Victor is immediately at my side, taking my hand. With that simple touch, I feel his support and belief in me. I know he didn't want me to reveal my heritage, but now that I have, he won't let me stand alone. My love for him grows and I squeeze his fingers.

I wait a moment, gauging the Council's reaction. There isn't one at first, but slowly a smile appears on one of their faces. And then another. And another. Soon, the smiles turn to laughter, polite and soft at first, before becoming loud and boisterous. They turn toward one another, enjoying the joke in front of them.

All except for Lilith, who gives the smallest smile as she arches an eyebrow. She's holding my gaze, communicating with me. They're all fools, she seems to be saying.

"Whoever said the Valentines had lost their sense of humor a thousand years ago?" Asher asks.

The laughing continues, but I know what will make it stop.

"I am Dawn Montgomery. The Montgomery. The very last. I am Old Family."

Reaching into my jacket, I pull out the Confirmation Decree, the vampiric family tree, the modern records and place them on the table, carefully, with all the respect they deserve. With them, I have the power to turn the tide.

Before I can pull my hand back, the closest vampire, Asher, grabs my arm tightly. I see the anger in his eyes and the fangs beginning to lengthen in his mouth. But if he was fast, Victor is faster, and much quieter. His long lean fingers are clutching the man's wrist.

"It's bad manners to touch an Old Family member without permission, Asher," Victor says. "Some have been killed for less."

"And yet you touch me as well. What is this game you're playing, Valentine?"

"There is no game. See for yourself."

Victor releases his hold after Asher lets go of my wrist. Even though it hurts badly, I don't rub it. To reveal any weakness is to put us all in danger.

If Victor is nervous about me speaking so boldly, he doesn't show it. I have no doubt that he'd throw his life down right now if it came to it. He isn't holding me, but I can feel his presence so strongly that he might as well be. Stealing a glance at him, I see pride and admiration.

One of the men eagerly grabs the parchment and reads. When he flips the page, I can tell he's going over the signature again. And again. And again.

"Do you care to explain yourself, Lilith?" he asks, tossing the paper toward her.

She glances down at it before pa.s.sing it to the Council member to her right. That man reads it, is left in stunned disbelief, and then pa.s.ses it along. So on and so on, until Asher gets his hands on it. Somehow it angers me that his grubby little fingers trace the story of my lineage. And his eyes stop on Lilith's signature, just as Victor's had.

"What. Is. This?" he demands, flinging the parchment to the center of the table, where it lies stranded.

With a calm, collected voice, Lilith finally speaks. "Have you never seen a Confirmation Decree, Byron Asher?"

"Of course I have! But not one for a family that was eradicated a millennia ago. Do you realize the damage you've done to your family by signing such lies as these!"

"You dare question the authority of my signature?" she asks, ice in her voice. She's clearly used to dealing with men just like Asher. "In front of the Council, in front of all the families, you dare to question the honor of the Ferdinand family?"

"I question your honor, not your family'sa""

"I am the House of Ferdinand and have been so for five hundred years, longer than you've lived."

Asher says nothing, perhaps realizing he can't win this one alone.

So it is Lord Delacroix who speaks, his tone measured and controlled.

"Lilith, no one here would think to question your loyalty or honor, but we must also inquire as to why you have signed a Confirmation Decree for a family that also has a death warrant signed by all of us."

"By our ancestors," she corrects. "And I have to explain myself to no one. If anyone here wishes to challenge the legitimacy of this doc.u.ment, and of Dawn Montgomery's claim as Old Family, then they must challenge the legitimacy of the entire House of Ferdinand. Here and now."

"Let's not get carried away," another says. "Lilith, you may explain yourself in due time to all of us. But until such a time, and for the integrity of the Council, I must insist that Dawn Montgomery remain, as it were, a human, and unable to take seat at this Council."

"No," I say. "I demand the seat that was stolen from my ancestors."

He looks at me, and his reasoned voice has given way to a cold stare. "Child, need I remind you that there is still a death warrant on all Montgomerys. That name, perhaps, may not be one whose weight you are ready to bear."

"Oh, enough of this!" Asher says. "Have you all gone mad? Are we seriously entertaining the thought that this girla"who contains but a single drop of Montgomery blooda"should be allowed a seat on the Council?"

"That's exactly what we're entertaining," Lilith says. The room goes silent again, which seems its natural state. As time pa.s.ses, Lilith looks for challengers, and when no one speaks, she does. "We've been very rude to our guests. Please, Dawn, Victor, Richard, and Faith, if you would be so kind as to join me in my study, we may discuss this further without constant interruption."

She stands, and in her movements I can see the obvious grace of Old Family women. Faith has it, but Lilith's is even more refined, as if each step were practiced a thousand times before letting it show in public.

She leads the way out of the chamber and back down the stairs, all four of us in tow. In the room where all the companions wait, I see an incredibly striking young man stand up as his mistress enters. Lilith simply waves him down and he obeys, knowing it isn't time for him yet.

