Gideon

He hadn't been looking forward to this day.

Though he'd known it was coming – there was no way around it – he still felt unprepared.

Before today, he'd been able to pretend that the vampire way of life wasn't in imminent danger of coming to an end. Protestors raged outside the walls, and the rooms and corridors of the mansion were a lot emptier than they used to be, but Gideon still found he could pretend.

Pretending was easier.

It kept him from facing the grim reality that they were trying to fight off – that they might not be able to fight off.

Now he couldn't pretend anymore.

Tomorrow, the Prime Minister would arrive.

Today, they had to prepare their case.

Ysanne looked around the room. "For those of you who don't know each other, may I introduce Adele Desmoulins of Du Sang. She will be running Nocte Filii for the time being, along with Mateo Bianchi of Ombre in Italy. Liliya Vogel and Kara Braun of Blutrausch in Germany will be taking care of Midnight, and George Johnson and Constance White of Fallen Night will be running Lamia."

The new arrivals nodded to the Belle Morte vampires.

Gideon had never met any of them, but if they were here to help then they were friends.

"I am not going to lie to any of you," said Ysanne, laying her palms flat on the tabletop. "I suspect we have dark days ahead. We fought and bled and suffered to win back our House, and now it is under threat again, but this is a threat we cannot fight with brute force."

Kara scowled, leaning back in her chair. Gideon didn't know the woman but she struck him as someone who preferred brute force to diplomacy. Ysanne was right, though. Force wouldn't win this battle.

"During my recent liaisons with McGellan, she has expressed doubts as to whether the donor system should be salvaged," Ysanne said.

Gideon's heart sank. If the Prime Minister herself wasn't on their side, what chance did they have?

"What happens if it collapses?" he asked.

Ysanne's face hardened. "You're assuming that it already hasn't." She indicated the room with a graceful sweep of her hand. "There are no donors left, in any of the Houses."

Gideon's eyes went to Jason.

So did Kara's.

"Excuse me," she said, "but is the boy not a donor?" The look she gave Jason wasn't exactly unfriendly, but it wasn't welcoming, either.

It made Gideon's hackles rise.

Jason had earned his place at this table, and Kara needed to respect that. He opened his mouth to tell her just that, but Ysanne was faster.

"Jason Grant stopped being a donor a long time ago. He is as loyal a friend to Belle Morte as we could possibly hope for," she said.

Jason's cheeks went pink.

Kara said nothing.

"All of the Houses have lost their donors? Even Fiaigh?" Constance asked.

The American vampire was almost as tall as Gideon himself, with strong, handsome features, and straw-coloured hair twisted into a loose braid.

Ysanne nodded. "Although Fiaigh is the one House that stood outside Jemima and Etienne's control, Caoimhe deemed it prudent to send her donors home, too."

"Where is Caoimhe?" Constance asked, looking around for the Irish Lady.

"She has returned to Ireland for the time being. Her House didn't suffer the ways ours did, but it is still her priority."

"So how have you been surviving without donors?" asked Liliya.

Although she came from a German House, there was something curious about her accent, something Gideon couldn't quite place.

"We have been provided with bagged blood from local blood banks," Ysanne replied.

"Then the humans have not completely turned against us."

Gideon liked that Liliya used 'us' rather than 'you'. The issues that faced the English Houses wouldn't necessarily affect the German ones, but Liliya saw them as issues facing vampires as a whole.

Ysanne hesitated before replying. "No," she said. "If they had completely turned on us, then we would not still be here."

By that, Gideon hoped she meant they wouldn't all still be in their Houses, rather than they wouldn't even be alive – or undead – but either was entirely possible in this situation.

Vampires were stronger and faster than any human could hope to be, and far more resistant to physical damage, but they could be killed. No matter how strong vampires were, humans outnumbered them on a massive scale, and it if ever came to a war between them, vampires simply couldn't win.

If there was no human support left, then the Houses would probably have been overthrown already. This meeting wouldn't even be happening.

Gideon tried to take some comfort from that, but it was hard when he could hear so many voices outside, yelling for his blood.

"But that does not mean any of us are safe," Ysanne said, looking around the table. "Everything that has happened recently has happened to the vampires of the United Kingdom, but if our Houses are taken away, then this will affect Houses across the world. We have always had enemies. There have always been humans who hate us and want us gone, and if they win this battle, then I firmly believe they will wage more in other countries."

Liliya fervently nodded. Something about her slight frame and almost doll-like appearance reminded Gideon of Jemima.

