Eric closed the door and went to stand by the woman. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side. Dacian wished he had the right to do that with Cinn, but he didn’t. He tried to strengthen the wall around his heart. Probably never would have the right. But that was okay. He’d been alone for a long time. You got used to it.

“This is my wife, Donna. We met here at the castle. She was doing a talk show. Still is. She’s the hostess of Donna till Dawn.” Eric didn’t try to hide his pride in his wife.

“Donna, this is Dacian. He’s the cause of all the trouble Taurin gave us.” The glance he threw Dacian wasn’t friendly. “And this is Cinn. Nice lady. Way too good for Dacian.”

Donna made a big deal about wincing, and then smiled. She offered her hand to Cinn and then to Dacian.

Dacian didn’t miss the searching glance she sent his way. “Since dawn is only about a half hour away, maybe we’d better get things moving.”

Eric sat on the couch with Donna. Dacian and Cinn sat in chairs opposite each other.

“You guys can get to know me anytime. I think it’s important that Eric and Dacian work things out first.” Cinn leaned back and prepared to listen.

“Yeah, let’s hear your story, pal.” Eric heaved the ball directly into his lap. Crap. Dacian thought about making up some convoluted tale, but in the end he decided everyone needed to know the truth. He didn’t want to stare into Eric’s eyes while he confessed everything, so he looked at Cinn. And surprisingly, he realized it was most important to him that she understand and possibly forgive what he’d done.

She met his gaze, no judgment in her eyes. She’d listen with an open mind. A gift he wouldn’t waste.

“You guys know bits and pieces of the story. I’ll make this short.” He spoke to everyone, but his attention stayed fixed on Cinn. “Six hundred years ago, Stephan made me. No, he didn’t ask my permission. And no, it wasn’t to save my life. A woman I thought I loved lured me into an alley where Stephan was waiting. After draining me, he thought it’d be fun to make a new vampire who’d worship at his undead feet. So I was born. He wasn’t much older than me. I was his first creation, and his most powerful.”

Eric interrupted. “What’s this Stephan’s last name?”