Her study is down a hall and up another staircase, and when she pulls back the door, I'm impressed by all the worldly objects crammed into a single s.p.a.ce. Paintings and tiny sculptures and strange artifacts from across the globe line shelves and desks. At the far end is a great Gothic window that looks out onto the night, and I realize then just how high up we are.

"I knew you would come eventually," she begins, turning toward us. "As soon as you stepped through that door, I knew. You look like a Montgomery; I could place you anywhere."

"Lady Ferdinand," I say, giving a little curtsy, "I thank you for your kind words in the council chamber."

"Oh dear, there's no need to curtsy for me. You are Old Family after all."

"Is it true?" I ask.

"Yes. I'm sure you have so many questions, but first, let me tell you my role in this bizarre drama."

We listen as Lilith tells us about the Montgomery family, words that I can hardly imagine I'm actually hearing, but they seem only to confirm everything I've always known was deep inside me. I clutch Victor's hand and scoot up to the edge of the seat, not wanting to miss a single syllable she utters.

The Montgomery family could produce dhampirs, she tells us. Half human, half vampire. This ability, as well as these unusual creatures, was feared by all the families and a death warrant was signed, led by the Valentine house.

"My great-grandfather, Errol Ferdinand, refused to sign the death warrant," she says. "And it was of such importance that until it was signed by everyone, excluding the Montgomerys of course, it could not be acted upon. So Errol was murdered by his own brother."

"And there was no witness," I say.

She smiles, strokes the necklace she wears, the Ferdinand family seal secured at the bottom. "I see you've been getting some history lessons. There's a bit of a debate as to whether a witness was involved. I doubt it, but others in my family would disagree. Nonetheless, our clan was torn apart after that. Errol had not yet become ash when the death warrant was signed by the new Lord Ferdinand."

"I'm sorry," I say.

"Thank you, child." Lilith walks over to a painting of a very handsome young man, whose features are much like her own: strong, confident, and at the same time chilly.

"Errol's son, my grandfather, Gustav, hated what had happened. The death warrant issued for the Montgomery family represented to him all that was wrong with us: our fear of anything different. The other families' obsession with blood purity was so great that they would eradicate an entire family. And for what? They placed such value on blood yet were willing to spill it so easily. Centuries pa.s.sed, and Montgomerys were killed. Gustav eventually ascended the throne, killing the vampire who killed his father."

Lilith traces her hand over a long, metal dagger just below the picture, and I wonder if it was with that very weapon that Gustav reclaimed the throne.

"After that, Gustav made it his life's goal to find any remaining Montgomerys and protect them, just as his own father would have protected them had he been given the chance. It took him a century of looking, but he found him. The one Montgomery who had escaped. Gustav visited him in the loneliest cabin in the deepest woods, so far from all things. Around a small table a pact was made: The Montgomery line could continue. One son each generation, to be born to a human mother. In that way the blood would become diluted, but the name would always remain."

"Why would he do that?" I ask. "Going against the death warrant would have been a crime. Right?"

"Yes, and punishable by death. Which is what happened to him one night. Killed by a Valentine who suspected the pact had been made. I'm afraid that's where the rift between our two families began, Victor." She nods toward him. "I hope we may close that chasm."

Victor nods in return.

"Even two thousand years ago," she continues, "the Ferdinands knew that one day there would be a war between humankind and vampires. Our differences are too great. But when they heard of the Montgomerys' ability to conceive with humans, the Ferdinands saw their salvation. The Montgomerys could act as a bridge, bringing together both sides. In such a way, a war could be prevented. But when that death warrant was signed, my ancestors felt that we had in fact sealed our own deaths. We always thought that if we could save the Montgomerys, perhaps we could save ourselves."

In the painting, Gustav's eyes speak something else now. I think the painter captured it: hope that he'd made a difference.

"So it was that the Montgomery line continued, albeit slowly. They were always in danger, but as time pa.s.sed, their name was forgotten by most families as sons killed fathers to acquire powera"we are a bloodthirsty lot. All the original signers eventually perished. Those who came after began to think the Montgomerys nothing more than a myth. But the Ferdinands had made one more promise: They would forever remind the son of Montgomery of his lineage and of his pact to carry it forward. It has been my duty, for five hundred years now, to visit the son of the Montgomery line and to tell him of his true heritage."

"You meana""

But she holds up her hand before I can continue, knowing that what I was going to say would pain me too much.

"I never met your father," she says. "I was unable to reach him in time, and for that I'm deeply sorry. But I did meet his father and told him the truth. It's amazing. Every time I spoke to a Montgomery, they were rarely shocked. In many ways, I think they've always known. Even more telling is their ability to hold it forever, to keep it secret." She sighs deeply. "Now that is the mark of Old Family."

"And that's why you signed that Confirmation Decree."

"That's part of the reason, yes. But there's another, and this is where our little tale takes an interesting twist: No doubt you've seen the Montgomery family tree, and no doubt you've seen the branch that held two children. Maximillian Montgomery had a son and a daughter: Esmerelda. The first female Montgomery ever born. With her, I saw the chance to finally bring the Montgomerys back out of the shadows. I thought enough time had pa.s.sed since the warrant was signed; I hoped that the Montgomerys would be embraced. Already the fear of war was growing.

