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I try to look interested and impressed—which I kind of am, this house is fucking lit—and stick close to Tristan’s side as he greets our hosts.

“…so glad you could join us, even if the circumstances aren’t ideal,” Selene is saying in a soft, well-modulated voice. If a voice could sound rich, that would be how she sounds. It’s not even the accent, just the volume and… everything. I guess I’m not rich or posh enough to know how to describe it.

“It’s always a pleasure,” Tristan says, and it actually sounds like he means it. I’m going to ask him later if Paul and Selene fall into the acquaintances category or if they’re actually friends.

Knowing him, he’ll say neither.

He gestures toward me without turning and adds, “Allow me to introduce Adam Barale, my feeder.”

Both our hosts look me over with keen interest, which is disconcerting. “Welcome, Adam,” Paul says, and I incline my head the way Cat taught me.

“Thank you for including me this evening. Your home is gorgeous.” I flash my most charming smile, the one that frequently gets me out of trouble. They both smile back, giving me a peek of fang.

“The Barales are always most welcome in our home,” Selene tells me, and I cling to my smile. The way she said that makes me think— “In fact, your cousin Adrian is here this evening.”

Yep. Please god, let Cat have told the fam about me working for Tristan. “Is he? That’s great; I’ve been meaning to visit while we’re here.” Now I just have to work out who he is without giving away my secret. Adrian? I don’t remember Cat mentioning him, but then, I didn’t really listen when she talked about the family. That came back to bite me in the arse.

Footsteps behind us have Tristan saying, “We won’t monopolise your company, but I’m certain there will be time to chat later.”

Paul agrees, then exchanges a glance with his wife. “You should know, it’s likely that Geoffrey will put in an appearance this evening.”

Ooh. They really are trying to appear neutral, aren’t they… or maybe they’re playing both sides?

Tristan’s face doesn’t change. “How interesting that he’s in Sydney. Do excuse us. I see Helen.” His hand clasps my elbow firmly and pulls me away. Behind us, I hear Pierce greeting our hosts, but I keep my attention on Tristan and the direction we’re headed. Nearly all eyes in the room are on us, either covertly while their owners chat with others or in open stares. I can’t even ask Tristan if Geoffrey being here works in our favour or not, because vampire hearing means half the room will know what I’m saying.

We stop in front of a tall, willowy blond woman—vampire—and a brown-haired man who looks to be a few years older than me, presumably her feeder. The woman inclines her head to Tristan in a gesture that on anyone else would be a nod, but from her seems like the deepest bow of respect.

“Tristan,” she says coolly. “I heard you’d be here. Trying to clean up this mess?”

“Of course. It always falls to the regent to fix the problems others cause.”

Hello, subtext. Too bad I’ve always been terrible at understanding subtlety.

Pale blue eyes land on me. “And this must be your new feeder.”

Tristan’s hand tightens on my elbow. “Adam, this is Helen Dahl.”

I incline my head, glad that custom doesn’t allow me to shake hands. This lady gives me the creeps. “Ms. Dahl.”

“Don’t think you can ignore me, cuz,” the man says, and my gaze jerks to his face. He’s smiling, but there’s a message for me in his eyes. “Just because I beat you at backyard cricket last Christmas is no reason to sulk.”

I must have done something right in a past life, because Cat’s obviously filled the family in enough for this guy—apparently my cousin Adrian—to know he needs to tip me off about who he is.

“You cheated,” I reply, playing along with his story, then flash a grin. “But I guess I can forgive you. Good to see you, man.” I hold out my hand, and we exchange a backslapping handshake-slash-hug.

“How charming,” Helen says in a tone that indicates the opposite. “Adrian, I can hardly imagine you indulging in… how did you put it? Backyard cricket.”

Adrian’s flinch is barely noticeable, but it gets my back up. I may have only just met him, but he’s family and he helped me out. If his vampire’s mistreating him, I’ll…

Fuck.

I don’t know what I’ll do, but I’m sure I can work it out.

“I like to keep family life separate from work,” he says, which doesn’t really make sense to me but has Helen’s lips tightening.

“How very sensible,” Tristan muses, and I’m definitely missing some subtext here, because that should be a compliment and somehow it sounds like a dig. “Perhaps you could learn from your feeder, Helen. Sensible has never been your forte, after all.”

The words land like stones; I guess Tristan’s given up on subtext. Would it be too obvious of me to pull out my phone and search the Dish for Helen’s backstory?