her as she was being tortured.

"Extend your right hand in front of you and look at it," Eric instructed.

Oliver clearly didn't understand the order, but he obeyed.

Eric took a step forward so he was standing next to Don Rafael's chair; he reached down, snatched the pen from the emissary's hand and threw it across the room. "I will inform you when you may resume your note taking duties."

Don Rafael cringed to the side of his chair furthest from Eric as Ermessen stifled a laugh. Oliver didn't seem to notice the odd exchange at all. He just sat there, staring at his hand.

"Very important, Oliver," Eric continued. "Since your left hand is weakened at present, it must remain relaxed. You do not want to feel weakness. Focus on your right hand, now form a fist as tightly as possible. Concentrate your strength on your hand and hold it there.

Don Rafael had no idea what was going on and he didn't like not knowing. Sookie could see it in his face as his displeasure deepened. His lip twitched. He's going to say something.

Sookie moved as quickly as she could and sat beside Don Rafael, on the arm of his chair. She looked him directly in the eye and lightly pressed two fingers on his mouth.

Eric looked back at Sookie. She smiled and nodded toward Oliver.

With no emotion whatsoever, he whispered, "If his mouth opens, stake him."

A drawer in the desk slid open just enough for Ermessen to retrieve a stake. She crawled across the desk and passed it to Sookie. She swung her legs around and sat on the desk's front edge. Sookie had blocked her view when she moved to the arm of Don Rafael's chair.

"Is she still afraid?" Eric asked, moving to Oliver's side, leaving Don Rafael in the capable hands of the ladies.

"Yes," Oliver hissed through his gritted teeth, the thought of Mina's fear causing shudders of rage to sweep through him and settle in his fist. His fingers dug into his palm until blood began dripping onto the carpet.

"Feel her fear. Absorb it. Take it into you." Eric's voice dropped low in tone and volume. It was barely audible when he said, "Open your hand. Release your strength to her. Push it to her. Her body will accept, even if her mind is too distracted to realize it."

Oliver's fingers opened. He stared into his palm as if he'd never seen it before. After only a few seconds, he blinked several times as a tremor rippled visibly through him. He looked up at Eric.

"What happened?" Ermessen asked restlessly. She was leaning forward and clearly enthralled by this little exercise.

"They must have knocked her out," Oliver said slowly. "She was afraid, and then she wasn't. There was a sharp pain and then nothing."

"But she lives?" Eric asked. His usual blasé tone had returned.

"Our bond is not broken, Majesty. I am in your debt. Thank you." His head bowed low.

"Neither of us will exist long enough for all your debts to be repaid, so there is little point in keeping a tally."

On his way back to his chair, he took Sookie by the hand and brought her with him. He sat and pulled her into his lap.

"What a wonderfully clever trick," Ermessen enthused, coming down off her desk and returning to her chair.

Eric hugged Sookie closer to him, gazing into her eyes as he addressed Ermessen's comment. "There are times when a clever trick may be all you have to insulate you from ruin. At such times it is fortuitous to know one."

"Indeed," The Spanish Queen said softly as she watched Eric raise his left hand to the cheek of the woman he obviously adored, and she tilted her face into his palm and kissed it. "Well, I believe all we can do tonight has been done. Dawn will be here in less than two hours. Unless anyone has an objection, I will call for overlight accommodations to be readied for you. I will, of course, have guards armed with iron weapons outside your doors, and have the carpets in your rooms saturated with lemon juice as a precaution.

"The years have not diminished your generosity, Ermessen," Eric replied, his eyes remaining on his lover.

XXXXXXX

"Will you tell me what happened to Oliver's shoulder now?" Sookie asked once they were naked and spooning in the bed of their assigned underground light tight room.

"Certainly, Lover, I broke it. Then I set it." He said as if it wasn't worth mentioning. His concentration was being devoted to winding and unwinding her hair from around his finger.

"Umm, why did you break it?"

"An accidental reflexive reaction, nothing more. The break has been set and by the time he rises again, he will be as fit as before it was broken."

"Tell me about this setting technique Ermessen thought was so gruesome."

Eric retold the spectacle in the ballroom with great flourish and drama. He got the desired effect. She was properly horrified by what he'd done. He smiled when he felt the shiver as it made its way done her spine.

"You just stood there snapping your fingers back into place while you questioned him?"

