We were moving fast against the leeches and I could not be happier about it, although we were meeting increasing resistance from our targets. All the humans guarding the enemy leeches' fortresses were far more alert and suspicious. Gone were the days when we could send a single fighter up to the door with a sob story.

It did not stop us. The decades of preparation, the strategies for conquering defenses, and the collected resources paid off. Using catapults, we broke into several more fortresses. There were a few human casualties, mostly on the other side, which was unfortunate, but ultimately unavoidable.

We brought back the body of our first fallen comrade for burial and Vienne had been angrier than I had thought she would be. Her rage was against the council, but as I watched, other humans shied away from her. Even her fledglings seemed uneasy around her while we buried the body outside the walls under the early evening stars.

I stayed with her while she ranted and raged about how much she detested the council. There was none of her light joking about how foolish they were, it was all fury and vengeance as her eyes flashed like fire.

And the next day we went and hit another target under the blazing sun.

It was not like our first few attacks when we were fast and stealthy. It was more like a siege. I had nothing to do with the work that broke down the walls so I waited with the other fighters until the way was open to us.

Once the walls came down, we spilled in. There was some gunfire, but little resistance beyond to our swift incursion. It seemed our enemies had little by way of weapons for their slaves to wield. We did what needed to be done with cold efficiency, and searched for the bloodsuckers who owned the property or information as to their location.

By the time we were finished, we gathered about forty people in a great hall. I helped question them, starting with a scrawny woman who had an equally malnourished child clinging to her leg. She watched me warily, keeping her body between me and the young one. I could only imagine the terror that her life had been.

"I'm not going to hurt you. We're not going to hurt you or your child."

She sniffled a bit and did not relax.

"We're only looking for your leeches."

She shivered. "They're not here."

"No?"

She shook her head. "We were told to guard their home with our lives and they left to..."

I waited for a moment to see if she would continue, before gently prodding. "To where?"

She shook her head. "I cannot say."

She crouched down beside her child as I walked away to question the next human in line. Every human we questioned said something similar to what they had claimed. A couple of fighters located the inner heart of the fortress, only to find that it was as empty as the humans had claimed.

Sweeping out had become almost habitual at this point. Combatant humans were properly bound for the return journey, the broken slaves were loaded up to return to our home base to be nursed to health, and we took everything of possible use. We had a few injuries, including Lucas. His face was pinched and pale, but he seemed able to walk enough to get himself to the medical vehicle.

I dozed on and off as we travelled back, letting the sway of the vehicle lull me into catching up for some of the slumber I missed in the business of the past few weeks. Other people were on watch, so I trusted them to do that, and we were met with no threats on the nearly empty roads by the time we made it home, just as the sun was nearly about to set.

We piled out of the vehicles and started unloading everything and everyone. "Jamie," a soft voice said as I walked by and turned to see Kira looking at me with dewy eyes and a soft smile. "I'm glad that you're safe."

I nodded my acceptance. "Thanks."

"I think you're really doing something amazing here," she said, as she stepped closer.

"Well, yeah. I'm just doing what needs to be done. I want to take the leeches down, like everyone else."

She glanced over towards Drak. "Well, some of them," she said quietly.

"The worst of them won't be around when we're done."

There was nervousness in her eyes. She was by no means comfortable with the situation of cooperating with any vampires so I tried again. "I know how you feel, but I don't think you need to be afraid of that one."

She nodded. "He's not the only one." Her eyes slipped across the yard towards a couple of the fledglings. I knew what she feared, and I did not want to give her a false sense of security so there really was not much I could say. I did not know what the newly joined or turned vampires might or might not do when it came down to it because we all knew what they were capable of.

It made me uneasy, too. So far we had not needed any bloodsucker's assistance, because we kept picking off our targets, but how long would it be before they banded together to try to remove us as a threat? It was in darkness when our leeches would be needed.

"So, um, Jamie, when you're done here, would you like to, I don't know, go for a walk or something?" Kira asked me, pretty eyes wide and hopeful.

"A walk? Where?" I asked. There was no way anyone was going outside in the darkness. Even the fighters who did not live here would wait until daylight returned to head back to their respective homes. Gone were the days when Vienne would allow humans outside the walls of her home or factories at night.

"Well, maybe you could show me around a little bit more?" she asked hopefully.

"Maybe I could show you around tomorrow. As a family friend."

Her face fell, but she squared her shoulders and said, "That sounds great." She left with a wistful smile.

"That human female is interested in you."

