Amelia giggled and kissed Byron on the nose. “A little while longer. We have to be polite. So you’ll need to put up with your hunger for the meantime.”

“Fine, but I will be in misery until my fingers touch your body and my teeth graze your neck.”

“Aww, you are sweet.” Amelia tugged on Byron’s stiff jacket collar. “I must say, I love your wedding outfit.”

“Hmm. Debrek ceremonial wear. Thankfully I don’t have to wear it too often,” Byron said.

She wore a formal navy military jacket with large gold buttons and swirled gold braid on the sleeves, gold tassels on the shoulders, and matching navy trousers. A loose gold belt was slung around her waist with an old looking rapier hanging from it.

The outfit was similar to Byron’s father’s outfit, only he had different gold braiding. Amelia guessed that it signified their different ranks within the clan.

“I think you look very sexy,” Amelia said.

Byron smiled. “Then wearing this uncomfortable uniform was all worth it.”

Byron’s mother and father swept past them as they performed some elaborate ballroom dance moves.

“Your parents really know how to dance,” Amelia said.

“Yes, they very much enjoy dancing together. The Grand Duchess Lucia used to tell me of the great balls the family would host when the Debreks still lived in Vienna, and how they danced together.”

Amelia sensed a sadness in Byron every time she talked about her great-great-grandmother, a sadness she’d be able to feel even if she didn’t share a blood bond with her partner. Lucia was killed by Victorija in a terrible confrontation.

“You miss her a lot, don’t you?” Amelia said.

“I do. It can be lonely when you’re a leader, but I always had Lucia at the end of the phone.”

Amelia kissed her cheek. “You know you’re not alone any more, don’t you?”

She pulled Amelia closer. “I know that.”

Byron twirled them around and tipped her head to the bar at the back. “Look at my Duca, nursing a glass of blood and staring at Katie’s table.”

Amelia smiled. “She’s lovesick, but she’s never going to win Katie’s love by mooching around the bar and looking so serious.”

“She wasn’t always so serious. At one time I had to caution her about falling in love so quickly and intensely.”

“The girl that Victorija’s vampires killed?” Amelia said.

“Yes, Anna. It broke her heart when she died. After that, she wasn’t interested in anything but work and became harder and more serious.”

Amelia trailed her fingernails down Byron’s cheek. “So were you, and I melted your heart.”

Byron’s eyes started to turn red at Amelia’s touch. “Are you sure we can’t go upstairs now?”

Amelia laughed. “Not yet, but I promise it’ll be worth waiting on. I have something special planned.”

Byron was just about to reply when her sister, Serenity, danced up close to them with her dance partner, Angelo. Angelo was Byron’s cousin, head of the North American wing of the Debrek bank.