He looked away, not wanting to be reminded of the woman who'd betrayed them so terribly.

"And your Prime Minister is dealing with this matter personally?" Constance questioned.

"That is correct."

"Is this normal procedure, though?" Roux said. "McGellan is the PM but she doesn't have complete control of the country, and any decisions about us shouldn't be solely in her hands."

"They won't be," Ysanne said. "McGellan is not coming alone."

Gideon's ears pricked up; this was the first he'd heard of it. Judging by the surprised looks rippling around the table, he wasn't alone in that matter.

"Who's coming with her?" Roux asked, when Ysanne didn't say anything else.

"McGellan will be accompanied by two local Members of Parliament," Ysanne said. "Sharon Davis and Karl Kendrick."

The names meant nothing to Gideon, but Roux obviously knew who they were.

"What?" she exclaimed, jerking back in her chair.

Ludovic put a hand on her arm, but her eyes were fixed on Ysanne, wide and churning with emotion.

"You can't be serious," Roux said.

Kara frowned, drumming her fingernails on the table. "Who is this Karl Kendrick?" she asked.

"He's a low level politician who hates vampires," Roux replied, her eyes bright with anger.

Gideon looked at Ysanne. Her marble mask gave nothing away, but she had to have known this. As much as she had to cede some measure of control to McGellan now, Ysanne would never agree to letting people into her House without knowing who they were.

"You realise that he doesn't want to help us, right?" Roux said.

"I am perfectly aware of Kendrick's opinions on our kind," Ysanne answered. "And before anyone says it, I am also perfectly aware that he is using what has happened lately to build his own public profile. A lot of people are scared and angry, and Karl Kendrick is playing on that. He may not be so low level for long."

"Then why is he coming?"

"Because both sides of the debate need representation," Ysanne said.

"Let me guess – those are Kendrick's words?"

Ysanne nodded. "Apparently Kendrick got wind of tomorrow's meeting and insisted that someone be here to argue the other side of this issue. And of course that someone had to be him."

"Why couldn't McGellan refuse?" Ludovic asked, still with his hand on Roux's arm. Subconsciously she leaned into him, as if she could draw strength from his presence.

Gideon could barely remember what it felt like to rely on someone like that.

"McGellan's own position has come under threat thanks to what happened in this House. There are a great many people criticising her for not having taken swift action against us after what Etienne and Jemima did. There are people condemning her for sending Roux and Ludovic to retrieve the Five, rather than handing the situation over to human authorities."

"I suppose the fact that we did it to stop human authorities from being slaughtered doesn't matter to these people," said Ludovic, his voice hard.

"It doesn't appear to, no. They are angry and they want someone to blame. McGellan is the Prime Minister, which means she bears the brunt of this anger, along with us. If she had refused Kendrick, then she would have been handing him more ammunition to use against us, and her. She has to remain neutral."

"Am I to understand that this Kendrick person has no interest in fairness or justice?" Kara said.

"Not for vampires," Roux said, sagging in her seat. Suddenly she looked very tired.

How hard must it be for her and Renie? Gideon wondered. This situation was frightening enough for old vampires, but they had all survived hundreds of years of humans hating them. They could survive it again.

Roux and Renie had only been vampires for a few days. They were still adjusting to their new lives, still coming to terms with the fact that they had very suddenly become part of a threatened group, one that might not be welcome in human society for much longer.

"Then he has no business being here," Kara said.

"It's not as simple as that," said Edmond. "Ysanne runs this House but not this country. We are not above the law."

Kara opened her mouth to argue, but Ysanne rose to her feet, fixing the room with an icy look.

"There is little point arguing about all this, when there is nothing we can do to change it. If McGellan has agreed that Kendrick will come, then that is happening. We must pick our battles and this is not one worth fighting," she said.

"I am a little unclear how this process unfolds," Liliya said.

"So are we," Ysanne admitted. "As Roux rightly pointed out, this is not normal procedure."

"Then why is it happening?"

"Because no one ever imagined that this situation, or anything like it, would come to pass. As vampires, we operated outside the normal constraints of human society. We were myths come to life, as close to gods and goddesses as humans would ever get. Suddenly the curtain has been ripped away, and humans see us for the flawed creatures we can be. Suddenly they realise that we are not so different, yet we are still not human, and they don't know how to reconcile that. England has many measures she can turn to in times of emergency, but there has never been a plan for what would happen if the tide of public favour turned so suddenly against us. We were prepared for the novelty of our existence to one day wear off. We were prepared to have to work harder to maintain public interest. We were not prepared for this. Neither was the UK government. The reality we are facing is that normal procedure does not apply in this case, because we are not normal. If we were human then McGellan would work through all the usual and appropriate channels. But we are not, and so she is not."

