“Of course, he knows. He’s a member of the council, and a thunderous one at that,” Max said, sighing. “He expeditiously pointed out that because you and I are related, it means if we combined our covens, it could very well dwarf the others, and if we were so inclined, attempt a coup.”

Bennett was finding it hard not to smile. “First, I don’t have a coven. I only represent the daywalkers. I am not their leader, and second, you and I would never attempt a coup. That’s ridiculous.”

“I agree,” Max said, flicking his eyes toward the ceiling. “But Simeon’s had a burr under his saddle since you beat him at that blasted chess game, not to mention his barbarian tendencies whenever he’s within spitting distance of Napoleon. Fortunately, the council knows it can’t very well snatch back your seat due to this recent development because of the daywalker situation. They were willing to risk forcing you to sleep for fifty years, but they aren’t willing to risk taking away your chair permanently. That is a can of worms they do not want to open, and other than this one slight indiscretion, you’ve never given them cause to doubt your integrity, so there’s no reason to now.”

Bennett casually sipped her drink, looking nowhere in particular as she thought about what Max had said. Suddenly, her eyes snapped back to Max. “Cause.”

“What?”

“What if I did give them cause? Let’s say, go on a rampage and slaughter a horde of mortals. Would that change their minds about me? Would that force them to take away my seat or…or sentence me to a century of sleep?”

“You would never do that,” Max said, rejecting the idea with a wave of his hand.

“Just answer the damn question, Max. If I were to suddenly lose control and blatantly kill mortals without care or concern that I’d be seen, what do you think the council would do?”

Max paled. “Honestly?”

“Yes.”

“They’d most likely do both, but it would be a millennium of sleep, not a century. What with the Internet now, word of such an attack would be global within hours, and an act such as that could very well destroy all that we’ve built, so the punishment would be grave.”

Bennett took a moment before getting up to refill her scotch. “Now, everything makes sense.”

“What are you going on about?” Max said, giving Bennett a half-glance.

“I was wondering why someone would want to starve me, and now I know why…and now I know who.”

“Starve you?” Max said, spinning around. “What in the hell do you mean, starve you?”

Bennett looked at the decanter in her hand and then promptly filled Max’s glass to the top. “I have a feeling you’re going to need that.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven