Alexis approached her angrily, and Byron noticed the red in her eyes. “Principe?”

“Leave Katie be. She’ll be perfectly safe with us there.”

“The Sanctuary is no place for humans.”

Byron was about to answer when she caught sight of Amelia. She was so beautiful. To Byron it seemed like Amelia floated on a cloud down the stairs. She wore an off-the-shoulder red cocktail dress that accentuated her curvaceous figure.

Everyone standing in the entrance hall stopped to look at her.

Byron walked over to meet her and kissed her hand gently. “You look absolutely stunning. I will be the envy of every vampire out there.”

Amelia looked down at her dress as if she wasn’t totally confident she could pull it off. “I thought red to match the ruby in my new ring. I wasn’t sure, but Katie said I should wear it.”

“She was right. Are you ready to meet your new world? Let us make up for your first visit to The Sanctuary. Tonight, you shall be the belle of the ball.”

* * *

“Mademoiselle Witch? I need an answer now,” Victorija demanded of Lillian.

Lillian sat on her knees at the coffee table with the map of London spread out on top, and all her magical objects spread out, trying desperately to find the Debrek item.

She held her hands over her face and said, “I can’t. It’s impossible, Victorija. The Grand Duchess’s magic is too powerful. There’s no way I can break it. It’s taken all my energy. I just can’t.”

Victorija kicked the coffee table so hard it flew across the room. Her anger was partly panic. If she couldn’t get hold of the spell, or the magical object, she would never be Principe to a strong clan. One born vampire could not compete with the other older turned vampire clans, far less the Debreks.

She grasped Lillian by the neck and pushed her up against the wall. “You must know of some way to replicate the magic of my grandmother.”

Lillian pulled at the hand around her throat, and struggled. “I’ve told you—no witch has ever known how to create life from the dead. It should have been impossible.”

Victorija leaned in close to her and said, “And yet my grandmother did. She created a spell that allowed my family to have offspring, so it is possible. Maybe you’re not up to it, hmm? Maybe your usefulness has run out, Mademoiselle Witch.”

Lillian wriggled in fear as Victorija’s teeth erupted ready to tear her throat out. “I can help, if I had the power of my other witches—”

“Do you think I’m ever going to let you anywhere near your coven?” Victorija sneered. “What you did to my father, you could do to me.”

“You promised my coven—” Lillian gasped.