"And so I played matchmaker as it were. Esmerelda was quite simply beautiful, and she had enough Old Family blood in her that she was irresistible. And so I persuaded her to pursue one Murdoch Valentine."

At this she gives an incredibly wicked smile, and I give one back.

"Your father, Victor, was notorious for taking human companions. Imagine his surprise when he took Esmerelda and found several months later that she had become pregnant with his child."

He would have been floored. With the exception of the Montgomerys, humans and vampires can't have children. But Esmerelda had enough Old Family in her that she could carry Murdoch's son. A son who would grow up to become . . .

"Sin," I say.

"That's right. A horrid name given to him by Murdoch. He hated the child from the outset. And he hated him even more when I arrived at his doorstep with the Confirmation Decree, showing that Esmerelda was part of the Montgomery family. Imagine his anger at knowing that he helped to continue that blood line by complete accident, a family his own ancestors had tried to eradicate."

"No wonder he hated Sin."

"Yes, and his hatred only grew when he found the child's gift of day walking. He hated him so much that he did away with the boy's mother."

I cringe at that. Victor puts his arm around me.

"I'm so sorry, Dawn," Lilith says. "I had no idea Murdoch would do that to her. The Valentines were the most powerful family, and they led the charge to compose the death warrant. I thought that if Murdoch's son were a Montgomery, he would have to do the only honorable thing: embrace the Montgomerys, call an end to the destruction of their family. I thought, at the very least, he would protect Esmerelda. But I was wrong on all counts."

I think back to the family tree I saw but now fill in the lines myself. Esmerelda Montgomery and Murdoch Valentine, the parents of Sin Valentine. But there was another branch to that tree.

"Esmerelda's brother," I prompt.

"Yes," Lilith says. "The Montgomerys were always to have at least one son to carry on the name. And so a boy named Jonathan was born, and he was your ancestor.

"I've kept watch on the Montgomerys from afar," she continues. "By my count only three remain. You. Sin. And the last full-blooded Montgomery, Octavian. You should meet him. I'm sure he can provide many answers for you. I heard he was somewhere far west of here, somewhere ina""

"The mountains," I say.

"That's right." She pauses. "The mountains."

I shake my head. "He's dead. I met him when Sin took me there. He said that we were the last remnants of an Old Family bloodline. He said that, just before killing Octavian and draining his blood."

Lilith nods, her hands clasped together as though mourning at the man's funeral.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she says. "But I'm afraid Sin is more insane than you imagine. The hate inside of him festers without bounds, and it was a hate that began at the hands of your father, Victor. It pains me to say this, but in some ways you shoulder the blame for what Sin has become."

I'm about to defend Victor when he says, "I know. I knew my father had another son, but he rarely spoke of him. I also knew how strict my father could be, especially if it was a child he did not want. I could have gone back. I could have taken Sin away somehow. But instead I was young, afraid of my father's wrath, and just left him there."

"But we can still right it," I say. "Sin is beyond salvation, but we can still stop him."

"Perhaps," Lilith says. "But for that, I believe we must reenter the council chamber. And Dawn, your right as an Old Family vampire I will defend with my life, but that may not be enough to get you the seat you deserve. I see that now. The Council may demand that only full-blooded vampires be allowed onto the Council. But we shall see."

"Lilith, I don't know what to say. Everything you've done . . ."

"I've only played a small part in this. I've set the stage, I've put the actors out, but you, Dawn Montgomery, will now step into the leading role."

Chapter 13.

Back in the council chamber our welcome isn't exactly warm. No telling what they've been talking about since we left.

Lord Paxton rises. "Miss Montgomery, we have examined your doc.u.ments. We cannot deny that you have some trace of vampire blood in you, but you are not a vampire. Only a full vampire may sit on the Council. Are you willing to be turned?"

"No," Victor says adamantly.

"Why, young Valentine? If she would join us, then surely she would want to be like us."

Victor places his hands on my shoulders, turns me, and gazes into my eyes. "I'll die before I let you be turned."

"There's no need for me to be turned," I say, speaking with the conviction of truth. "I have Old Family blood in my veins. I can trace my lineage back as far as anyone at this table. Those facts alone give me the right to be here."

"She is right," Lilith says, standing as well. "She is of the Montgomery family. Her blood gives her a right to sit on the Council."

"Perhaps," Lord Paxton says. "But the concern exists that she will be more interested in her human side than her vampire. Dawn, you've spent your entire life living in the world of humans, yet if you would have a voice here, we need to be a.s.sured that your loyalty would be to us vampires. Perhaps a test is all that is required. Would you be willing to agree to that?"

"No," Victor says at the same time that I say, "Yes."

Victor turns to me. "You don't know what the test will be, Dawn."

"I know I can't vote if I'm not sitting on the Council. We need their help to defeat Sin." I face Lord Paxton. "I'm willing to be tested."