I did not have to turn around to know who was speaking in my ear. I turned and found Vienne standing beside me. "Were you spying on us?" I asked flatly.

"No. I have no need to skulk about. I simply noted an observation as I made my way over to talk to you."

"Well, you're not wrong," I admitted.

"Ooh. So you are aware?"

"She's had a crush on me for years," I admitted, raking my hand through my hair.

"You're not interested in the little human female? She's very pretty."

"Why? Are you jealous?"

"Absolutely not," she said. "What can a human give you that I cannot?"

A few things, but I found that they weren't anything that I wanted.

I took Kira on her tour the next day, and she hung on my every word in a most uncomfortable way. Apparently giving her any attention only encouraged her to hope. I finally shook her off by claiming I had work to do for Tiberius. It was not really a lie since there was always work that could be done.

It was supposed to be a day to recover, so I kept myself busy with what I could find to do, ate supper, and then did some training. As night rolled around, Vienne found me out in the training yard.

She met my eyes with a secretive smile. "Are you busy, human?"

"Not really."

"Because I'm interested in spending some time with you. I finally have a break from all those infernal meetings and reports."

She wound her arms around my neck and tilted her head to look up into my eyes. I kissed her like it was the most natural thing in the world, claiming her lips with my own.

A shocked gasp broke into my mind, and I broke off the kiss and looked over towards the sound. Just outside the main building stood Kira, of all people, looking as if she had been slapped in the face.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sounding shocked and horrified. I couldn't even blame her.

"I'm..." It was not as if she did not know exactly what I had been doing. What the hell was I supposed to say about this? There was no rational explanation for why I would be kissing a leech...and why I had already done so much more, and would again, probably for as long as she wanted me.

Kira whirled around and rushed back inside. I looked at Vienne, a suspicion wandering through my mind that she might have set the whole situation up. Whatever she said, I had heard the sour note in her voice when she had asked if I had been interested in Kira.

"Did you know she was coming out here?" I asked.

Vienne's eyebrows lowered. "No. I am amazing, but even I can hardly keep track of all the humans running to and fro nowadays. For the first time since I've lived here I don't even know all their names, including that female who is interested in you."

I continued to study her for a long moment. She loved to lie so I could never be sure, but she was probably telling the truth in this situation. I suspected she had too much pride for it to be anything else.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Go after her."

"What?"

"You're obviously torn. Go after her, choose her if you must. It's beneath my dignity to fight over scraps with a human." Her face gave nothing of her thoughts away.

"I already chose you when I came back," I said, and then realized with a start that it was true. Vienne had been my choice, even before I had known I was making it.

"Still, go. You can find me when you're done. I'm not going anywhere far." She smirked at me.

I went after Kira.

She had fled, but I could guess where she would be going. This place was unfamiliar to her and she would be temporarily sharing her room with her sister so there was no privacy available to her. She had been helping in the kitchen temporarily, and at this time she might find it empty.

My guess was correct. I discovered her in a pantry, curled up in a little ball on the floor in the corner, her arms around her knees. "Kira?" I asked hesitantly.

She hid her face and sniffled harder. I considered leaving her to cry it out, but it felt like the coward's way out. Instead I moved closer and crouched down on the floor a distance away from her.

"Kira, I don't know what you're thinking right now."

She sniffled again. "Is she the reason you refused me?"

I shrugged. "Well, there're lots of reasons. Maybe she was one."

She wiped her eyes. "But she's a bloodsucker."

"I know where you're coming from. I wouldn't have believed it, either."

"You kill them. You don't kiss them," she said. "After everything they did—"

I didn't need the memory of what had been done to my family brought up again. "It wasn't her. She's not responsible, any more than any of the other leeches here. Than any of the vampires here."

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I don't know, Jamie. They've done so much. They live off of human blood, an abomination. And Vienne, this one, wasn't she the one that had all the free humans branded?"

I hated that bill. "It was strategic, I'm told. She's actually not a fan of any of the brands."

"And yet—"

"I believe her, okay. Has anyone told you that you're going to be branded?"

"No," she admitted, and then her eyes met mine. "Do you love her?"

"What? No," I answered automatically, at the accusation in her tone. "She's just..."

"She's just, what?"

I shook my head. "I'm not talking about this with you. Look, I'm sorry you're upset, but this is the way things are now, and I'm not planning to change it."

"You really do love her."

"Kira, I'm sorry, but it's really none of your business." I didn't want to be cruel to her, but she seemed reluctant to accept the reality of the situation. I stood up, and extended my hand down to her. "Come on, I'll help you get back to your room."