Reclining on my chaise, I considered the conflict between Jamie and myself. Perhaps I was taking my little games too far. Upon my orders, Leif only had him standing around for a couple of hours in the morning and evening, but still, it might have been counterproductive.

I would deliberately walk past him once or twice a day. Every time, he was standing leaning against the wall, glaring straight ahead, as if he had taken my statue comment literally.

It was troublesome. I had decided on this as a task for him on a whim and now there was no way to stop him without looking like I was backing down.

We were in a stalemate and I would simply have to wait until something broke it. Maybe he would flip over the board, because I was not going to be the first to give in.

This whole matter was not going as per usual as well. Perhaps I was losing my human taming touch.

Or, perhaps I was just too invested, because I could not stop myself from admiring him and loving the way he refused to give in to me, even when he did what I said with that sulky, loathing gaze in those pensive dark eyes. My mind was clearly warped, because his hatred only made me want to push him further.

I exhaled in a memory of what it felt like to need to breathe and leaned further back.

He was such a problem. I could simply kill him and no one important would bat an eye about a dead human. Even though they tittered about my treatment of humans, surely no one would notice another slave death report in amongst so many.

Still, the idea was completely fanciful either way. I was not going to kill him. I wanted him to live as long as humanly possible since I was already entranced with the entertainment I gleaned from riling him up. It was better than blood, which was something I never thought I would honestly say, and was almost certainly a bad sign.

I could not afford to lose my edge. Everything was going perfectly. I was at the very top. I had power like no one else. I was in the position to make all my desires come true. Letting one little human trip me up, especially now, would be the most idiotic move of my life.

My wisest course was probably to stay away from him as much as possible until he was out of my mind, wean myself off the rush of being challenged slowly, then simply have him dumped out in the wilderness somewhere.

It was illegal to intentionally release a human. But, although the registration had already been sent in, I had not forced the branding issue yet, so even if he was caught again they probably would not identify him as feeder number 56 817. I should be in the clear. There was no way Enrique would remember him out of the thousands of humans in his mind and it was unlikely anyone else would, either, even though he was a treat.

Where would he end up if that happened? I was surprisingly infuriated at the possibility of another vampire getting their fangs into him.

I generally did not actually like other vampires near any of my humans, let alone Jamie. I did not like sharing.

Footsteps sounded in the hall outside my chamber.

"Open it," I instructed the guards.

Theo walked in. I admired him, with light brown skin, dark eyes and hair; he was as handsome as ever, even slightly frazzled as he currently was. His glasses were slightly askew. It was rather charming.

"What is it?" I asked.

He answered as he straightened his glasses. "There's a visitor."

As much as I enjoyed playing with the council members in the capital, I strongly disliked trespassers.

"Who is it?"

"Willow, Magnus, Katter and a half dozen of their slaves."

I wanted to groan in a terribly unvampiric fashion. Dealing with Magnus was about the last thing I wanted to do and Willow's presence did nothing to lessen the prospective misery. I was not much of a fan of Katter, either, although at least he was usually quiet during council meetings.

"They haven't arrived yet. They were spotted on the outer security footage, so I ran them through the databank which took a few minutes because the glass distorted the pictures, and—"

"Does Leif know yet?"

"Yes, he was the one who sent me here to tell you."

I nodded. One less thing to worry about. He would be already in motion, moving my humans out of Magnus's path.

It was all so troublesome. Was it so much to ask to be left alone to deal with my new humans for a time? I dearly wanted to meet them at the gates and turn them around, but it would look like I was hiding something from my colleagues if I did that. Unfortunately, I wanted to remain above suspicion.

Rumours ran like wildfire through the council. One would think a group of immortals would find something better to do with themselves than gossip like schoolgirls who had been compelled by an ancient vampire to incessantly talk about my business.

Sometimes I revelled in the attention, but right now I just wanted to be left alone.

Instead, I prepared myself to meet my adversaries who were sadly not of the fun Jamiesque variety.

* * * * *

I met them in my lounge, rather than in my impressive entry hall, to give the unwanted meeting a feeling of closeness and friendliness that I did not feel.

This room was pleasing to the eye, as all were. My humans knew what I liked and kept it that way. I stood up and walked over to meet my intruders as they appeared at the door between my guards.

"Good evening, it's lovely to see you again," I lied through my very sharp teeth.