"What would you have had me do? My curiosity demanded satisfaction and had I not set my fingers quickly I would no longer be able to do this." He ran his fingers into her hair, pulled her around to face him and kissed her hard on the mouth.

"That would have been tragic," she purred, taking his face in her hands and repaying the favor.

"You see? I had no choice," He said with a stellar grin before returning her to her previous position and resuming his attentions to her hair. "Now you may tell me if you found anything of interest, while you were cowering in a corner someplace for fear of exposing yourself to danger."

He didn't laugh out loud, but the laughter was there, in his tone and the way he over pronounced each word as if he was reciting the script of a bad melodrama.

"I could have killed you for embarrassing me like that!" she spat, trying unsuccessfully to wriggle out of his embrace, so she could turn around. Clearly he had no intention of letting her scream in his face. "How dare you summon me into a huge room full of people and then grin at me like it was the funniest thing in the world."

"I was amused," he said with a chuckle. After more unsuccessful wriggling on her part, he added, "You deserved it. You went off on your own when I specifically told you to remain with the donors until I returned for you. Young vampires are disappearing, Sookie. I have no desire to lose you for lack of basic discretion."

She didn't respond, so he curled around her and rested his forehead on her shoulder. "Summoning you to a ballroom doesn't even register on the scale of what I would dare to do in order to see you safe. I could have commanded you to stay with the donors. I did not. I could command you never to do it again. I will not. Had you stayed away any longer, your absence would have been questioned more urgently. It was important you return. I summoned you.

When you arrived, I did not leave you standing alone or bring you to your knees before the crowd. I could have. I have seen it done by others in response to much lesser offenses. I met you at the foot of the stairs with my hand extended. As it turned out, it was good judgment on my part to offer you my right, and I kept you at my side, thus protecting you from any comments others may have been tempted to make.

In your mind, my actions demonstrated spite and a desire to teach you humility, but in the minds of those who witnessed our exchange, my actions demonstrated my indulgence and willingness to overlook and forgive your foibles."

She still didn't speak, but she relaxed into him and leaned her head sideways to rest on his.

"If you discovered nothing of importance, we need to discuss Ocella before sunrise."

Sookie thought of how anxious she'd been to talk to him about the strange room at the end of the hallway on the second floor, but even though she'd seen something very strange, she hadn't really found anything useful yet. "She has a pretty weird room set up to look like it's outside, but I didn't find the boy or any way to get to him."

"Many vampires maintain a sunroom. Having one is not at all unusual."

With that said, he launched into a detailed description of Appius Livius Ocella. At the end, it sounded to Sookie as if Appius (which is what she should call him, unless he gives her his permission to call him something else, like freaky Roman asshat, unlikely, but possible) had a serious case of little man syndrome.

The rules were basically a laundry list of knowing her place. She was young, so she should show him deference and respect. He was Eric's Maker, so she should honor him as she would a grandparent and try to love him if she could, and pretend to love him if she couldn't.

"On occasions when he is attracted to women, it is always vivacious women, so don't smile too much or get too animated when you speak. He loves words and listening to people speak who speak well, with passion and fearlessness. Be a bit more timid, but not too much.

If he is attracted to you, he will take you and there will nothing either of us can do to stop him. If it comes to that," Eric said followed by a painfully long pause. He held her tight and continued. "Submit completely without begging. He takes his pleasure from the fight. If he does not enjoy the experience, he will not repeat it."

XXXXXXX

When Mina woke, her head was little more than a throbbing ball of pain. She started to lift a hand to rub her temples but the effort only served to prove her arms ached as much as her head.

I'll just stay still for now, she thought. She squinted her eyes open just enough to glimpse around. She was in a cell. It appeared to be made from the same stone as the stairs and hallway she saw earlier.

The thought of being knocked out sent a fresh spasm of pain twisting its way through her body. She did her best to push it aside.

She was a prisoner under a cabin, somewhere. Her cell was eight or nine feet square and she was lying on top of a plain wooden bunk against the back wall, no mattress, no bedding. There were no windows and no plumbing. When she tilted her head, she saw there was a shiny metal bucket in the corner. Great.

The bars at the front of the cell appeared to be black and the walls had something all over them. Chains, she realized when she was better able to focus. She wasn't cold, but a shiver ran through her.

