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“Good point. What happened? Why did someone kill him?”

“His murder is being investigated.”

“What does the archduke do anyway?”

“He’s the head of our council, like a president or a prime minister.”

“Or a king?”

“That’s probably more accurate, since he has the final word.”

“Can a woman take the position?” I ask.

“Yes, but she’d be a duchess, not a duke.”

“Oh, is that how it works?” I say blandly.

“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you, bunny.”

“So why don’t you want to be king of the vampires?”

“I wouldn’t look good in a crown.”

“Please,” I scoff. “You know you’d look hot.”

“Well…” He smirks. “Maybe I don’t want to live in Europe. I’d rather stay here with you, and who could blame me? You’re good for my ego.”

“So, you’d have to live in Europe?”

“Technically, the archduke may live wherever he likes. But that’s always been Europe since the council meets in Bucharest.”

“So, before the last guy was staked, how long did the vampire king rule?”

“A hundred years.”

“That’s a long time.”

“It depends on your perspective.”

“Did someone kill him, too?”

“No. He decided a century was enough, and he stepped down and returned to Scotland.”

“A Scottish vampire?”

“We’re not all from Transylvania.”

Cassian isn’t from Transylvania either, but he spent a fair amount of time there.

The doorbell rings, cutting off the conversation.

Cassian beats me to the door. (Not that I try very hard to reach it first.) Colin and Ashlyn stand on the welcome mat. When Colin’s pretty conservator sees Cassian, a self-conscious smile flutters over her face.

An uneasy feeling twines in my stomach as I remember my conversation with Noah last week. Did she give him a plant? Maybe not, since he’s taken to working at my dining room table. He says it’s because of the broken AC, but I think he’s avoiding the administration office.

“Colin, Ashlyn,” Cassian says warmly. “So glad you could make it. Please, come in.”

He sounds like a proud father hosting his daughter’s birthday party.