"She's just tossing out the rulebook because we're vampires?" Renie's voice was incredulous.

"To some extent, yes. Tomorrow, McGellan and her colleagues will arrive to discuss where our future lies. We must be ready for that."

How could they ever be ready for that? How could anyone be ready for the prospect of being ejected from the lives they had come to know and love? Gideon clenched his hands under the table.

"If we want to salvage our place in the human world, then we must learn to adapt. No matter what happens, we will never be able to fully return to how things used to be," Ysanne said.

Maybe that wasn't entirely a bad thing, Gideon reflected. For ten years, the system had worked without a hitch, but when it had gone wrong, it had become a catastrophe. If returning to the old system meant there was even a chance of something like this happening again, then maybe it was better that they didn't.

"It's worth remembering that whatever changes we make to our system here in England may be applied to Houses across seas," Ysanne said, looking at each of the newcomers in turn.

None of them looked surprised except for Kara, who scowled.

"What we are doing today is discussing how we shall adapt, what changes we might need to make. We don't know what McGellan will say tomorrow, so we need to be prepared for anything," Ysanne said.

"I would suggest that CCTV is a good place to start," said Constance.

Gideon saw surprise flash across the faces of the humans in the room, as well as Renie and Roux. CCTV had been proposed at Belle Morte before, and dismissed just as quickly since most vampires struggled to comprehend modern technology. He'd expected much the same from their guests.

Ysanne's lip curled ever so slightly. For ten years, Belle Morte had been almost entirely technology-free, which was how most of them liked it. CCTV was a big step, for them at least.

Then again, Belle Morte already had made steps. Before Roux and Ludovic had left the House on their mission, Seamus had bought a phone for them, as well as one for Belle Morte and one for Jason. In the aftermath of that mission, he had since bought two laptops for the House, in the hopes that Renie and Roux would start bringing the vampires of Belle Morte into the 21st century.

Gideon wasn't sure how that was going.

"We installed cameras in Fallen Night last year," Constance continued.

"How come?" Renie asked.

"Our Lord, Joseph, decided that we were letting too much of the modern world slip by. CCTV is the first change we have made, but Joseph has strongly considered introducing televisions and computers to the House."

Ysanne's expression tightened. "I would have expected him to mention such changes," she said.

Constance lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "What difference would it have made? We were the first American House to implement technology of that kind, and so far only Mordere and Crimson have followed our example. It was hardly a revolution so Joseph didn't feel it was worth mentioning."

Ysanne hadn't mentioned the fact that Belle Morte now had computers of its own, though that might be because she was yet to learn how to use them.

"I think CCTV's a great idea. If we'd had cameras in this place, Etienne would never have got away with anything. As soon as June died, someone could have worked out it was him," said Renie, her voice catching slightly on the name of her dead sister.

Ysanne said nothing.

"And it's not like you haven't always had technology here. The passageways?" said Renie.

Gideon sat up a little straighter, feeling foolish. That hadn't occurred to him. For years, rumours had abounded that there were secret passageways hidden behind the walls of Belle Morte, but it wasn't until Etienne's scheming that the rumours were revealed as truth. Each passageway was accessed via a code, put into a small hidden keypad. So Renie was right – Belle Morte had had technology already. Adding more wasn't such a huge step.

"The technology we have in place is for emergencies only," Ysanne said.

"And if we'd had CCTV we'd never have had to use those passageways. Etienne would have been caught the second he killed June, and nothing that came after would have happened," Renie countered.

It was a painful truth, but one that Ysanne could not deny.

Still, it was interesting to watch the days-old vampire tell the centuries-old Lady things she perhaps didn't want to hear.

For a moment, it seemed like Ysanne wanted to resist, then she lowered her eyes. "My arrogance has been thinking that I always knew what went on in my own House, but recent events have proved how very wrong I am in that regard. As difficult though it is to accept, I suppose we cannot continue to let progress pass us by."

"And yet that is one of the things that has made us popular," said Kara. "We are not just myths come to life, we are pieces of the past. We have carved out our little empires, separate from the modern world, and we would be fools to pretend that humans do not find that fascinating about us."

"I would agree, except that recent events have clearly changed the public's perception. What they once found quaint will now seem short-sighted. A refusal to implement better security measures in the wake of so much death and tragedy will hardly endear us to anyone," said Ysanne.

