“Yes.” She passed him the bottle. “Want some?”

“Yes.” He took a long swig.

“Good?” she asked.

“Terrible.” He wiped his mouth and handed the bottle back. “Who knew immortality would taste so bad?”

She grinned as she sipped it. “Nothing comes for free.”

He rolled his eyes and snatched it back to take another drink.

She sat down on a chair and looked up at the lights as he drank. Her head felt a little muzzy from the alcohol, but she could feel the blood working on her body, slowing her age. She focused in, internally watching what the vampire blood cells did to her body, seeing if she could replicate it. Could she simulate the effects of the blood and make herself immortal?

She studied the chemical composition and decided, yes, she probably could. Maybe not immortal, but she could slow her aging a lot.

And combined with her healing power . . .

She wondered how long she could live. She wondered how long her mother had lived.

“So, did you find out anything interesting?” Kovit asked.

She nodded. “My mother is one of the heads of INHUP.”

He stared at her, lips still bloody from the wine. “What?”

“She’s probably the one who expedited your reveal.” Nita’s voice was soft. “I’m sorry. This is my fault.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s hers. And I would have been revealed anyway, and that would have had nothing to do with you.”

She let out a breath. “Nonetheless, I’m sorry.”

He sat next to her, his body close, so close, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder in a half hug. She leaned into it, grief bubbling up softly.

“It’s her fault my location was outed online in Toronto.” Nita’s voice trembled.

Kovit squeezed her shoulder tighter. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m going to kill her,” Nita whispered, looking up at Kovit, the alcohol giving her the ability to say the words she couldn’t even bear to think when sober.

“Are you sure?” Kovit’s words were gentle. “She’s your mother.”

“I don’t care.” Nita clenched her jaw. “She’s trying to control me, and if she can’t, she might even kill me. I wouldn’t let Reyes keep me in a cage, why would I let her?”

Kovit was silent at that, probably thinking about Henry, and how hard a decision that had been for him.

“It’s not like you and Henry,” Nita whispered. “This isn’t a hard decision.”

Nita was lying. Not just because this was her mother, and she knew her mother loved her, even if that love was warped beyond all reason into something dark and terrible. But because Nita was absolutely terrified of going against her mother. A lifetime of ingrained fear rested in her soul, and she didn’t have the slightest idea how she would ever overcome it.