“I know.” The irony was that he already had what he was asking for. He was my friend. I already cared about him. I would already do whatever I could to keep him breathing.

“Swear it,” Ghastek said.

I smiled at him. My voice rang. “Rise, Legatus of my Legion. Work with me, advise me, be my friend, and you will live forever.”

•   •   •

THE AIR OUTSIDE the Casino tasted sweet.

“How did you do that?” Curran asked.

“She burned her own magic,” my aunt said. “If she were a normal human, you would’ve seen her aging.”

The look on Curran’s face was indescribable.

“Relax, half-breed,” Erra said. “She has lifetimes to spare. That wasn’t half-bad for your first time. You’ll get better with practice.”

“I won’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I have no plans to conquer. I don’t want any more troops. I don’t want to do any more persuading.”

“You say that now.”

I turned toward her. “Look inside me.”

Erra’s eyes narrowed. “You mean it. You have no ambition.”

“No. I don’t want to conquer or rule. I want to contain my father.”

“This will be interesting,” my aunt said.

Behind us the banner of In-Shinar, a field of pure emerald green with a single blue stripe, streamed from the spire above the Casino’s walls.

•   •   •

THE PACK ARRIVED in time for dinner. One moment our kitchen was empty and Curran and I were quietly cooking dinner, while Julie tried to make it through some ancient text Erra decided she should read. The next it was filled with shapeshifters. Jim and Dali, Robert, and Andrea and Raphael. Jim’s face was flat. His eyes told me that he hadn’t come because he wanted to patch things up with me. He’d come because his back was against the wall. Our friendship was truly over.

“Where is the baby?” I asked.

“With about a dozen babysitters in the bouda clan house,” Andrea said. “You just want me for my baby.”

“Yep, you nailed it.”

“Peace offering,” Robert said, holding an envelope out to Julie.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Jezebel’s confession,” Robert said. “We found it in her quarters. Some of it is addressed to you.”

She grabbed the envelope and bolted to the living room couch with it. I could still see her. That was the fun of an open floor plan. We were never too far from each other.

“Give me a CliffsNotes version?” I asked.

“Jezebel, Salome, and the woman who was supposedly their mother joined the Pack when Salome was seventeen and Jezebel was fifteen,” Robert said. “Clan Bouda failed to verify their background.”

“Oh please,” Andrea said. “Please make it sound like it is all our fault.”