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“But they’re Unblooded,” Miss Lynwood started, only to be cut off by Samuel slamming his hand down on the table.

“And that doesn’t matter!” Samuel said, and Shan felt the stirrings of something dark and familiar in his voice. “The majority of these people are living in conditions that you cannot even begin to understand. The food you waste on a daily basis can feed a family for a week, and that is not even getting into all the other things you waste so much coin on. Maybe before you go deciding what’s best you should—”

“Lord Aberforth does have a point,” Shan said, catching the moment before it slipped past. Before the darkness that she recognized in Samuel slipped into his words into a command he couldn’t take back. The memory of the previous day and the single word he had whispered in her ear still lingered with her, no matter what she did. It had been dark and terrifying and just a tiny bit appealing, not that she would dare admit that deviant thought aloud.

And she couldn’t risk anyone else discovering that gift.

“Of course,” she said, once she had everyone’s attention, “it would be foolish to go as far as he’s suggesting. But we are the noble families of Aeravin, the best of the Blood Workers, and it is our duty to take care of country and lead it into prosperity. And to do that we must take care of all our citizens, including the Unblooded.”

“Don’t we already do that?” Miss Morse asked. “We give them a home, protect their livelihoods, their streets, and all we ask is for a few pints of blood a year.”

“Naturally,” Shan said, “but our efforts are outdated.”

Amelia leaned forward. Though her expression was concerned, Shan saw the sparkle in her eye. “Yes, what do you mean by that?”

“I’m curious as well,” Samuel said, and the harshness in his tone cut like a knife.

She couldn’t show any reaction to that, though. No matter how much it hurt. They might be friendly, but as far as everyone else knew, they weren’t allies in this. Still, the pain and confusion in Samuel’s eyes was real.

He was too good for their world, and sometimes Shan hated the game.

“It’s simple,” she began, looking everywhere but at Samuel. “The landscape of our country has changed in the past millennium, and what started out as a haven for Blood Workers has grown into so much more. While the laws and structures that were put in place then made sense at the time, the demographics have flipped. Instead of there being almost one Unblooded to every three Blood Workers, there is something like…”

“One Blood Worker to every ten Unblooded, according to the most recent census,” Amelia supplied. “Like rats, they are outbreeding us.”

There was a harsh sound from Samuel’s direction, but Shan cast a warning glare in his direction before he could get a word out.

“Yes, and because of that we need to re-evaluate our position,” Shan said smoothly. “While we are very powerful, we cannot discount that the Unblooded have the numbers. It would be the height of foolishness to forget that.”

“We can take them still,” Sir Morse said, speaking up for the first time as he drew up his shoulders. Oh, he looked so much like his grandmother, the fierce Councillor of the Military, ready to solve any problem that presented itself with force.

Shan didn’t even have to argue his point, however. Miss Rayne did that for her, turning to Sir Morse with a frown. “Perhaps, Edward, but wouldn’t there be losses on both sides?”

He blanched at the thought of loss—such a brave young fool he was—and conceded the point. “It is a possibility. But they would lose far more than we would.”

“There are other options beside force that could be tried first,” Shan said, softly.

Miss Lynwood tapped the edge of her teacup as she thought. “So because there are more of them, we should give in to their demands.”

“Oh, no,” Shan said, with a cruel little smile. “When negotiating, one does not simply give in to the first round of demands. No, we should put something else forward, a compromise. A way of letting them think they have power, that they are getting what they want, without giving them too much.”

“It doesn’t sound like that’s a compromise you are proposing.”

Shan could feel the burn of Samuel’s eyes on her skin, and she forced herself to meet his gaze. “I suggest allowing them to unionize under the guidance of Lady Holland. She is the Councillor of Industry, and she understands their specific needs and requests more than we can.”

“I don’t think,” Samuel said, slowly, “that if the union is under the organization of the government, that is still a union.”

“No, but this is brilliant,” Amelia said. “This will give them a place to air their grievances, and if they are legitimate, to move on them.”

“And it will let them know they are being heard,” Miss Rayne added in, “and hopefully will stop things before they turn to bloodshed.”

“They are just Unblooded,” Morse said, crushing a biscuit in his hand. “They would not be that much trouble.”

“I understand your drive, my friend,” Shan said, “but society runs smoother when there is peace, does it not? Should the Unblooded prove to be unreasonable, we will need bold souls like you.”

That seemed to appease him, and the group, and Amelia leaned forward, capturing her hand as if they were good friends. “You should draft a bill for the House, Shan—this is too good of an idea to simply let it pass.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Shan demurred, “it’s only my first session in the House, after all.”