"Our apologies for disturbing you, Vienne," Magnus said smoothly. He had always been the spokesperson of their little trio.

Willow eyed one of my guards in a way I really did not appreciate since she was well old enough to know better.

I kept my face smooth and welcoming. "Please, come sit. No doubt you've had a long journey."

"Thank you," Magnus said.

I chose my favourite chair for such situations. It was comfortable, high backed and looked rather like a throne. The three sat in a semicircle before me.

"So, how have you been?" I asked, wishing that they would just spit out their business and be done with it.

"Quite well, and you?"

They were probably trying to drag this out long enough that they would get an overday invitation. I really did not want three vampires loose in my house that long. I needed to think of a good reason they could not stay.

"I'm doing fine. Still enjoying the pleasure of my most recent success."

"Ah, of course. Your feral human branding initiative was a wonder to behold."

I inclined my head modestly in thanks.

"Or are you referring to your new feeders?"

I smiled instead of snarling. "I should scarcely consider them a success, it was so easy. The female took to captivity like a duck to water and the male is, of course, well in hand."

It was not at all true, but I certainly did not want these three snooping around my humans with too much interest.

My new humans would have been warned to keep their heads down. Trisha would, I was certain, but who could say with Jamie?

It was a shame this visit was rudely unplanned, I could have cautioned him properly.

Which might have backfired. Maybe it was better this way.

"My condolences."

I laughed lightly. "Since I usually take on difficult ferals, this is actually an interesting change of pace. I might buy easy feeders from time to time in the future."

I leaned forward conspiratorially, "Indeed, I suspect the next tough case will be all the more satisfying after the lull. Have you ever worried that we grow desensitized, Magnus?"

He nodded his understanding. "It's a shame that there is only so far you can push a feeder until they break."

His definition of breaking feeders was far harsher than my own. Willow and Katter were cruel to their slaves, but Magnus was on a whole other level.

All three had been sired during the human suppression wars and I rather thought that experience had shaped them in a disturbing way. The few vampires left from before tended to be a bit more relaxed and open minded, and the many sired since tended to be more rule oriented in their cruelty.

But there was something about those that survived from the human suppression generation that made them systematically merciless.

"Indeed," I agreed sympathetically.

Magnus cleared his throat and I sensed he was finally getting to the point. I was glad. If I could wrap this up quickly, I could get them well away from my humans.

"Councillor Vienne, we actually stopped here today to see if we could get your support for our next proposal."

I could have rolled my eyes, but instead I pasted an intrigued smile on my face. They knew as well as anyone that I never supported a bill this early on in the process. I liked being the card face down on the table that kept everyone guessing, the unknown wildcard.

They either were foolishly naive or were hoping to get me thinking about it ahead of time. Probably the latter.

"We're bringing forth the Increased Fledgling Allotment Bill during the next quarterly."

"And what does it consist of?" I asked, although I could guess. Another attempt to make more vampires? What a dreary thought.

"If our bill passes, the number of legal fledglings will be brought to five per vampire per millennium," Willow said.

The current limit was at three and if rumours were true, Willow had already hit her fledgling limit with another two and a half centuries to go. Apparently, two of the three were dead and the other understandably took off to get away from her at the earliest opportunity.

I might have felt pity for her, except that I was not precisely certain I recalled what the word meant.

Still, I kept my pleasant smile plastered to my face. "While I do have sympathy for the plight of other lonely vampires and I also understand that the process is fraught with complications, unfortunately this is not a problem that affects me directly. I always ensure that I never hit my limit."

I always ensured that I never made new vampires, no matter how tempted, but that was none of their concern, either.

"I do understand that, councillor, but we were hoping that you could be convinced to go out on a limb for the unfortunate vampires amongst us who do not have your impressive fortitude."

I nodded my head in recognition of his complement towards my enviable control. I could not help but enjoy veneration, even from an annoying interloper who was wasting my time.

"Unfortunately, Councillor Magnus, I am far more concerned about maintaining a sustainable human population for the future. Producing more vampires in the present while not ensuring blood security is unwise. I'm interested in the long game."

"Indeed, you certainly are interested in the long game," Magnus agreed easily.

For one moment, under my perfectly maintained facade of calm politeness, I felt a flash of fear that he might have caught a glimpse of my true intentions, but then I realized he was merely flattering me once again. I smiled as if I was delighted by his response while I considered my options.

