When she and Julian emerged from the office, Shane, along with another Light Fae guard, joined the two Nightkind guards on duty outside the suite doors.

Only moments later, Xavier and Tess arrived. Xavier carried a tray of food. As soon as Melly smelled a hot, savory aroma coming from the tray, all thoughts of taking a shower and crawling into bed flew out of her head.

“Evenfall is secure,” Xavier told them. “We even inspected the kitchens personally.”

“And with great interest,” Tess said. She smiled at Melly. “I wondered if you might be as hungry as I am.”

“I’m starving,” she confessed.

Xavier set the tray on the coffee table in the living room. “They have a lot of people to feed unexpectedly, so they went with pasta.”

Melly uncovered her dish to discover a plate of steaming fettuccine Alfredo with slices of grilled chicken breast. Fresh shaved Romano cheese had melted on top, and the dish was even garnished with a sprig of parsley.

She moaned, “Oh my God, this is heaven.”

A bottle of white wine had been included with the tray, but both Tess and Melly ignored the alcohol and concentrated on the food. Julian poured glasses of bloodwine for himself and Xavier, who briefed him on details as the women ate.

To Melly, everything sounded like blah blah, fine, blah blah, I’ll take care of it, blah blah, sounds good.

She let it all wash over her as she concentrated on the excellent meal on her plate. Despite the high concentration of Nightkind occupants who never touched food, or perhaps because of it, the chefs in the Evenfall kitchens prided themselves on putting out some of the finest-quality meals in California.

Tess ate with as much enthusiasm as Melly, until Julian said to Xavier, “I need to ask if you would be willing to act as regent for a year.”

Tess froze in midchew. Swallowing a bite of food, Melly shifted her gaze to Xavier, who raised his eyebrows. “Are you going somewhere?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.” Julian sprawled back in his armchair. He had taken a few minutes to change into jeans and a dark blue sweater. For the first time in a very long time, he looked relaxed. “Melly and I are going to take a year off.” He paused. “I can’t promise I’ll be back.”

Xavier looked at Tess, who hadn’t moved. Silence fell in the room and extended. They were talking telepathically. Sipping his bloodwine, Julian waited with every appearance of patience, while Melly concentrated on finishing her meal.

Once Julian had brought up the subject, she could see all the many reasons why it was the best possible idea. Already highly placed, Xavier knew the workings of the Nightkind government intimately, and he was utterly reliable.

But spending a whole year as regent was a huge commitment, especially with Xavier and Tess’s relationship so new.

Melly said to Julian, I love so much that you asked him, and you didn’t make it an order.

He gave her a faint smile that softened the edges of his hard mouth. I couldn’t do anything else.

Judging by the increasing tension in both Xavier and Tess, it appeared their telepathic conversation might not be going very well.

Suddenly Tess burst out, “Okay Julian, I have to say this out loud. If Xavier agrees to do this, I want you to turn me. Would you do that, please?”

“Querida, no,” Xavier said forcefully.

Tess turned to him. “I’ve already made up my mind. I want to be turned, and I don’t want you to be the one to do it. Having you as my sire and my partner is far too much of a power imbalance.”

Julian’s sharp gaze dissected her expression. “Not that long ago, at the Vampyre’s Ball, you had some serious problems with Vampyres.”

“Yes, I did,” Tess replied. Her attitude was unflinching. “But I have done a lot of growing since then.” She said to Xavier, “Are you going to tell them, or shall I?”

Xavier’s frustration eased somewhat. When he next spoke, his voice had softened. “I have asked Tess to marry me, and she has said yes.” He told her, “But that doesn’t mean you need to transform into a Vampyre overnight.” He added gently, “It doesn’t mean you need to transform into a Vampyre at all. I love you as you are, querida, and I don’t want you to change because of me.”

“First, thank you,” Tess said. “But I’m not going to grow old while you don’t. That’s another imbalance that isn’t going to happen. And if you become regent, the last thing you need is a frail human partner.”

“I will thank you to remember that I know best what I need,” Xavier told her. He said it with such old-world courtesy it took some of the sting out of the words. “What I need most is to know that you are fulfilled and happy. Again, I don’t believe becoming a Vampyre has anything to do with that.”

“I know I’m young, and I’m well aware it’s is a huge decision,” Tess said. “If you can trust me enough to plan on marrying me, you can trust me enough to know my own mind about this too.”

Julian said in Melly’s head, She has a point there.

Despite the obvious tension between the other two, he sounded amused. Melly rubbed her mouth to hide her smile. Don’t make my face do something inappropriate. This is serious stuff, Julian.

Look at him, Julian said. Look underneath all his surface emotions. He’s so stinking happy.

Julian was right, Xavier was. His love for the young human woman came through in every word and gesture. The same could also be said of Tess. Even as Xavier and Tess exchanged a deeply exasperated glance, they both softened toward the other.

“Your argument has become irrelevant,” said Julian. Quickly Xavier and Tess spun toward him. They both opened their mouths. Julian raised his hand. “Stop. As soon as Tess asked me to turn her, it became a conversation between her and me.”

“I am part of that conversation,” Xavier said furiously.

Julian speared him with a glance. “Yes, but you are not in control of it. She has to make decisions for herself. I make decisions for myself.”

“Thank you,” Tess said, sitting up straight.

“And,” Julian added, “Xavier will make his own decisions too. Tess, there are so many reasons why Vampyres use a year as a probation period. As obvious as this might sound, becoming a Vampyre is irrevocable. If you still want this a year from now, I’ll turn you myself whether you’re still with Xavier or not. In the meantime, eat chocolate and steak. Get a suntan. Take the time to relish all the human things you’ll leave behind.” He said to Xavier, “If that affects whether or not you’ll agree to be regent, so be it. Now, I’m finished with this discussion. Melly and I are dog tired, and I have to meet with the council this evening. All I need is your answer.”

Xavier and Tess exchanged another quick glance.

Then Xavier told him firmly, “Yes. If you can talk the council into accepting a regency, I’ll do it.”

Oh, yay.

Melly was pretty sure relief lay on the other side of a great divide. She couldn’t connect to the emotion — or to any emotion, for that matter. Her belly felt lovely and full, all the danger was gone, and suddenly her body demanded she go horizontal as soon as possible.

“I’m cooked,” she said. “I’m out.”

Vaguely she was aware that the other three came to their feet, but it all happened on the other side of that divide. She walked into Julian’s bedroom, kicked off her boots and crawled fully clothed underneath the covers. The world began to spin away on formless clouds.

Suddenly Julian was there.

“Oh, baby.” His voice was very gentle. “Not in your clothes. You deserve so much better than that.”

With an immense effort, she managed to respond. “S’okay. I don’t care.”

“I care.” He pulled back the covers and eased her clothes off.

She let him. “How much time do we have?”

He hesitated. “I’ve set the alarm for four hours. That will allow enough time to shower first and meet with Carling.”