"It would help if donors were allowed to communicate with their friends and family on the outside, too," said Renie.

"They are allowed," said Ysanne.

Renie rolled her eyes. "I mean, in a 21st century way. With phones. Not writing letters."

"What difference would that make?"

"Well, for one thing, it would make the Houses seem less isolated. That's one of the problems we're having now. Vampires are so separate from the rest of the world that it's become all too easy to dehumanise us now. Letting donors keep their phones is one more step towards removing some of those barriers between us and them," Renie said.

"You forget that those rules are in place for a reason," said Kara. "If donors were allowed mobile phones, they could take pictures of the mansion and sell them to publications that the Houses have not approved or authorised. Worse, they could take private pictures of the vampires themselves."

"Oh come on, that's not the only reason. Vampires don't like mobiles because they don't understand them, and that's why you don't want them in the Houses."

"That's not –"

"I think we're all a little past bullshitting each other here," Renie cut Kara off.

"Besides, if breaches of privacy really were all you were worried about, then add some stipulations to the contracts," Roux chimed in. "Make it so you can sue the pants off anyone who releases unauthorised material."

Kara's mouth tightened into a thin line. "There's a crucial factor that you all appear to be missing in this little discussion," she said, her accent seeming to thicken with her annoyance. "You are proposing these changes to the everyday lives of the donors inside your House – yet you don't have any donors. And you may never have them again."

A sombre silence fell on the room. Gideon half-expected Kara to look triumphant that her words had hit home, but she just seemed dispirited, gazing down at the table, her shoulders slumping.

"She's right," Jason spoke up, and Gideon's eyes were drawn to him like a magnet, even as he told himself to look anywhere else. "You're living on bagged blood now, but what happens if the blood banks put a stop to that? It's pure goodwill keeping you alive at the moment, and that could change at any time."

He looked around at the newcomers. "What's happened here has affected your countries too. Maybe not as obviously as here, but I've been keeping a close eye on any online activity involving vampires, and there are anti-vampire groups springing up in America, Germany, France and Italy. They might not be protesting outside your walls yet, but if the UK Houses are permanently banned from having donors, how long do you think it will be before the hate groups in your countries push for the same changes? Russia was supposed to be sending vampires to help, but Katerina Ivanova has withdrawn her support because of the rise in anti-vampire sentiment. This isn't just happening in the UK."

Listening to him speak, Gideon felt a fierce stab of something he couldn't quite name. Maybe it was pride.

Jason wasn't a vampire. He didn't have to put up with any of this. Yet here he was, fighting on their behalf, as passionate about their fate as if it was his own.

"We survived without donors and bagged blood before. We can do it again," said Kara, but her voice was uncertain.

"Before, no one knew you existed. You hunted humans on the streets and you got away with it because most people didn't believe in vampires. Now the whole world knows you're real, and they know your faces. Do you really think you can feed from people now without anyone knowing?" Jason said.

Kara was silent.

"And how do you think the public will react when they catch you feeding from people in the street? They'll declare war on you," Jason went on.

"As if they haven't already," Gideon couldn't help saying.

Jason glanced at him, and his expression softened. "They haven't. Things are bad, but they could be worse. I'm just trying to make sure everyone understands the reality of this situation."

"We do not need you to explain it to us," Kara snapped, her dark eyes flashing. "Why are you even here?"

Ysanne's eyes narrowed, but before she could remind Kara that Jason was a friend of Belle Morte, Gideon found himself speaking.

"He's here because he has fought and bled for this House and everyone inside it. He's here because he cares, because he's loyal, and we are bloody lucky to have him."

Silence followed his words, and Gideon felt the weight of every pair of eyes on him, not least of all Jason's. He didn't dare look at Jason, afraid of what he would see in Jason's eyes.

"What he said," Renie added, glaring at Kara.

The German vampire slowly nodded, the anger fading from her gaze. "I see." She turned to Jason. "I have, perhaps, been out of line, and I have misunderstood your place in this House. Please accept my apologies."

"Uh, sure," Jason said, looking slightly taken aback by the apology.

Gideon hadn't expected it, either. His impression of Kara so far hadn't been entirely positive, but maybe she wasn't as bad as he'd first thought. Not all vampires would have publicly admitted they were wrong.

"This is a trying time for all of us," said Ysanne, smoothing over any lingering tension.

"Maybe we need to face up to the possibility that this is all one battle we can't win," Gideon said. "Humans might not have declared war on us, but I honestly cannot see how we will ever fit in with their world again. Maybe it would be easier on everyone if we simply faded back into the shadows."