She forced her arms around herself and closed her eyes again. She was receiving nothing from Oliver. It must be day. She was alone.

She managed to contain her initial panic enough to keep from screaming. She was pretty sure screaming would do more harm than good anyway. The loud noise might make her head explode and if anyone useful could hear her screams, the faeries would surely have her gagged … or worse.

Mina swallowed hard and pulled herself into a sitting position. As she moved, she noticed her bunk sounded hollow. It wasn't a bunk at all, she realized. It was a crude coffin. To her surprise, it didn't frighten her. At least it was something she recognized and understood. She'd seen lots of different coffins. She felt oddly comforted by having something familiar in the cell with her. Her headache seemed to subside as she calmed.

There was no light in the cell its self, but the passageway was lit and there were only bars between, so she was not in total darkness.

She stood slowly and lifted the coffin lid. A sigh of relief escaped her upon seeing it was empty. For her next act of unbridled courage, she walked to the bars. She reached out and touched one, half expecting it to shock her unconscious. No, the bars were not electrified, just filthy.

XXXXXXX

"Genevieve should be here any time now. I should have called her last night, but by the time your meeting is over, I'll be ready to meet Ocella," Sookie said, still sitting naked in the middle of the bed.

"You must address him as Appius, until he commands otherwise."

"Appius. Right."

Eric had his hand on the doorknob and was about to leave, when he released it and took two steps back toward the bed.

"You may lie to yourself, My Love. You may even lie to me if it pleases you, but never make the mistake of believing your lies are unknown to me."

"I … I,"

"You want free run of the villa. You see this meeting, at which your absence will not go unnoticed, as an opportunity too inviting to resist. Being a woman concerned with such things, your clothing ruse will be enough to convince Ermessen, which is adequate, since she is the only one you really need to be fooled. Ocella will think you frivolous, but this should be overcome when you throw yourself into charming him later this evening.

Did I miss anything?"

She only stared at him. She knew he was right, and now he knew she knew. Her speaking would only serve to make the awkward situation worse than it already was.

"Understand your actions may have far-reaching or unexpected consequences. Ermessen is Queen. If you are caught offending her within the walls of her own manse, her reaction could be severe and she would have the full support of my Maker in whatever retribution she chose to take.

Understand the implications, Sookie. With Ocella here, I will not be permitted to help you. We are at our most vulnerable in his presence."

"I understand," she whispered.

"I hope so."

He turned and left her alone with her thoughts.

XXXXXXX

Eric had risen with a near overwhelming sense of foreboding, yet beneath it, was the exhilaration he always felt when Ocella was close by. He felt the familiar tug of desire to erase the remaining distance between them and stand at his side. His Maker was here and soon they would be together again.

He loved Sookie every bit as much tonight as he did last night, but tonight was different. Sookie had not been replaced, or even diminished, but he knew the dynamics had changed. Last night Sookie, what she wanted, what he wanted for her, was the overriding force in his life; the trump card that could outweigh any and all other considerations.

Tonight, his heart felt the same and wanted to believe things were the same, but his brain knew better. Sookie could have a deck of trump cards and it wouldn't matter. Ocella is here, and Ocella has veto power … over everything in my life.

Eric stood outside Ermessen's office wondering if he would be able to make it back to the room, grab Sookie and run or fly fast enough and far enough to avoid this meeting.

"Why are you keeping us waiting, Eric? Enter and embrace me."

No. It was too late. Having heard his voice, Eric no longer wanted to leave, even if he could. His Maker was here. He opened the door.

"And there he is," came a low gravelly voice. "My finest work of art. The great Auguste Rodin never accomplished such an image."

"Rodin was a purveyor of pornography," Ermessen scoffed from behind her desk.

"As am I! Look at my work!"

Everyone but Eric laughed.

Ocella's dark eyes danced, as much as Eric had ever seen them dance. No matter how jovial his mood, there was always menace lurking in his expression, as if he was ever waiting for the opportunity, or the excuse, to spill blood, anyone's blood.

"Will no one else from your party be joining us? I am led to understand you have a servant who has a bond with the girl who was taken last night."

The question came from Don Perdigo Rog. He was among the few ancient who remained on the Earth. He was over six thousand years old. Even he claimed to not be able to estimate how much over.

