Alexis got up straight away, but Bhal looked more reluctant. “Principe, I—”

Byron merely said coldly, “Bhal, leave us.”

Bhal bowed her head this time and said, “Yes, Principe.”

When they were alone, Byron walked to the head of the table but still remained silent. She could feel Sera’s pulse and her rarely beating heart thud.

“Byron? Please talk to me.”

Byron flashed over to her in a millisecond and slammed her hand down on the table sharply. “Do you have any comprehension about what you’ve caused, Sera?”

“I just wanted to show Amelia a good time. I know she was feeling hidden away here. I thought we’d have fun.”

“She was meant to be hidden away here, Sera. If no one knew we were together, then she wasn’t in danger. This holiday was to find out if I could let Amelia into our world, into my life. The first time I’ve ever let someone so deeply into my heart, and in one evening you expose her to the Dreds, and your vampire abilities.”

Sera held her face in her hands. “I just wanted to bond with her and have fun. I realized how much you cared for her when we had dinner, and I wanted to get to know her, and make her feel welcome.”

“You never think about the consequences, Sera. Immortality is just one long party to you.”

“I enjoy my abilities. What’s wrong with that? You always act as if you are ashamed of them. You always keep your vampire side and your emotions locked up so tight, that you let life pass you by. That’s why I was so happy you found Amelia.”

Byron said nothing, but her thoughts were filled with the reasons why she kept such strict control on herself. Only Bhal knew that pain, and she did not want to share it with her sister. She didn’t reply, just shouted for Alexis and Bhal to return. When they did Alexis laid out photographs of the dead vampires, and they showed the black Dred tattoo on their shoulders.

Byron said, “They are Dreds. There’s no doubt Victorija is making her first moves.”

“There’s something else, Principe,” Bhal said.

“What?”

Alexis laid out a picture of Amelia and Byron together.

Byron sank to her seat, almost in defeat. “They know.”

Sera jumped in and said, “Can’t you just compel Amelia to forget about what she saw and lie low for a bit?”

Byron closed her eyes for a moment and said, “I can’t compel her. I just tried.”

Bhal and Alexis looked at her in disbelief, then lowered their heads, knowing what this meant.

“I have to end it,” Byron said, gulping down her growing emotional distress.

“You can’t,” Sera said. “You love her, Byron.”