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“We’ll get her back,” Regan replied.

Her tone was confident, and Caleb could hear no trace of the doubts that had plagued her earlier.

“At least Lola is safe.”

“Where is she?” he asked. He hadn’t seen Lola since that first time he had visited Regan’s home.

“We sent her up to Scotland to stay with friends of Darius,” Gina replied.

“Vampires?”

His surprise must had shown in his voice because Gina narrowed her eyes in his direction. “And what’s wrong with vampires?”

“Er…nothing.” Well, apart from the blood-sucking-monster bit. But he presumed they wouldn’t have sent Lola unless it was safe.

He glanced around the room. With the exception of Catrin, it was the same group as before. Kael and Darius sat at the table. Raven stood behind her husband, one hand on his shoulder. She smiled at Caleb, flashing her small white fangs, and a wave of heat washed through him at the memory of them piercing his skin. He looked away quickly, then stepped toward the table and took a seat opposite Kael. He glanced around for Regan. She was staring at Darius, a look of resignation on her face.

She scowled. “Shouldn’t you be tucked up in your coffin or something?”

“And miss this?” he drawled. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

Regan ignored him and sat down next to Caleb. She fidgeted in her seat, and Caleb realized she didn’t want to talk about Sardi. How could he blame her?

“So,” Kael said. “Who is this man?”

“His name is Sardi,” she said. “He’s one of the Lords of the Underworld.”

“And you knew him.”

She nodded but remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.

“Come on, Regan.” Kael’s voice held an edge of impatience. “You have to give us more than that.”

Caleb reached under the table and touched her thigh. She glanced at him, surprise showing in her expression, then she slipped her hand into his and squeezed.

Then she took a deep breath. “I met Sardi over two thousand years ago,” she began. “I was eighteen, and I was on my own for the first time. Up until then, I’d stayed with my mother. She obviously thought eighteen years was quite long enough and pushed me out into the world.”

“So, what did he want?”

“I believe he targeted me because I have the power to open the gates between the worlds. He wanted to bring his people through. He was in league with the fire-demons, and they’ve always had plans to take over this world. Of course, I didn’t know that at the time. I thought…” She paused then shrugged her shoulders. “It doesn’t matter what I thought.”

“He was working with the fire-demons?” Kael asked. “You know this for sure?”

She nodded. “My mother returned. She knew Sardi from the past. She told me what he was. I faced him with what she’d told me, and he didn’t deny it. In fact, he boasted how he and the fire-demons would take over the world of men. He said I could reign at his side.” Her expression hardened. “He thought by then that my feelings were so involved I would do anything for him.”

“Obviously, he didn’t know you too well,” Darius murmured from across the table, and Caleb flashed him a look of dislike.

She’d been eighteen, and this guy Sardi had obviously traded on that. He was responsible for the woman she was today. She was strong enough to come through it, but it was clear now that it had dented her confidence, her trust. But he realized it was more than that. Regan had loved this man. Even when she knew what he was and how he planned to use her. She’d probably loved him right to the moment she used her considerable powers to destroy him. What would that have done to her?

It wasn’t so much her faith in men that was smashed—it was her faith in herself. For two thousand years, she hadn’t risked falling in love again, and Caleb wasn’t sure that she would risk it now. Somehow, he needed to find a way to overcome that.

“He’s powerful.” Regan was speaking faster now, as though she wanted this over with. “Most of our magic won’t work against him. Without my mother’s help, I would never have defeated him.”

“How did you do it?”

“Together, we wove a spell of destruction. It should have destroyed him, but he must be even stronger than we believed.” She bit her lip, a small frown forming on her face. “My mother told me he was gone. Maybe she lied.”

“Why would she do that?” Darius asked.