What was known was he was the first vampire to travel to Egypt. There he made many others. The ancient Egyptians called him Atum, the complete one, because he could create life on his own, without benefit of a mate. When they wrote of him in their hieroglyphs, they said he rose from Nun, the waters of chaos, and created their host of other gods. They believed he accomplished this through masturbation.

Considering the plethora of deities the ancient Egyptians were surrounded with, they clearly believed the excessively thin creature with the deep set hazel eyes and lips that never quite managed a smile, to be compulsively obsessed with his own cock.

Eric nodded his respect for the ancient one as he moved to stand behind Ocella's chair, bringing his hands to rest in the plush cushioning at the top of back. Ocella had spoken to him, but not yet touched him. "Yes, Don Perdigo. She is bonded with a man pledged to My Lady's service."

"So of course he is with her," the man replied as he studied Eric for any sign of deception. "This is as it should be. I look forward to meeting your Lady. She must be very generous to allow her pledged man to keep a pet."

"I am certain you will find her so. She is most anxious to be introduced to both you and my Maker. Unfortunately, she is delayed. Due to our unexpected change of accommodations, her clothing had to be sent for. She did not wish her first impression to be made in inappropriate attire.

"Besides," Ermessen interjected. "A woman should always make a man wait. Anticipation scrambles a man's brain, and we must do what we can to establish equity of position in when faced with the strength of our counterparts."

For a woman lacking the physical accoutrements necessary to dazzle with beauty, Ermessen had developed the ability to be equally enchanting with little more than a gracious smile and a well-placed word.

"Now, I have gone over the events of last night for those who were not here," she said in a businesslike tone, indicating the time for japes and jabs had passed, for the moment. "Does anyone have any idea how we should proceed?"

XXXXXXX

When Genevieve and Heller arrived with a suitcase in tow, Sookie was surprised to see Oliver standing guard at her door.

"I assumed you would be at the strategy meeting with Eric," Sookie said, holding the door open for Heller. "Just leave it on the bed."

Genevieve started to follow Heller into the room, but Sookie held up a hand to stop her. "No. I want you both to go back to the hotel. I don't want anyone else I know going missing from here. Come on, Heller. Just leave it. I can get what I need."

"Is there nothing we can do to help you in any way, Mistress?" he asked as he returned to Genevieve's side.

"If I think of anything, I'll call you. For now, the best thing you can do for me is to stay safe. I don't really think you're in any danger, but I don't want to push my luck any more than I already am."

Being faithful and obedient pets, they did as they were told without making a fuss.

Sookie quickly dressed herself in a simple, loose-fitting, cotton jersey dress. It was a misty yellow with bright blue threads woven into the fabric and accent stitching to match. She belted it at the waist with a wide gold herringbone belt Pam bought for her on a shopping trip to Dallas.

She was going for something as close to a Romanesque look as she could get from her decidedly non-Roman wardrobe. As she looked in the mirror, she was afraid she'd come a lot closer to capturing rich 50's housewife instead.

"It will have to do," she said to herself and headed out to face Oliver.

It took less than a minute to confirm what she feared. Short of going back into the bedroom and staying there until Eric came to retrieve her, there was nothing she was going to be able to do to detach Oliver from her side. No doubt this was why Eric left him here.

"Suit yourself," she huffed. "We're going to the second floor."

He didn't argue. He headed to the elevator and held the door for her.

She led him down the second floor corridor, to the last door on the right. "Tell me if you've ever seen anything like this before." She opened the door and stepped through, with Oliver close on her heels.

Oliver's face didn't look like she imagined hers did when she first saw the interior of the room. It wasn't wonder she saw in his eyes. It was trepidation. The beauty had struck her; Oliver was seeing only the wrongness of it.

It was outside, brought inside. It was a massive room, probably fifty feet by a hundred feet, with a grass floor and pillars disguised as trees every fifteen feet or so to hold the ceiling up. Like the ballroom, it was two stories high, but this room was oh so much more interesting. There were birds flitting between the trees and ducks waddling across the grass. There were at least two rabbits and several squirrels, as well as three lambs and a calf. It was a veritable petting zoo.

"We shouldn't be in here," Oliver whispered. "Anybody keeps a place like this in their house, keeps for doing things they don't want other people seeing."

'Then why wasn't it locked, yesterday or today?" Sookie asked.

