“Lord help us if you do.” Max became lost in his own gaiety for a short while before taking a deep breath. “Well, now I suppose we need to move onto other matters. The council has decided that once Napoleon is intact again, he’s to be taken to my home in Bonn, where he’ll be entombed for a millennium.”

If there were ever a five-hundred-watt smile, Bennett was wearing it. “Thank God.”

“I thought you’d like that, but I’m afraid we’re about to go downhill,” Max said, his face sagging. “We’ve made a deal with Simeon.”

“You’ve done what?”

“He pleaded his case, Bennett. He pointed out that Angelique had been spying for me for centuries, and this is his first misstep.”

“You honestly believe he didn’t know about—”

“He says he didn’t, and he appears to be sincere.”

Bennett huffed out her disgust. “That’ll be the day.”

“Yes, well, time will tell, but in exchange for a lesser sentence, he’s agreed to sell his homes in Vancouver and Geneva and give the proceeds to us. We will then use that money to subsidize our blood distribution. In addition, when Simeon awakens, he’s agreed to reduce his coven by half, and it will remain that way for a century. So, instead of a hundred years of sleep, Simeon received twenty-five.”

“Jesus Christ, Max,” Bennett said, straightening her backbone. “That’s a bloody drop in the bucket for us.”

“I agree, but he is an original, and he argued his case well. I know it’s not what you wanted, but the revenue we’ll receive for those properties will enable us to expand our facilities. We will use it for the greater good. You can’t lose sight of that.”

Bennett took a sip of her drink, taking the time she needed to curb her annoyance. “I hate it when you’re right,” she said, puffing out a breath. “But none of this is too painful so far. When’s the bottom going to drop out of this conversation?”

“I’m afraid that’s going to be now,” Max said, grimacing. “We have also sentenced Ruby to twenty-five years of sleep.”

“But—”

“Bennett, it was the most arduous decision we needed to make, and we did not make it lightly,” Max said, raising his voice. “We fully understand that albeit unintentionally, it was Ruby’s appearance that caused Napoleon to show his hand. Not to be crass, but the bastard shot his load far too soon, giving us time to react before his crush of emaciated vampires was upon the world. For that, we are tremendously grateful. However, Ruby did murder an original, and if you recall, she did it rather brutally.”

“She had her reasons, and that was over four bloody centuries ago, Max. Let it go.”