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Maybe that would sweeten Baldwin’s et Jack safely away Matthew could send him to Marcus’s house with Hubbard It was a better alternative than Diana’s house on Court Street If his wife got wind of Baldwin’s presence, she’d be on Wooster Square with a firedrake and a lightning bolt

"I’ve got a full larder," Gallowglass said "Coffee, wine, water, blood I’m sure I could scare up some hemlock and honey if you’d prefer that, Uncle"

"What I require only the boy can provide" Without warning or preamble, Baldwin’s teeth ripped into Jack’s neck His bite was savage, deliberately so

This was va, remorseless For minor infractions the sire’s punishment would consist only of this public show of subh that blood the sire received a thin trickle of his progeny’s innerhts andhi another creature’s secrets, by whatever means, sustained a va that part of his soul that forever sought to possess nificant, the ritual of sub another va, and spiritually devastating It hy most vampire sires appointed one of their kin to do it for theh had polished the de Clerh sheen over the centuries, it was Mattheho had performed all of the house’s dirty maintenance

There were hundreds of ways to kill a vampire, and Matthe them all You could drink a vampire dry as he had Philippe You could weaken a va him in the dreaded state of suspension known as thrall Unable to fight back, the vampire could be tortured into a confession orand evisceration, though soh the rib cage and wrenching out the heart You could sever the carotid and the aorta, a method that Gerbert’s lovely assassin, Juliette, had tried and failed to use on hi Jack’s blood and his ht

Too late, he remembered that Jack’s ht the scent of honeysuckle and summer storms

Too late, he saw Diana release Corra

Diana’s firedrake rose up from her mistress’s shoulders and into the air Corra swooped down on Baldith a shriek, rear talons extended and wings aflarabbed the firedrake by the foot with his free hand, wresting her body away Corra hurtled into the wall, her wing cru at her own arm in sudden pain, but it didn’t shake her resolve

"Take your hands Off My Son" Diana’s skin was glea, the subtle ni spell now appearing as a distinctive, prisht Rainbows of color shot under her skin--not just the hands but up her ar as though the cords in her fingers had extended through her whole body

When Lobero lunged at the end of his lead, trying to get to Corra, Matthew let the dog go Lobero crouched over the firedrake, licking at her face and nudging her with his nose as she struggled to get up and go to Diana’s aid

But Diana didn’t need help--not from Matthew, not frohtened, splayed out her left hand with the palers at the floor

The wooden planks shattered and split, re-for into thick canes that rose up and wound the hi out of the shoots, digging through his clothes and into flesh

Diana fixed her gaze on Baldwin, reached out with her right hand, and pulled Jack’s wrist jerked out and to the side as if he were tethered to her The rest of hi in a heap on the floor, out of Baldwin’s reach

Matthew adopted a si over Jack’s body to shield hih the air

"I’ on the floor "He calass When I’ close to his chest "I didn’t knoho he was"

Miriae She pointed Gallowglass and Hubbard in Jack’s direction and cast a worried look at Diana, who stood unh she had taken root in the living room

"Is Jack okay?" Chris asked, his voice strained

"He’ll be fine Every vampire alive has been bitten by their sire at least once," Miria to put his mind at rest Chris didn’t seem comforted by this revelation about vampire family life

Matthew helped Jack up The bite mark on his neck was shallow and would heal quickly, but at theto reassure Jack that he would, as Miriam promised, be fine

"Can you see to Corra?" Matthew asked Mirialass and Hubbard

Miria the roo around Baldwin’s throat

"I want your word that if Diana lets you go, you will not touch her for what happened here tonight" Matthew’s fingers tightened "If not, I will kill you, Baldwin Make no mistake about that"

"We’re not finished here, Matthew," Baldarned

"I know" Matthew locked his eyes on his brother until thebeneath her skin reifted him in Madison before either of theertips, as though herthere, ready to be released Matthe unpredictable his own blood rage could be when it was that close to the surface, and he treated his ith caution

"Diana?" Matthew sold irises for signs of recognition Instead he saw infinity, her eyes fixed on so her back to the here and now

"Jack is with Gallowglass and Andrew, ht" Mattheords were carefully chosen "You should take him back home"

Chris started, ready to voice a protest

"Perhaps Chris will go with you," Matthew continued smoothly "Corra and Lobero, too"

"Corra" Diana croaked Her eyes flickered, but not even concern for her firedrake could break her mesmerized stare Mattheondered what she saw that the rest of them did not and why it held such a powerful attraction for her He felt a disturbing flicker of jealousy

"Miriam is with Corra" Matthew found himself unable to look away from the navy depths of her eyes

"Baldwinhurt her" Diana sounded confused, as though she had forgotten that vampires were not like other creatures She rubbed absently at her arht whatever it was that held her ain He could sers opened wide in a sudden spas between a weaver and her power, Matthew caught theic

"Baldill let you take Jack home In return you have to release Baldwin We can’t have the two of you at war The faht, Diana was as single- the obstacles in her way

Matthew lifted her hands and brushed the knuckles with his lips "Remember e talked about our children in London? We spoke then about what they would need"

That got Diana’s attention At last Her eyes focused on hirown-up to take responsibility for theht" Matthew smiled "Jack needs you Release Baldwin from your spell"