"I have heard, through the grapevine, that you applied for a bill registration number for the next quarterly."

Everything snapped into place. They were interested in a little political quid pro quo.

"Indeed."

"Might I enquire what you're proposing this time? As I said, I was quite a fan of your last initiative and I am quite interested in what your next might be," Magnus said.

I smiled coyly. "I am sorry, councillor, but I'm afraid that my bill is not at all ready to be shared at this time. I'm barely in the initial stages."

I was such a liar, but my amusement at their expense was best saved for later.

"That is a shame, because we were considering offering you the support of Katter, Willow and myself on your bill in exchange for your support on ours. But we cannot possibly guarantee such without knowing exactly what it is that we are supporting."

I pretended to be conflicted. "That is such a shame, but I really cannot change my mind. I would be happy to make you a counter offer, however."

All three gave me their attention.

"This quarterly, I will ensure that I present my bill first and then if all three of you decide that you can support it in good conscience, I should be happy to not only support your bill, but also give it a short speech in its favour during the arguments, because I can of course sympathize with other vampires' needs for companionship."

I really did not feel we needed more vampires in the world, but the possibility of a few more would be worth it for no other reason than to see the horrible conflict they would face as they tried to decide if it was worth supporting my bill simply for my support on theirs.

This was probably going to be the best quarterly since the induction of the council. Not only would the bleeding hearts be vexed, but so would the hardliners. The best of all possible worlds, right at my fingertips. All I needed was a little agreement from them.

It was so hard not to smile with premature delight.

The three were looking amongst each other, conferring through silent expressions.

My attention was caught by movement towards the door. It was Carter, one of my more lanky humans. He had lovely green eyes that had captured my attention right from the moment I had found him hanging from his shackles. His body had been broken but they had not touched his spirit.

But right now, he was looking at me and I could tell he was trying to communicate something. He was concerned and thought there was a problem.

My mind instantly flew to Jamie. Had something happened? Had he done something reckless? If he did anything to damage my reputation, I was going to have to punish him, although I did not find myself particularly excited at the prospect.

Magnus spoke, "We can agree to that deal, councillor."

I smiled, but my delight had been brushed aside by my concern.

"Excellent," I said, shaking their cold hands, perfectly matched to my own.

I did not want to do it, but it really was the expected thing. "Could I offer you accommodations for the day?"

"Why, yes, thank you, councillor. We would absolutely appreciate it. Our next destination is a good six hours away and that would certainly be cutting it close," Magnus said, with a little bow.

It was really too ironic for any vampire to be such a flagrant suck up, yet here he was.

"Just please remember my peculiarities. I really, truly despise when other people touch my possessions."

Willow pouted a bit, her eyes still on Ian. "But I'm just so tempted, he looks delicious."

I smiled again, but there was no warmth. I was the dominant predator and I would remind her of it.

She shrunk back demonstrating that I had made my point.

"I'm afraid it's time for me to feed, but I will send a slave along shortly to see you to your rooms."

Running through my humans in my mind, I tried to decide which would hold up best against the three vampires. Perhaps I would add a member of my guards for good measure.

I strode towards the door and Carter fell into step beside me. I did not like leaving them alone with Ian and Jeffry, but they could defend themselves if the worst happened.

We walked in silence until we were well enough away that we would not be heard by sensitive vampire ears. "What is it?"

He met my gaze with his own quickly. "Leif sent me. You have another guest."

"Another guest? Just what I need. Who is it?"

"They said his name is Drak." Carter had not been here the last time my friend had stopped by to visit.

"His timing is terrible. I haven't seen him in three years and now he chooses to turn up? Have Leif turn him away and tell him that he can come back tomorrow at midnight."

I frowned. Since I had used feeding as an excuse to escape, I needed to make it realistic. I looked at Carter. "First, I need to feed. Just a quick snack, for show."

He swallowed hard and he lowered his eyes as he nodded. He never had gotten used to being fed upon and having his blood drawn made him pass out, so I left him alone as much as possible. Unfortunately, right now there were extenuating circumstances.

He did not need to look and neither did I need a mirror to know that my brown eyes were flushed with red in that moment.

"No need to hold back, Carter. You know it's best to be loud."