"Bullshit," said Jason at once. "You all have as much right to be here as anyone else on the planet, maybe even more so because you've been here so long."

Renie nodded in fierce assent.

Kara fixed Jason with an appraising look. "I'm starting to like you, boy."

"My name's Jason."

She grinned, and it softened the sharpness of her face. "I'm starting to like you, Jason."

Jason's eyes met Gideon's, and he gave a small smile.

Gideon looked down at the table.

Jason

He quickly lost track of time.

The meeting seemed to last for hours, voices flurrying back and forth, proposing, debating, occasionally arguing.

By the time Ysanne finally called an end, Jason was exhausted. He felt like he'd been pulled along by a current, battering and relentless. They'd been here so long, discussing so much, that he could barely remember what had been decided, and it might not even matter. No one had a clue what McGellan would say tomorrow, so all of this might be vain.

What if she simply vetoed all of their proposals?

Before everyone left the dining hall, Ysanne said one more thing: "We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, so we need to be prepared for anything. But whatever does happen, we will get through it together. All of us."

After that, the newcomers were shown to their rooms by Isabeau.

She hadn't been at the meeting, and even when she turned up, it was obvious that she didn't want to be there. Her eyes were downcast, her body language slumped.

Jason felt a pang of sympathy. He hadn't known her all that well before the Council imprisoned her for crimes she hadn't committed, but she definitely hadn't been the same since she'd been back.

Ysanne watched her former lover lead Belle Morte's guests out of the dining hall, and Jason wondered what was going through her head.

She had kept her relationship with Isabeau a secret, presumably because, as Lady of the House, she couldn't be seen to have favourites. But that seemed to be her rule rather than an official one. Other Lords and Ladies had partners – Adele was even married. She ran Du Sang jointly with her husband, Anthony. And, after the final battle for Belle Morte, Ysanne had asked Edmond if he would consider becoming Lord of one of the now leaderless Houses. He had turned down the offer, but if he'd accepted then he would still have been with Renie, favouritism or not.

Now, everyone knew about Ysanne and Isabeau, which meant everyone knew things had disintegrated between them. Everyone could feel the frosty tension that crept through a room whenever they were together.

Jason wondered if Ysanne had tried to fix things. She was nothing if not proud, but would she throw her happiness away for the sake of her pride?

It really wasn't his business, but Jason was a romantic at heart. He wanted people to be happy. And Ysanne and Isabeau deserved to be happy.

Still, as Isabeau disappeared, and Ysanne focused on the notes she'd taken during their meeting, Jason had to concede that the Lady of Belle Morte had far more important things to worry about now than her love life.

Speaking of love lives...

He looked around for Roux and Renie, but they had already disappeared, along with their respective men. They were still in the honeymoon period, and both men were incredibly hot, so Jason couldn't blame his girls for not being able to keep their hands off them, but as everyone exited the room, he realised he had no idea what he was going to do with himself for the rest of the day.

A small knot of loneliness formed under his ribcage.

He had earned his place here, but at the same time, he was the odd one out. The only other humans left were Seamus and the remainder of the security team. All the donors and members of staff were gone.

Jason felt like the one puzzle piece that didn't quite fit. If he'd mentioned this to Renie and Roux, they'd never have left him alone, but equally that wasn't fair on them. They had their own lives to lead.

He went back to his room.

His phone still lay on the pillow where he'd left it, and he resisted the urge to pick it up. If he did that, he'd end up on social media again, and that was the last thing he needed right now. It was too ugly and too angry, especially after the meeting they'd just had.

Vampire Houses really could use TVs. Or gyms. Maybe even spa rooms.

Picturing the older vampires trying to cope with that much change brought a smile to Jason's lips, but it quickly faded when he reminded himself that as of tomorrow they might not even have roofs over their heads. Here he was thinking it would be cute if the Houses offered facials and massages to donors, when the Houses themselves might not be here much longer.

He sat on the edge of the bed, gazing around the room.

What would happen to these Houses if vampires were evicted?

What would they become?

Hotels? Museums? Homes for the rich?

He tried to imagine a world in which Belle Morte became just another house. He tried to imagine these rooms without vampires in them, that dining hall without donors, those gardens without guards.

It seemed impossible.

And yet, it wasn't.

Someone knocked at the door, and Jason perked up.

Maybe the girls had realised he was lonely after all.

Maybe –

He opened the door and froze.

Gideon stood on the other side.