Byron wiped the blood at her mouth with a handkerchief and went to pour them each a drink. “It won’t work forever, Bhal. My body will demand my Principessa’s blood and the monster inside me will take control.”

Bhal took a glass of whiskey from Byron and said, “There is no monster inside you, Byron. I’ve told you that so many times.”

Byron took a large sip of her drink and looked in her office mirror. “You know what I’m capable of, Bhal.” She touched the rapidly drying blood on her mouth. “How can I expose her to this? She’s so good, so untainted by our world, my shining girl.”

From outside the door she heard a whispered argument between Alexis and Katie.

“Amelia wants me to give the Principe a message,” Katie said.

“The Principe is indisposed. Go back to the Principessa.”

“Then let me feed her. I can help,” Katie said.

“No”—Alexis raised her voice—“it’s not safe for you. You will not be required to feed or serve the Principe from now on. Go.”

Byron could hear the worry in her Duca’s voice. She wasn’t letting Katie anywhere near her. Alexis was clearly worried about the human.

I’m not safe. Byron held her head in her hands.

“Alexis, stop this. Let me tell Amelia about this and she will help Byron—I know she will,” Katie said.

“Don’t breathe a word about the Principe’s condition. That is an order.”

She heard Katie walk off angrily. So angrily that the sound of her heels echoed around the Debrek entrance hall.

Byron looked up at Bhal, and said, “I’m not safe. I shouldn’t be leading this clan any more. If I lost control and hurt anyone, any of the loyal people who have served my family for centuries—”

“Don’t talk that way. That is not going to happen,” Bhal said firmly.

Byron gazed fearfully at the tremor in her fingers, a symbol of her loss of control, and knew what she had to say.

“Bhal, no one in our family has gone this long without the blood of their bound partner. But it has happened in other clans, and you know what lies ahead—murderous insanity. The monster will turn this clan into something that makes the Dreds look like pussycats. Look what happened to Gilbert after he killed his wife. He grew more insane than he ever was.”

She walked around to Bhal. “I need you to promise me something.”

“What do you need?” Bhal asked.

“If the time comes, take my heart and take my head,” Byron said.

Bhal didn’t answer, but she walked over to the window, leaned her arm against the sill, and said, “You can’t ask me to do that. I helped bring you up, taught you everything I know.”