That he was a natural Black Widow—and, besides Saetan, the only male Black Widow—was something he’d been able to successfully hide for all the centuries since his body had reached sexual maturity, just as he’d been able to hide the snake tooth and venom sack beneath the ring-finger nail of his right hand. Whatever he had done instinctively to suppress other Black Widows’ ability to detect him had failed him now, when there was nothing he could do about such a public betrayal.

The tension in the room had faded when Saetan replied mildly, “Well, Karla, he is my son, and he is the Consort.”

The witch’s surprise had changed to sharp speculation. “Oh,” she said. “In that case…” A slow, wicked smile bloomed. “Kiss kiss.”

Brushing past Lucivar, he had escaped from the dining room and had spent the past hour wandering through the Hall, trying to get his churning thoughts and emotions under control.

“Are you lost?”

Daemon glanced over to where Lucivar leaned against a doorway. “I’m not lost,” he snapped. Then he stopped pacing and sighed. “But I am very confused.”

“Of course you are. You’re male.” Grinning at Daemon’s snarl, Lucivar stepped into the courtyard. “So if one of the darlings in the coven offers to explain things to you, don’t take her up on it. She’ll sincerely be trying to help, but by the time she’s done ‘unconfusing’ you, you’ll be banging your head against a wall and whimpering.”

“Why?”

“Because for every five rules you’d learned in Terreille about a male’s proper behavior in a court, the Kaeleer Blood know only one of them—and they interpret it very differently.”

Daemon shrugged “Obedience is obedience.”

“No, it’s not. For Blood males, the First Law is to honor, cherish, and protect. The second is to serve. The third is to obey.”

“And if obedience interferes with the first two laws?”

“Toss it out the window.”

Daemon blinked. “You actually get away with that?”

Lucivar scratched the back of his head and looked thoughtful. “It’s not so much a question of getting away with it. For Warlord Princes, it’s almost a requirement of court service. However, if you ignore an order from the Steward or the Master of the Guard, you’d better be sure you can justify your action and be willing to accept the consequences if they won’t accept it, which is rare. I got into more trouble with the High Lord as my father than as the Steward.”

Father. Steward. The ties of family and court.

“Why are you here, Prick?” Daemon asked warily. “Why aren’t you at the practice field observing the warriors you selected?”

“I was looking for you because you didn’t show up at the practice field.” Lucivar shifted slightly, balancing his weight.

Not yet, Daemon thought. Not now. “And because we have unfinished business,” he said slowly.