He didn't look at her as he answered. He was slowly taking a visual accounting of every detail of the room. "Because if someone stumbles in here by accident, it is easy for her to laugh it off as merely a practice range for her golf game, or somewhere to pretend you're having a picnic in the sunlight. Some perk of being rich and royal; any flimsy excuse is much simpler than dealing with all the questions and curiosity a locked door invites."

He paused and took a backward step toward the door. "We should leave," he said. He was meeting her eyes now, and his were pleading.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said impatiently. "We just got here and I need to find something." She reached past him and gave the door a quick shove.

It closed with a loud click, and the world changed, or so it seemed.

Sookie involuntarily gasped and the unexpected feeling of her lungs suddenly filling with air caused a momentary panic, until she thought to simply exhale to push the air back out again.

Oliver crouched into a defensive position with an arm extended in front of her. It took several seconds for the surprise to pass sufficiently for them to relax a bit.

The walls weren't merely white washed walls. They were screens, and now they were all playing different parts of the same coordinated scene. They were an extension of the room its self and everything was blended so seamlessly, there was a three foot high plastic fence in bold primary colors running along the walls, all the way around to mark where the pain will start if you keep running.

With the added depth provided by the three hundred sixty degree movie, the enormous room was now as big as your imagination could make it. The room was a meadow near a hillside. The sky was an amazing azure blue and the warmth from the bright sun was … wait, what? … Warm.

Sookie shielded her eyes, from instinct not necessity, and looked in the direction of the heat. Mounted in the corner was a big, yellow plastic bubble. There was most likely a spotlight of some kind behind it.

She hadn't realized until this moment, how much she missed the sun.

"Is this what you were looking for, Mistress?" He was unable to filter all the sarcasm from his tone.

"No," she answered resolutely. "But I admit I am happy to see it. I have missed the sun."

"When you have experienced the terror of remaining unsheltered with dawn threatening, you will long for it no more."

"I hope that isn't in my future, or yours," she replied sincerely. "Somewhere in this room there is a door leading to somewhere else. We need to find it."

"Where does it go?"

"I don't know."

XXXXXXX

The meeting ended, having accomplishing nothing of any real consequence. They would make the vampire population at large aware of the kidnappings, and caution them to maintain close contact with their progeny until it could be established the danger has passed. They would also begin a full-scale, inch-by-inch search of the grounds surrounding the villa. There had to be an opening to Faery someplace in the immediate area, within only a few steps actually, in order for them to get away quickly enough to escape the tracking ability of a blood-bonded vampire.

Of course, practically speaking, there wasn't really much they could be doing.

As they exited Ermessen's office, they heard the ding of the elevator. Everyone pivoted toward sound in unison. Sookie rushed out with Oliver one step behind.

She passed Ocella and Don Perdigo as if she hadn't seen them and went directly to Eric, grabbing his right hand in both of hers and exclaiming, "I called Claude! Well, not really. I tried to call Claude and he didn't answer, but I left messages with everyone I could think of who might see him. If he calls me back, I can get him to contact Niall for me. If he can get Niall to contact me, he might know who has Mina."

"Dearest, it may not be wise to seek help from faeries when faeries are the problem," Eric responded cautiously. They were being closely scrutinized by all.

"We can ask Niall. Or I can ask him. If he was behind this, or even if he knew about it and was allowing it to happen, he would never come after me. He might authorize killing everyone in this room, except for me. I know it."

Eric accepted her logic before she completed her defense. "And what message did you leave for Claude to induce him to call you rather than ignore the message?"

A self-satisfied smile spread across her face. "I said we were going to Milan and I needed to know if there was anything he wanted me to bring him from the fashion houses there."

"Pardon me," Don Perdigo said, advancing to Sookie's side, "but are you speaking of Niall Brigant?"

"Yes," Sookie answered brightly. "Do you know him?"

"Certainly not, how is it you do?"

"He's my great-grandfather."

Don Perdigo looked up at Eric. "When Ermessen told you had taken your blood bonded human to wife, she said the girl was of the fae, but she did not say she was a Brigant. This could be very useful, indeed. There may yet be hope of recovering my Saaset."

"My finest work," Ocella said proudly, as if Eric's convenient choice of mate was somehow to his credit.

If Ocella wanted the credit, he could have it. Eric stood happily basking in his Maker's pride.